choosing a focused life in a noisy world

The book presents balanced views of the inevitable place of Facebook, YouTube and mobile phones in some of our lives, and the insidious and pernicious effects and impacts that they have on the human psyche and mind. E contra, his attitude towards, and philosophy of using technologies are very much akin to the Hindu concept of yukta-vairagya, to wit, use them for the singular purpose of attaining the goal in life, and if they do not, give them up.Īddressing the techno-apologists’ arguments that technologies like social media, mobile phones and the Internet have their indubitable utility, the associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University and the author of six books, trenchantly argues that digital minimalism is not so much about giving up modern inventions as regaining one’s autonomy from the gizmos that have subjugated our minds and lives by their seemingly “utility”. In short, Newport did not set out to advocate the abandonment of new technologies like what the Luddites propose neither does he subscribe to some Amish members’ views that all tools introduced after the mid-18th century must not be used.

The goal of the book, in the words of the author, “is to make the case for digital minimalism, including a more detailed exploration of what it asks and why it works, and then to teach (the reader) how to adopt this philosophy if (the reader) decides it’s right for (him).”

Choosing a focused life in a noisy world