Book: Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I’m a big fan of the Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World book and this is another great book by Cal Newport. This one is not life-changing as Deep work was for me, but it brings great insights into technology in general.

I’m not a big fan of social networks in general, they are mostly a waste of time in my point of view. Cal shows something even worst about them in this book, which is how companies explore your attention. This is something I saw in many other books already, but this one goes a bit more deeply on the topic. It makes me reconsider many of the apps I still use.

Currently, I’m a hard user of the DnD (Do not Disturb) mode of my phone, so I receive almost no notifications. From time to time, I disable the DnD mode and there they are, many notifications of things “I have to see”. This will be the next step of my quest, remove the apps or at least silence them all.

This book is great and I know MANY people that would benefit from the tips here. The main problem is that these people do not care much about spending their time on these apps. With that in mind, I will still recommend it to some or at least try to exemplify the problems, maybe they will change their mind (or maybe not, and it’s fine).

Here are my raw notes about the book:

  • The biggest companies in social media should admit they are tobacco sellers of our time, selling addictive drugs to children in the form of likes
  • Mentions to a book called Irresistible
  • Unpredictable positive reinforcement triggers our will to do things more (receive likes)
  • Social networks exploit our craving for social approval. The number of likes shows the group approves what you’re doing
  • Digital minimalists are OK with losing small things to focus on others that make their lives good. e.g. the small advantages of Facebook don’t pay for the overall problems of using it
  • Choose the right technology and use it in a meaningful way that goes in the same way as your goals
  • Clutter is costly. Many apps may have such a negative effect that surpass the positive effect of apps isolated
  • One should not only consider the financial return of things, but also the amount of lifetime invested
  • While considering the advantages of social media, take into account the time you’re spending to have that advantage. Does it worth it? Is it the best way to achieve what you want? Be deliberate about it.
  • Many people limit Netflix to social events like watching with their partners — 💭 that’s exactly what I do 🤔
  • Intention trumps convenience
  • During the digital detox, remove every app (or game) that is optional for your life. It will take 30 days, and you will have time to reevaluate their usage. Break the habits of checking these apps from time to time and fill this time with something meaningful. After 30 days, reevaluate from scratch if you really need it.
  • Players of rock, paper, scissors usually exploit the body language of their opponents to adjust their moves accordingly. It’s not about luck or statistics as everyone expected
  • Since we’re a baby, our brains use the non-focused time to think about social things. It’s part of who we are. It happens even when we don’t even know what social is (the same region of the brain is activated with the same patterns)
  • The usage of apps like Facebook can increase or decrease your happiness. For the general public, it reduces happiness overall and has a strong correlation with loneliness. The increase in happiness only happens in small doses, when interacting with people we know. These interactions are not so good as face-to-face interactions, but they let us think ‘our social interaction is done.’
  • Invest your time in conversation (real-time, in-person when possible), not connections (Facebook post, online chat, Instagram likes, etc.). At first, you will lose contact with many people, but in the end, you will be strengthening your relationship with people that matter for your life
  • “I remember the anxiety of calling my friends and not knowing which family member will pick up and how they would feel the intrusion.”
  • Trade text and likes to a real-time conversation. It’s ok not to be “on-call” 100% of the time.
  • Reserve periodic time for meaningful conversations with people. It is good for your productivity and relationships (much better than texting or social media) — 💭 This is also something I do. Not much during the pandemic tho.
  • Board games are one of the things that promote intense social activities, much more than playing call of duty online
  • “Crossfit is like a religion ran by a biker gang.” — 💭 LOL
  • Schedule time for “useless” activities like mindlessly watching Netflix, tap social media apps, etc. During the rest of the day, stay “offline.”
  • If you don’t find the social you’re looking for, create your own
  • If you’re going to use social media, avoid their mobile apps as they are the major source of distractions