Digital Minimalism

I’ve just finished reading Digital Minimalism, a book about digital decluttering and finding focus.

The premise is simple:

Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It’s the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world. 

Digital Minimalism was written by Cal Newport, a computer science professor specializing in distributed systems theory at Georgetown.

The tone is very practical. 

Newport opens with what he describes as an "arms race" for our attention and the resulting digital exhaustion that we feel when we try to maximize the benefits available to us.

His antidote is the philosophy that gives the book its title, Digital Minimalism, which comes through a regimen of decluttering. 

Newport offers a number of different practices that can help one to maintain and optimize his or her attention to things that have real value. 

Along the way we meet a cast of techsters, ethicists, psychologists, economists, poets, and more, all converging on the idea that we need to build up a resistance before behavioral addiction and attention exhaustion set in. 

A few favorites: 

First, there are the cringe-worthy quotes from Facebook’s Sean Parker bragging that the platform was built to be addictive by hacking the human vulnerabilities of users. And implying that people WANT intermittent positive reinforcement, like Zeiler’s pigeons. 

Next, I appreciated Newport's introduction to the work of Adam Alter, now an associate professor of marketing at NYU. I was surprised to have never have heard of “Drunk Tank Pink” and “Irresistible” but quickly added them to my queue.

Lastly, Tristan Harris. I knew about Time Well Spent but did not know about his manifesto, "A Call To Minimize Distraction and Respect Users’ Attention” that led to his conversion from distractionist to ethicist. Written in 2013 he was well-ahead of his time.

This book is not just about unplugging from intrusive technology. 

It recommends that we use the space created by decluttering to add (or add-back) things that have actual value to us as people.

Things that bring satisfaction and a better life, in which technology plays a supporting role.

I started my digital wellness program already. 

Next: I’m waiting for a book on Data Minimalism for marketers.