Summary of Digital Minimalism

Digital minimalism is a technology philosophy in which you focus your online time on a few carefully selected activities that support the things you value.
The Five Big Ideas

• Digital Minimalism: A technology use philosophy in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.
• Digital Declutter: A practice in which you define your technology rules, take a thirty-day break, and then reintroduce technology.
• Solitude Deprivation: A state in which you spend close to zero time alone with your own thoughts and free from input from other minds.
• The Social Media Paradox: Social media makes you feel both connected and lonely, happy and sad.
• The Bennett Principle: A practice in which you prioritize demanding activity over passive consumption, use skills to create valuable things in the physical world, and seek activities that require real-world, structured social interactions.

Digital Minimalism describes how we can derive value from technology while minimizing the negative effects of digital clutter. Minimalism is the art of knowing when enough is enough. This concept is applied to our technology by digital minimalism. It is the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world. Cal Newport outlines how excessive technology is ruining our leisure time and interactions. The alternative is to reduce your technology to the bare necessities that will improve your life and interactions with others. This is the definition of digital minimalism.
There have been many technological landmarks over the last twenty years or so, but one that may not spring immediately to mind is the Like button. When this approval click debuted in 2007, on the now-defunct social feed aggregator FriendFeed, it was only a matter of time before it became a standard feature on every social media platform to follow. After all, this simple feature, along with the endless notifications it generates, is a great way to collect data on our preferences and behaviors while also keeping users hooked. It's no surprise that people are finally beginning to push back against social media and recognize that these technologies may be doing more harm than good. Indeed, a steady stream of research has been enlightening us on the numerous negative effects of social media and smartphones.
Cal Newport, the author of this book, conducted his own experiment. 1,600 volunteers followed his instructions for a month-long technological sabbatical, providing him with valuable feedback. The study's findings are digital minimalism: a way to take a step back from the onslaught of digital distractions and find a more satisfying and rewarding way of life. In this summary of Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport, you’ll find out

• How social media is like big tobacco;
• how the Amish can help you to better use your smartphone; and
• how your attention became more valuable than oil.

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