Digital minimalism: How much technology do we really need?

Digital minimalism: How much technology do we really need?

Arguably one of the strongest forces of antagonism, leading us to become distracted in our professional and personal lives, is the ubiquitous rise of nonessential digital technologies, which serve little or no purpose. Don’t misunderstand me, digital technologies do have a place, if they help us fulfil our purpose. As a writer, I am indebted to my laptop and software, any amateur cyclist who competes will tell you they are heavily reliant on their tracking and performance apps. I’m not talking about digital technologies, which augment your purpose in life, rather I am referring to the ones that rely on dopamine hits to keep us jacked into an endless cycle of frivolous entertainment. Cal Newport, author of Digital Minimalism (2019), argues that what we need is a “full-fledged philosophy of technology use, rooted in your deep values, that provides clear answers to the questions of what tools you should use and how you should use them and, equally important, enables you to confidently ignore everything else”. Newport forcefully makes the case that we should spend our online time on a few carefully chosen activities, which support the things we value, and gladly miss out on all others. In others words,