Thought Provoking; Shame About The Narrator

This is a very interesting read, and has prompted me to delete social media apps from my phone. The summary of the ways in which social media use the mechanisms of gambling/slot machines and ‘hack our brains’ is an arresting one, and is impactful. The ‘practices’ (exercises) are do-able.

This is let down by the narrator (not Cal Newport), who is quite mechanistic, although my main criticism is his way of narrating quotes by women. The change in tone is unnecessary and sounds incredibly patronising.

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33 people found this helpful

Great idea but far too US-centric, poor analysis.

The overarching theme is great, it is clear, concise, and well put. The book isn't wrong by any stretch of the imagination and the overall point, as well as the recommendations are good. We should all read it... but only a summary of it. I feel this topic deserves much better treatment from another author with more evidence, scope, and more experience outside of the leefy green college campus in New England, or a sunny US West Coast college, that it feels like it has been written in or for.

It is much more of an agenda than meaningful argument or analysis, I would love a lot more data, evidence, peer reviewed citations and sources. This wouldn't reduce the appeal of the book, many authors do this well, it just feels so myopic, and that's from someone who ardently agrees with the book itself.
The book is blind to how privileged you have to be to follow some of the recommendations. Sure, handcrafts and functional skills are excellent, but they are often costly. Also, the time needed to invest in a skill as suggested requires a frighteningly privileged life that isn't just enabled by a reduction in smartphone use.

Finally, the book is far too centred on the US. Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, etc... all interesting people, but god do you have to trudge through a lot of it. I really cannot tell you how little I care about the importance of solitude to Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg address, yet we get far too many filler pages on it. Its also rampant guesswork and a laughably high school project level analysis of history. The sceptical reader is going to listen to it and likely be put off by what appears to be waffling, or an inability to make the argument for digital minimalism without resorting to something tantamount to pointing at some important figure of American history and going "if its good enough for him its good enough for me".

As for the narration, it is well done, with a good pace, pronunciation and intonation.

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18 people found this helpful

Good principles, nothing ground-breaking

Coming from the millennials generation myself and genuinely not best pleased with the amount of screen-time I found myself having, I sought out better ways to balance my time between screens and the real world. I found myself hating that when out on walks, people I walked with were more bothered about grabbing for their phone at the first chance of a fantastic sunset photograph to upload to Instagram, than rather taking a second to take in that scene for themselves.

That led me to come across this book.

I'll be completely honest, although the principles are good and sound, there's nothing exactly ground-breaking in what Cal is offering with ways to decrease time. In short, be more mindful of how long you spend on devices, social media and plan for more real world activities. Understand the trends and manipulation forced on you by these devices and companies and rely on your own willpower, over time you will become more digitally minimalist if you want it enough.

Other than these principles, the stories within the book can be used to inspire you to know you aren't alone and digital minimalism is achievable.

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13 people found this helpful

Essential Reading for Everyone with a Smartphone!

This is my first review, and it's not going to be a long one. Simply put, this book outlines exactly why you need to take stock of your phone use and how to do it. You'll learn to uncover the beauty of full focus and concentration. Something most people struggle with these days. We are living in a distracted world, where 100% uninderupted thought is almost something of the past. It is possible to gain control again and break the addiction!

Digital Minimalisim should be required reading for everyone with a smartphone in 2019.

Thanks Cal!

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12 people found this helpful

So glad I read this!

If like me you think you haven't got time to listen to this, start with chapter 3, start the 30 day digital declutter and then as if by magic I found I had way more time and listened to the whole book within a few days.
I'm in day 8 so far and the change even so far is incredible. I have so much more time and energy and I'm so much more present in my life and with my family. Highly recommend.

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2 people found this helpful

Enjoyable listen, implemented a few things already

Finished it within a week and implemented a few practical tips with good effect- filling social media/ TV time with activities that bring me joy e.g. long walks- so good for figuring out problems I'm worried about; making a meal for family; hoping to try cross fit and potentially mouse book club with time. Feeling so much better, thanks Cal Newport for a balanced approach:)

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2 people found this helpful

Not a story as such

A fantastic and thought-provoking insight into the effects of digital burnout. The book offers profound insights into the effects of social media and its intrusion into modern life. By no means should the book be considered the work of a luddite, but rather as a means of using technology to live a greater and more fulfilling life.

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1 person found this helpful

Repetitive

Interesting, but very repetitive. It should have lasted at most 20 mins, or even less.

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1st couple chapters ok.

You have to be brain dead to be a social media user. Chapters one and two have some nuggets. Rory mcilory mentioned this book. I told rory to stop drinking red wine until he wins the us masters golf and adorns the green jacket. Wine and aocial media are both time wasters to real mastery. Listen for sure

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So boring, you’ll end up doom scrolling just to pass the time

I’ve never given a book such a low rating before.

I cannot put into words how boring it is.

The man reading it genuinely sounds like a robot.

There is very little helpful advice in this book for achieving digital minimalism. There’s a lot of anecdotes about historical figures the author clearly admires. Ironically, the author gets distracted and goes off on tangents with these long boring stories about them.

If you want an actual helpful book - I recommend “How to break up with your phone” instead. 1000x better.

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