Book Review: Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

As an internet and social media user, I have been concerned for sometime about the behavioural challenges these tools bring with them. Vehicles of progress that have begun as a way to make work life better, have now become like the monster Hydra with its many heads. As you know the Hydra has three heads. The problem with this monster is that, once you cut one of the heads off, twice as many regrow in its place. I feel the same is happening in our technological lives. Well, Cal Newport, a professor of computer science, is also aware of this “monstrosity” and has written a great book that gives us plenty of warnings but also tips and suggestions to “kill the Hydra” or, at least, domesticate it. The book is titled “Digital Minimalism” and I really enjoyed it.

As I mentioned, Cal is a professor of computer science but he has decided to use technology only for specific professional and personal reasons and stay out of the social media labyrinth and cacophony. He feels, therefore — and after reading the book, I agree with him — that he is qualified to give advice on this matter.

I will not spoil your reading, but there are a few points that i wish to lay out as a way to tickle your interest and maybe research on Cal and his work some more. You will find it challenging but also very fascinating.

I guess I need to start with the problem. Why should we be so concerned about the internet, technology in general, and social media? The simple answer to this is that we are, and have been for some time, at the mercy of algorithms which create a designed addiction to all of this. This is a serious problem because what originally was introduced to help us with our daily tasks and make our life easier has become a powerful tool in the hands of a few programmers to direct our life towards chosen — by them — paths, including how to dress, what to eat and drink, what to buy and so on. However, this has become more dangerous than that. We are now also directed towards what we should think and believe. You may have noticed that, as you do your Google search or interact with others through your social media accounts, you will be associated more and more with people that may think like you (or being perceived as such), and less with those who could disagree with you. This compartmentalized pattern brings to at least two problems: a) lack of true discourse, which in turn takes to a stifling of creative and critical thinking; and b) polarized debate, which becomes exacerbated by the impersonality of the medium used to discuss. If you don’t feel that way, try to pay true attention to who are the “friends” that pop up more often on your Facebook news feed or at the quality of replies and language used in some discussions on the same platform.

So what do we do? There is a third, very serious issue that comes with the bad habits of digitalism: the ability to be productive and consistently so. We are wasting a lot of time on the minutiae of digital life and becoming increasingly frustrated with our perceived inability to produce. The very simple answer Cal Newport gives us as a solution to all this is to sever our ties with digital time-wasters.

Some of the suggestions he makes are very obvious. For instance, he recommends doing a digital declutter. This would be similar to the annual spring clean up we do in our homes, except this applies to our technology –both software and hardware. Another interesting techniques he suggests is “don’t click Like”. He explains why: “To click “Like,” within the precise definitions of information theory, is literally the least informative type of nontrivial communication, providing only a minimal one bit of information about the state of the sender (the person clicking the icon on a post) to the receiver (the person who published the post). To replace our rich communication flow with a single bit is the ultimate insult to our social processing machinery. To say it’s like driving a Ferrari under the speed limit is an understatement; the better simile is towing a Ferrari behind a mule.” Pretty strong, right? But if you think about it it’s probably true.

But the one thing I took away from the book that has much value to me is to spend time alone and reclaim leisure, and although these are dealt with separately in the book, in my mind they have a connection and they can be mutually inclusive.

Solitude has a power that helps us focus and think clearly. It also has a healing ability, especially if coupled with a leisure activity. My wife and I take these opportunities once in a while when we feel the need to process, elaborate, and seek direction. Technology has become so addictive that we have lost the sense of true inner reflection and wholesome recreation. The proverbial image of the family at the dinner table busy watching their smartphones and even texting each other, is just but the proverbial tip of the iceberg. We are losing our human identity but we can still do something about it.

So read the book and send me a note of what you think about it. You won’t regret it.

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