DIGITAL MINIMALISM: THE NEED OF THE HOUR

Remember the days when there were no cellphones and the landline phones were attached to a wire? Well! I am addressing the millennials here as the young generation have never seen days without technology in their lives. Coming back to my question or rather the answer which I would like to give…. Yes!! Those were the days. Since the past decade or so, we are so much hooked with our devices that we fail to appreciate the things around us. Not just the things but actual people. Real conversations are missing as people nowadays like to chat on their phones to their virtual friends more than people physically present around them. I mean, where are we heading? This is scary.

Talking about the problem, atleast people have started accepting the fact that they are addicted to their devices. Hence, the first phase towards healing is checked – Acceptance. Now talking about the book, “Digital Minimalism” by Cal Newport is one such book that should be read by all. Atleast the ones who want to break up with their phones and be present at the moment more. Cal Newport starts the book by addressing the reasons of the issue. Why are we addicted so much to our phones? He gives the psychology behind the “why”. Then the next part of the book deals with practical aspects of cutting off the phone usage. One such example or rather the remedy to get out of phone addiction, which I personally liked was choosing conversations over connections. In early days people on long distances were not easily available to talk to. Hence, there were meaningful long letters or phone calls. They used to have real conversations. Now, the coin has flipped and people find instant gratification as well as instant boredom through their shallow connections. They can talk to the person they desire by click of a button and are dreadful to have deep talks over call. Letters are extinct or maybe endangered. There is no human touch and hence we are losing the wiring of our brains. Not a good sign!

This book is something, which if read, will leave a strong impact. You might find your time being wasted and will try to search for your lost humanity again. Atleast I did with few baby steps and wish the same for my readers. So, please do not wait any further and grab a copy now!

Happy Reading!