Digital Minimalism

Our relationship with personal technology has shifted, and many people feel troubled by the control smartphones and social media exert over daily life. In Digital Minimalism, computer science professor Cal Newport argues that trying to moderate tech use with small tweaks — turning off a few notifications, taking an occasional detox — doesn't work.

Instead he proposes a philosophy of intentional technology use: a 30-day declutter process to strip away optional digital tools, followed by a careful, values-driven reintroduction of only the technologies that clearly support things a person cares about. Drawing on interviews and case studies, Newport makes the case that phone-based distraction is a design problem, not a willpower problem, and lays out concrete practices — solitude, real-world hobbies, structured conversation — for reclaiming attention.