# Digital Minimalism
Author:: Cal Newport
## Highlights
> The declutter acts as a jarring reset: you come into the process a frazzled maximalist and leave an intentional minimalist. ([Location 131](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=131))
> Digital Minimalism 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. ([Location 435](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=435))
> consider the technology optional unless its temporary removal would harm or significantly disrupt the daily operation of your professional or personal life. ([Location 841](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=841))
> input from other minds. It’s now possible to completely banish solitude from your life. Thoreau and Storr worried about people enjoying less solitude. We must now wonder if people might forget this state of being altogether. ([Location 1226](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=1226))
> Solitude Deprivation A state in which you spend close to zero time alone with your own thoughts and free from input from other minds. ([Location 1245](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=1245))
> we need solitude to thrive as human beings, and in recent years, without even realizing it, we’ve been systematically reducing this crucial ingredient from our lives. Simply put, humans are not wired to be constantly wired. ([Location 1315](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=1315))
> “[Thoreau’s] intention was not to inhabit a wilderness,” he writes, “but to find wildness in a suburban setting.” ([Location 1330](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=1330))
> The philosophy of conversation-centric communication takes a harder stance. It argues that conversation is the only form of interaction that in some sense counts toward maintaining a relationship. This conversation can take the form of a face-to-face meeting, or it can be a video chat or a phone call—so long as it matches Sherry Turkle’s criteria of involving nuanced analog cues, such as the tone of your voice or facial expressions. Anything textual or non-interactive—basically, all social media, email, text, and instant messaging—doesn’t count as conversation and should instead be categorized as mere connection. ([Location 1761](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=1761))
---
Title: Digital Minimalism
Author: Cal Newport
Tags: readwise, books
date: 2024-01-30
---
# Digital Minimalism
Author:: Cal Newport
## AI-Generated Summary
None
## Highlights
> The declutter acts as a jarring reset: you come into the process a frazzled maximalist and leave an intentional minimalist. ([Location 131](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=131))
> Digital Minimalism 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. ([Location 435](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=435))
> consider the technology optional unless its temporary removal would harm or significantly disrupt the daily operation of your professional or personal life. ([Location 841](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=841))
> input from other minds. It’s now possible to completely banish solitude from your life. Thoreau and Storr worried about people enjoying less solitude. We must now wonder if people might forget this state of being altogether. ([Location 1226](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=1226))
> Solitude Deprivation A state in which you spend close to zero time alone with your own thoughts and free from input from other minds. ([Location 1245](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=1245))
> we need solitude to thrive as human beings, and in recent years, without even realizing it, we’ve been systematically reducing this crucial ingredient from our lives. Simply put, humans are not wired to be constantly wired. ([Location 1315](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=1315))
> “[Thoreau’s] intention was not to inhabit a wilderness,” he writes, “but to find wildness in a suburban setting.” ([Location 1330](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=1330))
> The philosophy of conversation-centric communication takes a harder stance. It argues that conversation is the only form of interaction that in some sense counts toward maintaining a relationship. This conversation can take the form of a face-to-face meeting, or it can be a video chat or a phone call—so long as it matches Sherry Turkle’s criteria of involving nuanced analog cues, such as the tone of your voice or facial expressions. Anything textual or non-interactive—basically, all social media, email, text, and instant messaging—doesn’t count as conversation and should instead be categorized as mere connection. ([Location 1761](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07DBRBP7G&location=1761))