Q&A with Dr. Cal Newport

Cal Newport is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University. His scholarship focuses on the theory of distributed systems, while his general-audience writing explores intersections of culture and technology. He is the author of seven books, including, most recently, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work. These titles include multiple New York Times bestsellers and have been published in 40 languages. Newport is also a contributing writer for the New Yorker and the host of the Deep Questions podcast.

In his Book, Digital Minimalism, Newport discusses his "digital minimalist" lifestyle and shares strategies for cutting down screen usage. In each section, he describes "practices" that readers can follow to have healthier device habits. 

Purchase Digital Minimalism, and Newport's other bestselling books here.

A: It's important that teenagers have a philosophy for how they approach technology. I suggest starting with the things that you value, and then, for each, asking: "what is the best way to use technology to support this value?" Let the answers to these questions determine what tools or services you use, and the rules by which you use them.

This contrasts to the common approach which is to experiment with any new tool or service that seems interesting or might offer some benefit. This often leads to technology overload.

A: One approach is to make a plan for how you plan to stay in touch. A regularly-scheduled conversation or meet-up. Another approach is to keep a group text message or WhatsApp group active for the summer for exactly this purpose, but limit what times of the day you actually check it. 

A: With social media, in particular, there is increasingly strong evidence around negative mental health impacts. The best researchers on this topic I know say these services are really something that are not appropriate for anyone under the age of 16.

More generally, however, unrestricted internet use has many other secondary impacts. It reduces your ability to concentrate, it eliminates introspection (time alone with your own thoughts), it greatly increases anxiety, it replaces real world social contact (which your mind values much more than digital interaction), and above all else, it distracts you from any number of harder but ultimately more fulfilling activities.