Digital Minimalism

Cal Newport

2022-05-17

Modern technology, in particular smartphone apps, are often designed explicitly to highjack attention for the purpose of making money and serving ads: they are designed to be addictive.

Newport proposes that we should develop a philosophy of technology use, believing this can help us to make more informed and less compulsive decisions about tech use: he advocates digital minimalism, using technology in an “optimised” way to achieve defined goals.

He suggests a 30-day “digital declutter”, essentially a digital fast during which we try to reconnect with and identify activities that bring us deep joy and meaning; following this, we can begin to reintroduce technology back into our lives with strict operating procedures rooted in our philosophies.