My 7 Takeaways from Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

9 min readMay 31, 2024

Insights and Lessons for Navigating the Digital Age Mindfully

Nowadays, it is impossible to imagine our lives without smartphones, tablets, and computers. We are online for hours every day, using social media, news, YouTube, podcasts, you name it. Work, study, entertainment—a lot has moved from the real world to the digital world. And, of course, there are consequences.

Many prominent thinkers, including Jonathan Haidt, Nicholas Carr, and Adam Alter, have expressed concerns about the negative impact of this dramatic change on our lives. Excessive internet and social media use has deepened the political divide and contributed to societal tribalism. The anonymity provided by the internet leads to online harassment and toxic behavior as people feel less accountable for their actions. We forget how to have face-to-face interactions and build real-world relationships. The impact is even more dramatic on children. Excessive use of the internet, particularly the increasingly gamified social media platforms, decreases attention span and hinders social development, potentially resulting in negative effects on mental health and academic performance. It may also increase the risk of exposure to harmful content and online predators.

At this point, none of this is surprising to anyone. Yet, when it comes to doing something about it, many shrug and say — that’s just the times we live in. It is too easy to let Instagram and TikTok consume our time and diminish our attention span. We often find ourselves automatically reaching for our phones, even when trying to focus on something else or as a knee-jerk reaction to boredom. Our reflexes, habits, and preferences have changed and continue to change.

We intuitively feel the need for a framework to optimize digital interactions to lead a more INTENTIONAL and fulfilling life. We need to find ways to reclaim our time and attention. We need to rediscover the value of being in the real world. And we need to do this without extreme approaches — the internet and social media are not the ultimate enemies to be eradicated. After all, they have their uses.

Enter Digital Minimalism. Cal Newport’s book is more than just a book. I would go as far as to say that it is a public service. Newport became prominent after his book Deep Work (my takeaways here), and I recommend you read Deep Work before Digital Minimalism. In Deep Work, Newport emphasizes the importance and value of focused, uninterrupted work in achieving productivity and mastery in any field. It offers a philosophical framework as well as a lot of actionable content. Digital Minimalism, on the other hand, equips the reader with tools to help implement this framework by focusing on one specific barrier to deep work — digital distractions. By utilizing the methods Newport describes in this book, we can free up time and start working on healing our damaged attention span and ability to focus.

Here are my takeaways from Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport:

Unsustainable relationship with technology. The feeling of exhaustion. Inability to keep up with the barrage of information, news articles, podcasts, YouTube videos, and apps, all competing for our attention, all seemingly important, useful, or entertaining enough to get us interested. That it is increasingly out of control, generating, among other things, a feeling of inadequacy since we are reminded daily that we fail to be on top of things. All of these distract us from valuable activities, decrease happiness, stoke darker instincts, and cause significant distress and mental health problems. What makes things complicated, as Newport explains, is that these tools “mix harm with benefits”. It is interesting that this feeling that I already knew was shared by a lot of people around me, is common even among high-achievers and world-class performers. The attack on our attention is global and relentless. Newport argues that lifehacks and tricks are no longer enough and that we need a full-fledged philosophy of technology use. This is what he calls Digital Minimalism.
A Lopsided Arms Race. In a chapter with this name, Newport explains that while the impact of digital technologies crept up on us, it was also not by accident. It was by design. It is not that we don’t have willpower or that we are lazy. Newport writes that billions of dollars have been poured into the research to make this inevitable. Social media companies can no longer pretend that they are trying to build a better world by helping people connect. No. They are in a pitched battle for our attention. As Bill Maher put it, “Checking your “likes” is the new smoking. Philip Morris just wanted your lungs. The App Store wants your soul”. Many of these companies earn money from advertising. They do not care about the damage they do to the users. Apps and websites intentionally use rewards across their products. These are carefully designed, tested, and tailored to elicit strong responses and capture our attention for as long as possible. The formatting, the font, the layout of the page, the colors and shapes used — all to maximize our “engagement” by essentially manipulating our brains. We have to fight back.
Digital Minimalism. Newport defines Digital Minimalism as “A philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.” There are two factors here — intentionality and achieving the ability to be comfortable with missing out. The minimalist approach is in contrast to the maximalist approach of trying to squeeze the maximum value of the digital tools. The maximalist approach is delusional. We are not in control. We have to recognize that far more powerful forces are at work here, and when money and resources we cannot match are used to figure out how to exploit our biochemistry, we don’t stand a chance. Therefore, less IS better.
Digital Declutter. First off, understand what you are giving up to be on Instagram or TikTok. Your time. Your life. A currency you cannot replenish. These costs accumulate and compound. Now, specific action. Newport suggests a three-step process. First, take a break from optional technologies for a period of 30 days. Make sure you plan in advance what activities will replace these technologies because anxiety and boredom will hit you hard. Explore and rediscover what you find meaningful during this period. At the end of the break, reintroduce some technologies, making sure that they bring value. Newport suggests we introduce clear rules for our engagement with the technology. For example, try accessing certain apps from the computer, not the phone — this adds a barrier and automatically reduces the amount of time we spend on them. Or no more than two episodes of Netflix shows per week. Or leave your phone at home and go for a walk.
Back to the Real World. Welcome back. The initial discomfort of the break will pass rather quickly. After that, do what you enjoy — spend quality time with your family, read books, organize your wardrobe, have dinners with your friends, spend time in nature, go for long walks, start journaling (handwrite!), listen to music, start a blog, explore a hobby, exercise, play a musical instrument, join or start a book club, garden, build something, have face-to-face conversations, just spend time alone. there is so much that can be done. Newport notes that “the most successful digital minimalists renovate what they do with their free time before culling the worst of their digital habits.” Crafting something, learning a skill, and producing something of high quality takes time and effort — hard work that equips us with useful skills but also delivers immense satisfaction. Activities we choose can include social interaction, which will tremendously benefit our mental health — after all, man is a social animal.
Solitude is important. On solitude, Newport cautions us against what he calls “solitude deprivation”. We need to be alone with our thoughts. Non-stop communication, messaging, and continuous processing of back-and-forth information messes with our brain chemistry. On solitude, check out my article Alone, Not Lonely. Newport refers to the dramatic increase in the rates of depression after the emergence of social media — for more on these, read and listen to Jonathan Haidt.
Clarify the Useful. Adopt a value-based approach to technology use. Identify your core values and assess whether your digital activities align with them. This helps you make conscious choices about where to invest your time and attention. To be clear, Newport does not advocate to completely cut out digital tools. If you want low-quality leisure that involves social media or other digital tools, sure. But be smart — schedule it, for example. Newport notes that this perspective must terrify social media companies because it damages their business model. So go ahead and delete social media from your phone. Use social media on your computer, but as a professional, for a specific purpose — promoting your brand or accessing relevant content. If you want to touch base with friends and family, call them instead.

Cal Newport followed Digital Minimalism with another book where he zooms in on e-mail — it is aptly called The World Without E-mail. The concept is a little too ambitious, perhaps, but thought-provoking nonetheless. His latest book, Slow Productivity, offers a framework to achieve a less frenetic life, focus on what matters, and protect our sanity. From Deep Work to Slow Productivity, a common idea in Cal Newport’s books is the importance of intentionality in managing our time and focus to achieve a meaningful and high-quality life. Intentional. Deliberate. Disciplined. Structured. Less stress. More meaning.

Newport is not the only thinker ringing the alarm bells. Here are some additional book recommendations if you want to explore further how the Internet and digital tools impact our lives:

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt examines the rise in anxiety and mental health issues among younger generations, attributing it to factors such as increased screen time, social media use, and overprotective parenting.
The Shallows by Nicholas Carr is the first book I have read on the subject. It explores how the internet and digital technology are shaping our cognitive abilities and thought processes, leading to a shallower form of thinking, fragmented attention, and compromised ability for deep contemplation.
Irresistible by Adam Alter focuses on the addictive nature of modern technology, particularly focusing on digital devices and online activities. Alter examines the psychology behind why people are drawn to technology and explores how designers and companies intentionally create products that capture and retain users’ attention.
Attention Merchants by Tim Wu investigates the history of advertising and its evolution in capturing people’s attention. He discusses the rise of attention-grabbing techniques, from clickbait headlines to social media algorithms prioritizing engagement, and delves into the ethical implications of attention-focused advertising.

These books collectively explore the impact of digital technology on our attention, behavior, and well-being. They provide insights into the addictive nature of technology, the cognitive changes it induces, and strategies to regain control over our attention and lead more intentional lives in a world saturated with digital distractions (Haidt’s book, for example, has specific advice for governments, schools, and parents). It is a fascinating topic, but if you are not looking for an in-depth analysis of the problem — we all agree the problem exists — and are, instead, after actionable advice, then I suggest you start with Newport’s Digital Minimalism. As Newport puts it, Join the Attention Resistance.

If you liked this read, check out my home page for articles about philosophy, learning, self-improvement, literature, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and more. Here are some you may be interested in:

My 7 Takeaways from Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

Written by Rational Badger