Book

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

Feb 2019 🇺🇸 Portfolio (Penguin Random House)

In this book, Georgetown computer scientist and author Cal Newport argues that the always-on, constant-companion way many people use smartphones and social platforms is linked to fragmented attention, reduced solitude, and a diminished sense of control over one's own time. Rather than framing heavy device use as a diagnosable addiction, Newport describes it as a byproduct of attention-engineering business models layered onto ordinary human habits. He proposes 'digital minimalism' — a deliberate, values-driven approach to choosing which technologies to keep — anchored by a thirty-day 'digital declutter.' TechKids Foundation includes this book as part of the wider critical literature it draws on to describe passive, compulsive screen use as a risk factor worth addressing through intentional habits and design choices, not as a work specifically about children.

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CITATION

Newport, Cal. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2019.

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