Digital minimalism

A philosophy of technology use

Ottawa

Hi there,

Most of us can no longer imagine life without the convenience, connection, and entertainment our smartphone, social media, and the internet provide us. Still, these impressive technological advances happened in such a short period, so suddenly, that we didn't get a chance to pause, take a deep breath and ask; 'what exactly are we signing up for?' In the midst of admiring our shiny smartphones and marvelling at the wonders of the World Wide Web, we quickly adapted to our hyper-connected world without much fuss.

Five things to share:

1. Digital minimalism is a philosophy of technology use to liberate ourselves from the shackles of social media, smartphones, and our always-on, digitally-caffeinated culture. It is a how-to guide for using technology to support our goals and values; instead of letting technology use us.

2. I read Stand Out of Our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy by James Williams. A short, concise, and straightforward exploration of the digital attention economy, the moral and political struggles for our attention, and what we can do to take control back from the technological persuasions that are increasingly directing our thoughts and actions.

3. A 2-minute animated book summary of Digital Minimalism from Quick Insights. You’re welcome.

4. A quote I want to share with you:

   The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
   — Henry David Thoreau

   What is the price we are paying for all the time we are spending online?

5. An article by Cal Newport on digital minimalism: A simple, carefully curated, minimalist digital life is not a rejection of technology or a reactionary act of skepticism; it is, by contrast, an embrace of the immense value these new tools can offer… if we’re willing to do the hard work of figuring out how to best leverage them on behalf of the things we truly care about.

That’s all for this week!

Thank you for reading, and please share with anyone you think may benefit.

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Until next time,

Mehret