BOOKS
BOOK REVIEW: DIGITAL MINIMALISM BY CAL NEWPORT
1:14 PM
 |
Title: Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
Published on: February 2019 Publisher: Portofolio/Penguin Genre: Non-fiction, Science & Technology, Productivity, Self-help |
Hi, welcome to my first book review on
blog. I can say I am quite an avid reader, but I think I haven’t read enough to
self-proclaimed myself as a book blogger (I only read about 30 books a year
while people who are book bloggers usually read more than 80 books per year). Also,
I am too lazy to write a book review, thinking who would read my opinions about
books I have read. But, there is something in this book that made me want to
share it with my readers on blog. As what the title says, it is about
minimalism in using our digital devices. From all books that I've read about the
internet and digital media, only this book from Cal Newport moves me. If you watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix, I think you should read this book, too.
...
 |
"… we cannot
passively allow the wild tangle of tools, entertainments and distractions
provided by the internet age to dictate how we spend our time and how we feel.
We must instead take steps to extract the good from these technologies while
sidestepping what's bad. We require a philosophy that puts our aspirations and
values once again in charge of our daily experience; a philosophy that accepts
new technologies, but not if the price is the dehumanization…" |
The introduction begins with an essay
written by influential blogger and commentator Andrew Sullivan in September 2016 titled "I Used to Be a Human
Being." Its subtitle was alarming, stating that an endless
bombardment of news and gossip and images has rendered us manic information
addicts, that broke him and might broke us, too. Almost everyone believe in the
power of the internet and recognized that it improves our lives in many ways.
But there is also negative impacts if unrestricted online activity on
psychological well-being. The book consists of 2 parts: part one is The Foundations of digital minimalism
and the second one is The Practices.
He argues, before we practice digital minimalism into our daily lives, we must
have a comprehensive understanding about the concept first. Most people who
struggle with the online part of their lives are not weak-willed or stupid. The
truth is, we were pushed into it,
these tools are not nearly as innocent as they might first seem. And if your relationship
with your smartphone has become dysfunctional, where you have the urge to check
your screen every 5 minutes for no apparent reason, it is difficult to repair
it with over optimistic quick-fix tale or the use of tips & tricks alone. To
reestablish control, we need to move beyond tweaks and instead rebuild our
relationship with technology from scratch, using our deeply held values as a
foundation. In the practices section, Newport explained about the importance of
spending time alone and how to find solitude within ourselves; also explaining
about the social media paradox and reclaiming conversation as human being; and about
how to spend your leisure time. The part about leisure and the good life really
changes my thinking about how I should allocate my precious time with
satisfying high-quality activities.
...
I was very excited to share about what this book says with my husband and he argues just as what Newport wrote. He doesn't even read the book! Reading is his cup of tea, but I must say he has broad understanding about things and he is willing to hear me blabbing about every books I read. I really enjoy this book. Finished it in 3
days, absorbing every information to apply in daily practice. In my previous
post "A Minute of Quiet in a
Loud Shouting World" I stated about how I find myself uncomfortable
in the digital world and it was written before I ordered this book. I was
intended to declutter my non-essential digital activities then this book
strengthens my perspective and gives me hands-on guide to bring my intention
into realization. A part that also catches my attention is the part where
Newport explained how we could talk to our children about the importance of experiencing
life beyond a glowing screen and that message would not stick until they saw us
demonstrating this behavior in our own life. And I think I would like to
teach to my future children about digital screens and technology that way. I need to give examples. And about how we want to use it, it depends on our needs and our values, with an asterisk *you should be in control of your device, not your device controlling you. In the book, Newport
explained each parts with many quotations from other people to elaborate his arguments
along with concrete pragmatic examples. In the end of the book, I feel like going back to the past, remembering doing things we used to do before the rising of the digital media while
benefiting from all the good impacts the internet could bring into our lives
now. So that we can confidently say,
because
of technology, I am a better human being than I ever was before.
My rating: ★★★★★
0 comment(s)