Digital Minimalism

I've been experimenting with Digital Minimalism for the last couple of years, especially for the last year, when I significantly reduced the usage of social media, seeing them as platforms designed to hook our attention as best as they can. Cal's book helped me to solidify the ideas that were motivating me to restrict the usage of some of the services, and it was a very interesting read since I've already had many references to all the negative aspects of unrestricted social media usage that he talks about.

With all the books he's written so far, Cal advocates living a deep life without distractions and full of meaning. That is impossible if you spend multiple hours a day scrolling social media feeds and justifying to yourself that this is your choice. No, it's the attention economy, the roots of which can be found in the 1830s. It's the idea that when you don't pay for the product, you are the product. That's especially clear when you start observing just how all the social media applications try to lure you in with their slot-machine-like mechanisms that hook you and make it impossible to spend your time in much more meaningful ways.

If you think that you don't have time for your hobbies, for reading books, meditation, or exercise, and meanwhile you spend multiple hours a day scrolling Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok like a zombie, read this book as soon as possible.