SCORE: 7.2
What You Will Learn
· How to live your life with intention.
· The subtle dangers of technology services within the attention economy.
· How to sustain meaningful relationships.
Average Reading Time
4 hours 5 minutes
Review
You won’t believe me, but it was a coincidence that I read Digital Minimalism, a book about cord-cutting and solitude, from the most remote place in the continental United States. In fact, I’m writing from a teepee tent somewhere outside of Forks, Washington, a small town in the Olympic Peninsula crunched between the Pacific Ocean and an evergreen rainforest stretching hours by car in any direction. It was a coincidence! It was the lightest book I could find.
There’s no cellular service so my iPhone has been shut off for two days. I had to ask for directions at a Twilight gift shop - A teenage vampire franchise that also takes place in Forks. The store clerk was happy to oblige. She was a middle-aged woman with granny glasses and a “Team Edward” shirt that must have shrunk in the wash. “I feel like we’ve met before.” She said and took a sip from a Big Gulp - probably cherry flavored to mimic human blood. I blushed and ran out of the store before she could collect my scent.
It’s raining, cold, and always dark no matter the time of day. You don’t have to believe me, but just know that I’m embracing the spirit of digital minimalism for all 30 of my newsletter subscribers.
Digital minimalists aim to reclaim their focus and live a life free from the shackles of technology. It might be a new term, but it’s not exactly a new philosophy. Usually, you hear about writers and artists who choose to replace modern communication with simplicity. Cal Newport draws examples from Henry David Thoreau and Teddy Roosevelt, but Bon Iver comes to mind for me. Apparently, he broke up with his girlfriend, drove to his dad’s cabin in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin, and lived off the land without electricity for three months. He emerged with Bon Iver’s first album which won two Grammys. See, this teepee tent thing doesn’t sound so crazy!
Cal Newport sells digital minimalism. Some would say he’s more qualified than anyone to promote the lifestyle. He’s a computer science professor at Georgetown University, which gives him a unique perspective on what technology is, and, more importantly, what it isn’t.
Digital Minimalism: A philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number carefully selected activities that strongly support things you value.
He argues that, unfortunately, we live in the attention economy where conglomerates from Silicon Valley have designed their products like Vegas slot machines. Consequently, we've become mildly addicted to our phones at the expense of activities dear to our health. Since advertisements could be placed in your pocket, your time has become Zuckerberg's money.
People are fickle. Our brains have yet to catch up to the barrage of dopamine hits available to us 24/7. Newport backs up this claim with several academic studies, but just notice how many times you pull out your phone within an hour - it's obviously a problem!
“People don’t succumb to screens because they’re lazy, but instead because billions of dollars have been invested to make this outcome inevitable.”
When I returned from Forks, I finally recognized how attached I was to technology. How often I'd pull out my phone to check the time only to be sucked into an Addison Rea TikTok, or basketball scores, or a clickbait article about murder hornets. Deeper still, I thought about all the podcasts, Netflix shows, and Youtube videos I consume. Hundreds of different thoughts and opinions infiltrating my mind daily. Scary because all these activities seem so harmless. But they add up, crushing your creativity and overall quality of work.
Principals of Digital Minimalism
1.) Clutter is costly: Cluttering your attention with apps and services creates an overall negative effect that outweighs their benefits
2.) Optimization is Important: Simply put, think carefully about how you use the technology that you’ve decided to keep.
3.) Intentionality is Satisfying: You will receive satisfaction from the commitment to live a life with more intention.
Consider the effect technology has on our relationships. We make fun of the family that eats-out only to spend the entire meal with their eyes glued to a screen. Newport says nothing can replace the value of face-to-face conversation. The facial nuances, tones, and cues ingrained within our biology cannot merely be replaced with text, emails, and likes. But for the moment, that’s exactly what’s happened.
“You cannot expect an app dreamed up in a dorm room or among ping pong tables to replace rich interactions.”
What To Be done: The Newport Detox
Newport offers some hardcore practices towards the end of the book. I’m guessing he thought that you must be interested if you’re still reading. However, He starts the book by suggesting a 30-day detox. Considering we are all trapped in quarantine, maybe it’s a good time to try something new.
Step 1.) Identify the apps, services, tech you absolutely need, vs. the apps that are optional.
Think about the services that are absolute to your job. Think about this carefully though, for example, you might think you need email on your phone, but could you go a month answering emails just on your computer.
Step 2.) Eliminate all the optional items for 30 days.
Delete all the apps that aren’t vital to your existence. You will find that you probably don’t need most services. Netflix, Instagram, TikTok are low bearing fruit. Hack them off!
I know what you’re thinking, the challenge with this is fighting boredom, “How do I fill the time?” Newport fills an entire chapter on what you should actually do with leisure time. He suggests dedicating your time to a craft, you know, an activity that influences something in the physical world. Examples, learning to change the oil in your car, playing an instrument, board games, and sports.
“Doing nothing is overrated. And leads to mindless phone swiping… the rewards of investing time into something hard but worthwhile almost always returns much richer rewards.”
Step 3.) Reintroduce the useful services that truly add to your happiness, production and relationships.
By the end of 30-days, you would have beaten tech withdraw and emerge with a clear mind about how to effectively use apps and services without them interfering with your attention.
Social Media: Where Newport Fails to Relate
Newport points to the destructive nature of all tech products: streaming services, video games, blog sites. But, to me, the main culprit of all our woes is social media. Which I’m at odds with because I like social media. The same platforms that clog my creative space with useless TikTok dances also allow me to write this blog and spread my literature to young professionals who might find it valuable.
Newport fails to relate here. He claims to recognize the benefits of social media, but he has never opened an account. I wonder. If he were starting a business from scratch, how would he market his product? I guess he would network the old fashion way, but this would be fruitless for his competitors would beat him to the market with content and Instagram ads.
Final Thought
Since reading this book and spending a few days without a phone within the twilight realm, I have noticed the threats of technology, but I don’t intend to go full out digital nomad. I enjoy listening to Joe Rogan, watching The Office while I cook, and liking Lebron’s taco Tuesday posts on Instagram. More importantly, I receive happiness from talking to my friends about these things, how Joe Rogan went on another tangent about aliens, or about Lebron splitting the defense. I have a friend who’s a movie buff and will DM new release trailers, we then spend a few minutes talking about it. I really don’t want to quite those interactions and replace them with a face-to-face conversation about the weather.
Tactic to Try Today
Office Hours/Snail Mail: Treat your optional apps like you a teacher treats office hours. Set times and days during which you’re available to text, email, social media feeds.
I use this tactic and I’ve seen tremendous improvements in my writing. The first thing I do in the morning is lock away my phone until 11 am. Try this, you’ll be amazed by your newfound level of focus.
However, I am deeply concerned with the interruptions to workflow caused by technology. That isn’t healthy for our productivity and I know for a fact I become more anxious. I intend to correct that part of my life with Newport’s office hours philosophy (see Tactics To Try Today). My plan is to treat technology like snail mail, read and respond only during certain hours of the day.
Of course, this means that all of us are doomed to walk the psychological tightrope of technology for the rest of our lives… but things could be worse. You could be sipping blood from a Big Gulp.
Thank you for reading my first newsletter! Expect a new review each Friday along with other posts in between. Please like, comment, subscribe and follow the Instagram account @yoprolibrary