The philosophy of digital minimalism: Questioning the value of technology
Look around the next time you’re in line at Chipotle, Whole Foods, or Exxon: our addictions are showing. A generation ago, nearly everyone casually puffed cigarettes throughout the day. Today, indoor smoking seems crazy, but it’s been replaced by the captivating glow of our four-inch screens. Damn, perhaps scrolling is the new smoking.
Joshua Fields Millburn made this pithy observation in his essay, “Scrolling Is the New Smoking.” Millburn, a well-known advocate of digital minimalism (a philosophy we’ll explain shortly), is echoing a common feeling these days. We seem to be addicted to digital devices and apps, especially smartphones and social media. Indeed, it’s as if we’ve lost conscious control over these technologies.
Just as smokers let addictive cigarettes control their compulsive habits or behaviors, we allow addictive technologies to control ours.
Now, it’s tempting to think that regaining control is simply a matter of finding a quick technological fix. Maybe we just need a new-and-improved smartphone. Or perhaps we just need to make tweaks to our social media apps. However, another way to think about this issue is in more philosophical terms. In other words, regaining control of technology may be a matter of questioning its ultimate purpose or value.
Computer scientist and author Cal Newport has aptly dubbed this approach the philosophy of digital minimalism. As he writes in his book Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World,
“To reestablish control, we need to move beyond tweaks and instead rebuild our relationship with technology from scratch, using our deeply held values as a foundation” (Newport, 2019, p 28).
Principles in the philosophy of digital minimalism
According to Newport, the philosophy of digital minimalism entails the following principles:
- Reduce clutter, including mental noise from too many devices or apps that suck up your free time.
- Optimize how to best use technology in your own life.
- Use technology intentionally—that is, in a way that supports your goals or values.
Those principles sound unobjectionable in theory, but how do we put them into practice? To start, Newport recommends what he calls a “digital declutter” process. Here’s how it works…
Digital declutter
To help ensure you’re in control of your own technology—as opposed to addictive technology controlling you—try the digital declutter process. It involves three steps.
Step 1: Take a break from optional technologies.
First, give yourself a thirty-day break from any digital technologies in your life that are optional. By optional, Newport means not essential for your professional or personal life. For example, take a break from social networking sites that aren’t necessary for work or day-to-day functioning. Granted, this first step can be difficult, but there’s a significant payoff, as we’ll see in the next step.
Step 2: Set a goal to learn a new activity (particularly something you value).
Next, with your newly freed-up time, set a goal to learn a new skill-building activity. Preferably, it should be something you’re interested in, whether professionally or personally. For instance, instead of scrolling through endless social media feeds, spend that time learning a new activity, such as:
- Cooking or baking
- Playing a musical instrument
- Studying a foreign language
- Reading a book or mastering a new subject
- Taking up a recreational hobby (running, biking, hiking, climbing, skiing, swimming, dancing, martial arts, etc.)
Remember, don’t just choose any random goal or activity! Make sure it’s something you value and will likely enjoy. Namely, pick a pursuit or hobby that you personally feel motivated to do or learn.
Step 3: Let optional technologies back into your life, but only if they support your goals and values.
Finally, after the thirty-day break, gradually reintroduce optional technologies back into your life, but only if they support what goals you set for yourself and/or the activities you truly value or enjoy.
(Suffice to say, for the Marie Kondo fans out there, you may have noticed that the digital declutter process is not unlike the magic of tidying up. In short, it’s almost like asking, “Does this item spark joy?” when deciding whether or not to keep something.)
Practicing the Philosophy of Digital Minimalism
The digital declutter process is the core of digital minimalism. However, if you want to take the philosophy of digital minimalism a bit further and cultivate an altogether digital minimalist lifestyle, Newport suggests four additional practices to help you along that journey. With a little effort, he contends, anyone can use these practices to lead a more fulfilling life. How so, you might ask?
In Part II of this article, we’ll take a quick look at each of those practices to answer that question.
References
Newport, Cal. (2019). Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. New York: Portfolio/Penguin.