Over the last few weeks, I’ve been talking with my Patrons on our exclusive podcast about my experiments with a Digital Detox/Minimalism experiment. Today, I am unveiling the process to all our readers.
What is a Digital Declutter, Digital Detox or Digital Minimalism?
Digital Minimalism, Detoxing or Decluttering are all terms used to describe an effort to reduce time spent on social media, streaming services and mindlessly scrolling. It is an effort to spend time more meaningfully, allowing time for thinking and interacting with creative content like music, movies and books as well as leaving time for big thinking and boredom which often fosters new ideas.
Some people refer to this as a Digital Detox, others call it Digital Minimalism or Digital Declutter. After years of Marie Kondo and the Minimalism movement (in regards to personal possessions), I have a more visceral response the the term “minimalism” at the moment. Initially, I was using the term “detox”. I thought of the Digital Detox as removing the toxic aspects of technology from my life and leaving the necessary and useful parts. I do know that Detoxing is a word that can be loaded for other people so I’ve decided to use the term “digital declutter.” I want to remove what I no longer need or that no longer serves me to make room for the things that are important to me.
If the concept of simplifying your digital life and reducing your dependence on technology you can call it whatever resonates with you.
As lovers of analog tools, I think we are all in a position to transition to less time online and more time on analog hobbies but there are challenges we will all have to parse through.
For me, as a small business owner, I don’t spend as much time on social media apps as other people but I do constantly pick up my phone to check for incoming emails, texts or orders. I know its irrational to answer emails and texts at 10pm on a Tuesday but I want to be “ever vigilant”. Thinking though the costs and benefits of being constantly “on” is a big part of this challenge for me. I know I need to give myself time to rest so this is part of my project I need to work on.
I can still lose an hour or more scrolling through Instagram or Reddit. I can waste time scrolling through recommendations on GoodReads or playing a game. I am not immune to the lure of “goofing off”. And I want to change that. A quote from one of the books I’ve read talks about how time is finite and no one will ever say “I wish I spent more time on Facebook (or TikTok or Instagram, etc)”. So, some of this adventure is to figure out what I DO want to spend my time doing.
My plan is to reduce the amount of time I spend mindlessly scrolling on social media, streaming content and answering emails at all hours. I want to spend more time outside, reading, making things with my hands and spending time in the real world.
Step One: Homework
For me, the first step of this Digital Declutter challenge was to GO TO THE LIBRARY! I wanted to read about other people who have attempted projects like this and develop a better understanding as to why I should reduce my online consumption as well as tips for making the process a little easier.
I checked out a variety of books on the topic of smartphone overuse, algorithms, and how these might affect our mental health. I have spent the last few weeks reading about the hows and whys for a Digital Declutter. Below are short reviews for several of the books I’ve read along with my recommendations for the best books for various approaches.
While many people will recommend Digital Minimalism as the gateway book into thinking about how and why we use our “smart” phones, social media and the onslaught of content, I prefer Hari’s book. It takes both a personal experience of living without a smartphone for a prescribed amount of time with research into attention issues, algorithms, and all the aspects that go into our culture feeling more disconnected from one another while having a tool in our pockets that should make us feel more connected than in any other time in history.
Hari introduces the full spectrum of issues around the addictiveness of cell phones and apps that have been created by tech companies as well as the need for individual, political and societal responsibilities to curb the problems that have been created (see “Chapter 8: The Rise of Cruel Optimism” which I think was a lightbulb moment for me).
The last portion of the book looks at many of the other potential aspects that could be splintering our attention including climate, toxins in food and the air and even mental health in general. Its a deep bok without a clear step-by-step but lays out a lot of thoughtful topics to consider.
Digital Minimalism has become the recommended book for anyone setting out on a journey away from “always on- always available-always scrolling”. It lays out much of the same research in Part One that is included in Stolen Focus but, in Part Two, it delves into tips and methods for achieving a less online life. Part Two sometimes felt a little preachy and a little privileged in its “get a hobby”, “go to the gym” and “join a book club” suggestions. My hope is that most people who want to spend less time in their life mindlessly scrolling are also fully capable of thinking of projects, or leisure activities they might like to pursue if they felt that had more time.
If you are someone who does better with a step-by-step method for digital detoxing, I would recommend How to Break Up with Your Phone. The book was recently updated in 2025 to better reflect how quickly and dramatically social media, algorithms and endless scrolling have changed in the seven years since the book was originally written. The book walks you through steps to take to slowly separate yourself from your dependence on your phone for entertainment, connection and relief from boredom. While this also offered tips and steps to take it felt less preachy than Digital Minimalism.
Bored & Brilliant was the first book I read on the topic of phone dependence and overuse and decided to re-read it to see if it holds up and it really does. Some of the references do feel a little 2017 but the idea that we have been using our phones to self-soothe since pre-pandemic days remains accurate and astute. Bored & Brilliant started out as a volunteer project associated with Zomorodi’s podcast “Note to Self” before it was turned into a book so she has lots of first person accounts sprinkled through the book as well as her own personal struggles through motherhood and cell phone overuse.
Manoush admits to her own self-soothing app of choice, Two Dots and the audobook even features her interview with the creator of the game as she ask if he intentionally made the game addictive. While I feel like this interview sorts of splits from the overall flow of the book, I appreciate that Manoush is fully willing to admit that she too is lured to her phone when she could be doing something else.
There is a step-by-step process for detoxing in this book if you like a prescribed process to follow for a project like this. I recommend the audiobook version as Zomorodi, podcast and NPR announcer, reads the book herself and feels all the more human as a result.
I think many of the reviews on GoodReads for How To Do Nothing sum up how I felt about this book which range from “Woman discovers trees and then shares the experience in a language that the rest of us use to write grant proposals.” to “the tone is just so smug, lecturing, and talking down at the reader from the lofty heights of liberal academia, as opposed to rooted in the real world where the reader is”.
I’ve made several attempts to read it but it reads like a stoned out grad student decided it would be ironic to write their dissertation on doing nothing. For example, “I am interested in manifest dismantling as a form of purposiveness bound up with remediation…” WTH? While I appreciate a slightly more high-minded approach to the fall of civilization to endless TikTok swiping. How To Do Nothing sort of takes it to the extreme. I feel like both Stolen Focus and Digital Minimalism have the reasearch and scholarly approach without making me feel like I lost the thread of the conversation. As a result, I skimmed through the second half of the book hoping she would become more succinct but no. I do not recommend How To Do Nothing. If you loved it, please disregard my snark.
Filterworld is written in such a way where I was never sure if the author approved of the flattening of culture or was repelled by it. While there is some research and information gleaned from various sources, a lot of the book felt more like observations about the changing of culture as a result of algorithms and global connectivity.
Overall, Chayka finds that our culture and taste is being homogenized because algorithms promote similar content based on popularity of likes, shares, and views. While mainstream popularity has always been influenced by media — tv, magazines, radio, etc — algorithms make it even easier to find content leans into “more of the same” instead of things that surprise, excite or enchant me.
It definitely makes me want to spend more time asking friends for recommendations for films, music, and everything else instead of relying on Instagram or TikTok shop for providing direction.
If you want a quick overview of the book, check out this segment on The Daily Show.
I attempted to listen to the audiobook edition for this book and I do not recommend it. The author reads the text and she uses a lot of vocalizations that I found challenging to listen to. She used “up talk” where every sentence sounds like it ends with a question and some serious vocal fry. It’s clear that she is not a trained audiobook reader and they made it harder to absorb the content so I switched to the ebook version and found the content both shocking and engaging.
I was loosely aware of the many tactics employed by Spotify and other audio streaming platforms but this well-researched book brought all the issues surrounding “laid-back” listening and the rise of filler content was eye-opening. While the book focused specifically on Spotify, my instincts are that the corporatization of music, film, art, images, and all other creative endeavors are in the crosshairs of big business. If you are at all curious about how music has been changed by the “attention economy”, short-form content (TikTok videos, et al), and the rises of data optimization and AI-powered tools, this is definitely worth a read. I’m even more convinced I need to change how I interact with music after reading this.
I read a few reviews that did not like this book but what it presents is a much more personal series of essays loosely held together by the author’s sense of disconnection, distraction and sorrow. Most of the book was written in the midst of the pandemic and brings home many of those feelings we all had during that time. May’s writing is poetic and introspective unlike many of the other books on this list which are far more set in science, interviews and factual statistics. Despite other folks’ opinions, I found this book touching and engaged me in the suffering of someone else. It made me think that I am not alone in my search for enchantment and contentment in this chaotic modern life.
The Every is the only book of fiction on this list. I heard a YouTuber talking about how the book was her impetus to change her relationship to her phone so it seemed like a good option to add to this list. The plot of this book was based on near future where companies like Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook became one big company and basically rules the world. The main character attempts to infiltrate the company in hopes of tearing it down from the inside. Sometimes, fiction is a great lens to view the world through and while there are moments that this book felt too real, there were also moments that did not. Its definitely a cautionary tale and I recommend giving it a shot if fiction is more inspiring than non-fiction to you.
Books Still in My Queue:
I tried to read just about every book I could find on the topic of media consumption, social media and what all this “doom scrolling” is doing to our mental health, social skills and life goals. I ran out of time to include it in this post but I didn’t want to overlook it as Dopamine Nation. I hope to have this read by the end of January. I’ll be sure to update this post when I’ve finished it.
In closing
I would recommend Stolen Focus for a full spectrum overview of how we are distracted by phones and how by regaining control we may improve our lives and our ability to think. Bored & Brilliant and How To Break Up With Your Phone are great books on smartphone dependence and how to break free of the mindless scrolling with more step-by-step techniques. I would actually love to see a revised version of Bored & Brilliant in the way that How To Break Up With Your Phone was updated.
My goal over the next month or so is to share my journey in simplifying my digital life and how I am adding (or re-embracing) simpler, analog tools. Let me know if you have any specific questions or if you’ve set out on a journey like this yourself.
If you have any book recommendations on this broad topic, please drop it in the comments. Thanks!
*All links shown above direct to GoodReads. If you do not have Library Extension currently installed in your browser, I highly recommend taking a moment to add it. This extension will show any available copies of a book at your local library to appear as a list on GoodReads, Amazon and other book services. Support your local library!
