How did this happen? We’re all living ultra-connected lives. In our pockets we have tiny technological miracles through which we can communicate, instantly, with anyone on the planet. Yet we are lonelier than ever before. Research has shown that levels of anxiety and depression have exploded, especially in the younger generation, who push time spent connected to the extreme.

Professor of computer science and author on this subject, Cal Newport, explains why. We have evolved to be part of a mutually supportive human tribe, where being isolated meant danger. As far as our brains are concerned, digital interactions do not play the same role as real conversations. Instead, they pull our time and attention away from real-world interactions, and our brains react as if something is wrong. In addition, constant connection means that downtime is being eroded from our lives, and we are losing the ability to just be.

We discuss the concept of digital minimalism and how we all need to spend time doing what Cal calls, ‘high-quality leisure activities’. Finally, Cal gives some brilliant tips on decluttering your digital world. This is a thought-provoking conversation – I hope you enjoy it! I cover these issues in my new book, ‘The Stress Solution’ and suggest simple ways in which we can all bring back real-life connection into our lives.

Episode Highlights:

• Hear about Cal’s books Deep Work and Digital Minimalism
• Why does Cal think that ‘less is more’ with social media?
• How is social media increasing the rate of loneliness?
• Why does Cal think we can benefit from solitude and how social media erodes this possibility?
• How has our work productivity diminished now that we are ultra-connected through technology?
• How is our improved digital connection having a negative effect on our personal lives?
• Hear how some people are now growing up dependent on their digital existence being available 24 hours a day.
• How big a problem does Cal see our addiction to social media?
• Hear about the digital decluttering experiment Cal did with a group of volunteers and how they learned ways to cut out various digital aspects from their day-to-day lives.
• How can having regular ‘analog’ leisure activities help replace time spent digitally?
• Does Cal have a smartphone and what did Steve Jobs originally envisage for the iPhone?
• Why are people reverting to listening to music again via CD or vinyl?
• Hear about Tristan Harris and the way social media companies have designed apps to be addictive, like slot machines.
• What is the impact on your relationships when you reduce your social media use?
• Hear how Cal has studied the Amish community and its view on digital technology and social media.
• What are Cal’s top tips?

Further learning:

• The New York Times – A Call to Cut Back Online Addictions. Pitted Against Just One More Click
• Sophie Leroy – Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes – Why is it so Hard to do My Work? The Challenge of Attention Residue when Switching Between Work Tasks
• David Sax – The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter
• Tristan Harris – Ted talk: How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds everyday
• Robin Dunbar – We can only ever have 150 friends at most…