Digital Minimalism

particulars, this same sentiment applies well to our
current age of social media and smartphones. First
Facebook, then the iPhone: compulsive communicating
and connecting—supported by mysterious, almost
magical innovations in radio modulation and fiber-optic
routing—swept our culture before anyone had the
presence of mind to step back and re-ask Thoreau’s
fundamental question: To what end?
The result is a society left reeling by unintended
consequences. We eagerly signed up for what Silicon
Valley was selling, but soon realized that in doing so we
were accidently degrading our humanity.
It’s in this long trajectory that we can place digital
minimalism. This philosophy is meant to be a human
bulwark against the foreign artificiality of electronic
communication, a way to take advantage of the wonders
that these innovations do in fact provide (Maine and
Texas, it turns out, did have some useful things to say
once connected), without allowing their mysterious
nature to subvert our human urge to build a meaningful
and satisfying life.
■
■
■
This history places digital minimalism in a somewhat
grandiose position, but as we explored in the preceding
chapters, implementing this philosophy is largely an
exercise in pragmatism. Digital minimalists see new
technologies as tools to be used to support things they
deeply value—not as sources of value themselves. They
don’t accept the idea that offering some small benefit is
justification for allowing an attention-gobbling service

---

into their lives, and are instead interested in applying
new technology in highly selective and intentional ways
that yield big wins. Just as important: they’re
comfortable missing out on everything else.
At the same time, I want to emphasize that
transitioning to this lifestyle can be demanding—many of
the minimalists I interviewed balanced their tales of
triumph with examples where they let a tool get the best
of them. This is fine. Adopting digital minimalism is not
a onetime process that completes the day after your
digital declutter; it instead requires ongoing
adjustments.
In my experience, the key to sustained success with
this philosophy is accepting that it’s not really about
technology, but is instead more about the quality of your
life. The more you experiment with the ideas and
practices on the preceding pages, the more you’ll come to
realize that digital minimalism is much more than a set
of rules, it’s about cultivating a life worth living in our
current age of alluring devices.
Those who are committed to the digital status quo
might attempt to cast this philosophy as somehow anti-
technology. I hope I’ve convinced you in this book that
this claim is misguided. Digital minimalism definitively
does not reject the innovations of the internet age, but
instead rejects the way so many people currently engage
with these tools. As a computer scientist, I make a living
helping to advance the cutting edge of the digital world.
Like many in my field, I’m enthralled by the possibilities
of our techno-future. But I’m also convinced that we
cannot unlock this potential until we put in the effort
required to take control of our own digital lives—to
confidently decide for ourselves what tools we want to
use, for what reasons, and under what conditions. This
isn’t reactionary, it’s common sense.
I opened this book with Andrew Sullivan’s concern
about losing his humanity in the electronic world

---

wrought by Samuel Morse. “I used to be a human being,”
he wrote. My hope is that digital minimalism can help
reverse this state of affairs by providing a constructive
way to engage and leverage the latest innovations to your
advantage, not that of faceless attention economy
conglomerates, to create a culture where the
technologically savvy can upend Sullivan’s lament and
instead say with confidence: “Because of technology, I’m
a better human being than I ever was before.”

---

Acknowledgments
The idea to write this book was born on a deserted beach,
on an island in the Bahamas, during the last weeks of
2016. At the time, I was already well along in the process
of researching a book on a completely different topic. But
as I mentioned in the introduction, I had, by this point,
begun hearing from readers of my last book, Deep Work,
who were struggling with the role of new technologies in
their personal lives. I couldn’t shake the idea that this
topic was too rich to ignore—the urgency with which
people discussed it hinted that it was about much more
than just smarter tech tips, but instead something that
touches on the universal human aspiration to cultivate a
good life.
With time to spare on vacation, and miles of empty
beach to wander (we arrived before the busy season), I
decided to dedicate some thought to a simple question: If
I were to write a book on this topic, what would it be
like? After a few days of contemplative wandering, a
compelling phrase popped into my head: digital
minimalism. From there, I began to furiously take notes,
and an outline of a philosophy emerged.
My first step in validating this idea was to run it by my
wife, Julie, who, in addition to being my best friend and
an indefatigable mother to our three children, is my
primary sounding board for all things related to my
writing career. Her enthusiastic response motivated me
to keep pushing forward. On returning home, I sent a
note to my longtime literary agent and publishing world
mentor, Laurie Abkemeier, floating the idea that we put
my current project on hold to tackle this new idea first.
She agreed and helped me immensely through the

---

difficult process of shaping my loose ideas into a tightly
focused book proposal, and then rolling out the proposal
to the publishing world in such a way that they would
share my excitement. I’m incredibly grateful for her
tireless efforts during this demanding period.
I am, of course, also thankful to my editor, Niki
Papadopoulos at Portfolio, as well as Adrian Zackheim,
the founder and publisher of the imprint, for taking on
this project and believing in its potential. Niki’s guidance
was invaluable in helping me transform the early drafts
of my manuscript into something strong and compelling.
I must also thank Vivian Roberson at Portfolio for her
insightful help in polishing the manuscript and
shepherding it through production, and Tara Gilbride for
leading the publicity efforts for this book. Working with
the entire team at Portfolio has been nothing but a
pleasure. As an author, I couldn’t have asked for a better
experience.

---

Notes
INTRODUCTION
: Andrew Sullivan, “I Used to Be a
Human Being,” New York, September 18, 2016,
http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/09/andrew-sullivan-my-distraction-
sickness-and-yours.html
.
more on Jaron Lanier’s thoughts about the primacy of negativity in the
attention marketplace, see his Vox podcast interview with Ezra Klein from
January 16, 2018, 
https://www.vox.com/2018/1/16/16897738/jaron-
lanier-interview
.
Life in the Woods (New York: Dover Publications, 2012), 59. Because the
text of Walden is in the public domain, many different online, ebook, audio,
and print editions of the book exist. I cite the Dover print edition for the
purposes of providing page numbers. All quotes from Walden that I
reference, however, correspond exactly to the public domain version of text
(e.g., as accessible here: 
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/205/205-h/205-
h.htm
).
Hays (New York: Modern Library, 2003), 18.