Introduction // Digital Minimalism 01

“I hope that everyone who owns a mobile phone and has been wondering where their time goes gets a chance to absorb the ideas in this book.” -Pete Adeney, aka Mr. Money Mustache

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport called to me. I’d been wrestling with my digital tools all year. I’d become a hypocrite.

Digital Identity

My life is designed to be free of distraction, especially the kind that is carefully engineered by Silicon Valley tech conglomerates. One one hand, I tell people that I don’t use social media. It’s true, facebook, twitter, and instagram have no place in my life. On the other hand, I constantly use social media, because I host a podcast that is posted on platforms such as YouTube, SoundCloud, and even LinkedIn. And now, I’m writing this post on Medium.

So, who’s the real me? Am I a slave to the attention economy? Am I a renegade Neo-Luddite?

I picked up Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport to help formulate my answer to these questions. In Cal’s previous books, he’s done a remarkable job of addressing topics that gave me mixed feelings, such as professional pressure to always be on email. I hoped that he would clarify the challenges of distraction in my personal life through his newest book. He did not disappoint.

In this series, I’ll break down my experience with the main ideas in each part of Digital Minimalism, starting here with the introduction.

The book opens with a few comments on a 7,000 word essay Andrew Sullivan wrote for New York magazine titled “I Used to Be a Human Being.” It’s an alarming title, if a bit tongue-in-cheek. I can relate to Sullivan’s frustration. Until December 2018, I had never owned a smartphone. My previous cell phones had come in the flip phone or slider variety and I preferred them. When my last slider bit the dust it seemed necessary to pick up a newer phone for a 2 month round the world trip I was planning. Friends and family told me that a fancier phone would make my life better, especially when traveling. Google Maps is amazing!

My Phone is a Slot Machine

At first, the phone helped a lot. I will never deny that there is value to new technologies. Even Instagram has some value. The issue was the tradeoff I made for that value. Overnight, my phone went from being a useful tool to being a portal to every distraction known to mankind. I began furiously processing and transmitting constant multimedia messages. The contacts are randomly colored, making everything more interesting. The interface makes me feel powerful as it opens with a single swipe, but there is much more friction to turning it off, at least 7 precise screen taps. To underscore the behavioral addiction that smartphones create, mine came with one game installed, a slot machine. No joke, it’s called Slot-O-Matic.

It’s fortunate that I went so long without a smartphone. During my college years, constant connectivity would’ve ruined me. As it was, I checked my flip phone and email dozens of times per day, in a time before all the attention engineering took off.

Knowing my own weakness, I needed a comprehensive approach to new technologies. Cal Newport proposes that digital minimalism can be that approach. It’s not a series of tips and life hacks, but, “A full-fledged philosophy of technology use.” Thank God.

We need a thoughtful philosophy, because we’re fighting a near impossible battle. The resources in Silicon Valley are titanic. If you had one million dollars, could you develop an addictive slot machine? I bet you could. If you had facebook’s 500 billion dollar valuation, could you build a few addictive apps? I have zero doubt.

To give readers a clear overview of the battlefield, Part 1 of Digital Minimalism opens with an examination of the attention economy and digital devices, then spells out the philosophy of digital minimalism and the strategic approach, called The Digital Declutter. Part 2 equips the reader to sustain the choices they make after completing The Digital Declutter. Each chapter in Part 2 ends with in-depth guidance for incorporating new practices into your digital behavior, such as setting “office hours” for conversation and embracing the Slow Media Movement.

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” -Henry David Thoreau, Walden

The introduction to Digital Minimalism left me inspired to read on. Newport takes a refreshing look at an old quote from Walden by Henry David Thoreau, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” It turns out that’s not the end of the quote. The less noted part continues in the following paragraph:

They honestly think there is no choice left. But alert and healthy natures remember that the sun rose clear. It is never too late to give up our prejudices.

If you believe it is never too late, follow along with this Digital Minimalism series.