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jenniferstringer's review
3.0
Some good ideas; maybe a few chapters could be more succinct, but that's the editor's job. Very solid and worthwhile information.
mercin's review
4.0
Interesting ideas presented like the Digital Sabbath. Somewhat disjointed. Liked the descriptions of how walking can be important to focus.
usrbinry4n's review
2.0
I think I am done with Pang's writing. I liked this book better than rest, which turns out to be a chapter in this book. The Distraction Addiction is mostly a digital self-help book about those who are facing the idea that they are spending too much time on their devices. Pang suggest making a technology diary to recall how much time you are spending on your devices and on what. He also suggest to write down what was the intentional reason you started using your device. I believe that there is software that can perform this task for you now but writing it down might also be therapeutic. I am not really sure who would benefit from this book as I believe that most people don't think they don't have a problem or wouldn't take this advice anyway. I would prefer to read about the effects of these types of addictions rather than simple ways to taper off.
benrogerswpg's review
2.0
It was only okay.
I would recommend instead reading Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
I would recommend instead reading Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
bethgiven's review
4.0
Confession: I routinely use the Internet to unwind. When I have a minute to myself, I'll hop online and peruse blogs or Pinterest or Facebook. I think that's okay to some extent (I mean, I don't watch TV or movies, so that frees up a lot of my time, right?), but sometimes I feel almost compelled to "check in" and "keep up" with those sites, even though rationally I know that I'm usually only missing a bunch of garbage.
But while I want to conquer that compulsion, I don't want to have to give up the Internet altogether! I think technology can be so useful: I can keep in touch with extended family, and it's a great source of information and ideas and inspiration. And seriously -- what would I do without Goodreads??
I could really identify with how the author put it: "Social media is like the stream you can't step in twice ... when you give up trying to follow all your friends all the time, you need to accept that you're just going to miss some fascinating things ... At best, staying on top of my Twitter and Facebook feeds is like trying to stay involved in a dozen fascinating conversations at a party. As stimulating as that can be, it's too much to keep track of if I ever want to have my own thoughts." (p. 165)
But rather than abandoning it altogether, the author advocates using technology as a tool and not a time-waster. He called the idea "contemplative computing," meaning that we, as the humans, are the masters of our gadgets and not the other way around. We don't have to hold our breath while our email loads (he means it literally; apparently this is a very common response!) or answer every message immediately (with smartphones that alert us instantly, we equate the interruption with urgency -- it's not usually the case) or answer the siren song of social media when we should be working. He acknowledges occasional abstinence from technology (a "digital Sabbath"), but there are lots of other ideas, too.
But this goes way, way beyond just being a self-help book for people with ringxiety (which is, apparently, a very real phenomenon to those who are addicted to their smartphones!). As the author addresses his points, he explores a multitude of related topics: the history of type and silent reading, how walking helped Darwin bring about scientific discovery, why humans should be multitaskers but not switchtaskers, how the brain reacts to virtual reality, the role of "flow" in creativity, how memory works, and more. There were a few topics I didn't care too much about (I felt like this book leaned heavily toward Buddhism, for example, and he kept coming back to it), but for the most part I was completely fascinated.
I'm not sure who I would recommend this to; while I thought the extra information was extremely interesting, there are plenty of fellow Goodreads reviewers who seem bugged that there were so many "tangents." But as for me, I sure enjoyed this one -- I'll be thinking on it for a long time to come. I think if you enjoy pop-sci books -- like the ones Malcolm Gladwell or Jonah Lehrer write -- you might like this one, too. Very smart, deep writing while still being accessible.
A note for my friends looking for clean reads: I was very disappointed to come across the f-word sometime after page 200 (really?!!); otherwise there's no profanity whatsoever.
But while I want to conquer that compulsion, I don't want to have to give up the Internet altogether! I think technology can be so useful: I can keep in touch with extended family, and it's a great source of information and ideas and inspiration. And seriously -- what would I do without Goodreads??
I could really identify with how the author put it: "Social media is like the stream you can't step in twice ... when you give up trying to follow all your friends all the time, you need to accept that you're just going to miss some fascinating things ... At best, staying on top of my Twitter and Facebook feeds is like trying to stay involved in a dozen fascinating conversations at a party. As stimulating as that can be, it's too much to keep track of if I ever want to have my own thoughts." (p. 165)
But rather than abandoning it altogether, the author advocates using technology as a tool and not a time-waster. He called the idea "contemplative computing," meaning that we, as the humans, are the masters of our gadgets and not the other way around. We don't have to hold our breath while our email loads (he means it literally; apparently this is a very common response!) or answer every message immediately (with smartphones that alert us instantly, we equate the interruption with urgency -- it's not usually the case) or answer the siren song of social media when we should be working. He acknowledges occasional abstinence from technology (a "digital Sabbath"), but there are lots of other ideas, too.
But this goes way, way beyond just being a self-help book for people with ringxiety (which is, apparently, a very real phenomenon to those who are addicted to their smartphones!). As the author addresses his points, he explores a multitude of related topics: the history of type and silent reading, how walking helped Darwin bring about scientific discovery, why humans should be multitaskers but not switchtaskers, how the brain reacts to virtual reality, the role of "flow" in creativity, how memory works, and more. There were a few topics I didn't care too much about (I felt like this book leaned heavily toward Buddhism, for example, and he kept coming back to it), but for the most part I was completely fascinated.
I'm not sure who I would recommend this to; while I thought the extra information was extremely interesting, there are plenty of fellow Goodreads reviewers who seem bugged that there were so many "tangents." But as for me, I sure enjoyed this one -- I'll be thinking on it for a long time to come. I think if you enjoy pop-sci books -- like the ones Malcolm Gladwell or Jonah Lehrer write -- you might like this one, too. Very smart, deep writing while still being accessible.
A note for my friends looking for clean reads: I was very disappointed to come across the f-word sometime after page 200 (really?!!); otherwise there's no profanity whatsoever.
kb_09's review
3.0
I was interested in his ideas of how to not be as addicted to the internet/electronics, but I found myself rushing through the end of the book. It's an interesting read, but something that I probably wouldn't read again.
yapha's review
3.0
The author makes some very good points about mindful computing and making sure that you are using technology in ways that are helpful. I particularly enjoyed the piece on the Digital Sabbath. This was our faculty summer reading book for 2014.
lbrex's review
4.0
I often struggle with my writing because I am addicted to facebook, a number of blogs, and other tantalizing aspects of the internet. I read this book in order to attempt to address these technological distractions, and I found it useful in many ways. The opening chapters on zenware directed me to a number of word processing programs (some of which are free) that can help one avoid the distractions of email and MS Word’s overwhelming buttons and functions. The later chapters, especially the one that focused on Darwin, walking, and places of contemplation, were also useful in helping me consider what kinds of non-writing activities that can aid in thinking through the problems of my writing. The writer’s distinctions between effective and ineffective multitasking are also refreshing. Surprise! You really can’t write, eat, look at twitter, and listen to Lady Gaga all at the same time!
Pang's style is clear and direct, meaning that this can be read rather easily, though there is a tendency at points for the author’s obviously successful and rather posh lifestyle to get in the way. Like Pico Iyer in The Global Soul, Pang is doing rather well and enjoying the connections and amenities that work with Microsoft and time in Cambridge, UK, have brought him. At times, I wanted to hear less about the highly successful woman he met in a futuristic-looking bistro in Palo Alto to discuss “flow” and hear a little more about how people with limited resources might adopt the techniques mentioned here.
Pang's style is clear and direct, meaning that this can be read rather easily, though there is a tendency at points for the author’s obviously successful and rather posh lifestyle to get in the way. Like Pico Iyer in The Global Soul, Pang is doing rather well and enjoying the connections and amenities that work with Microsoft and time in Cambridge, UK, have brought him. At times, I wanted to hear less about the highly successful woman he met in a futuristic-looking bistro in Palo Alto to discuss “flow” and hear a little more about how people with limited resources might adopt the techniques mentioned here.
brizreading's review
3.0
Picked this up after hearing the author, Alex Pang, on a very intriguing episode of Buddhist Geeks. Maybe it just hit me in the right moment - my life had paused in a little eddy of Dharma Lite ("Hmm, maybe I should meditate again or something?"), and the ever-gushing torrent of INTERNETTTT OMGGGG (i.e. my techlove). Anyway, it really hit the spot in that sense.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with some of the other reviews I've seen here: it's a bit rambley, a bit meandering, and could have been edited down to something a lot shorter and snappier. In particular, I'd often end up confused (and a little impatient!) after I'd find myself deep into a long, seemingly irrelevant digression into:
- Psychedelic drugs in ancient civilizations
- The path around Darwin's house in England
- These cool VR researchers, doing cool psychology experiments (including that famous one about people behaving different when they get sexier-looking avatars)...
- ...this digressed even further into a note about stereotype threat! Yo, I love stereotype threat, I be droppin' it at aaaalll the parties, but - what!? why?!
- Some unexamined, uncritical press release copypasta about the (IMHO, controversial and not so great) One Laptop Per Child program (talk about development bloat!).
How does all this relate to our eroding attention spans amid myriad tech distractions, and the ways we can claim our brains back? I DON'T KNOW. I couldn't make heads or tails of it, and often found myself plowing through these bits, waiting for the point to emerge. Pang does do an OK-ish job of tying it all up in the very end, but it still felt like many of those pages could have been paragraphs.
That said, there are some nuggets of very interesting issues in here; particularly his adapting Abraham Heschel's ideas on the Jewish sabbath to our digital age. Indeed, that's what he talked about in the Buddhist Geeks podcast, that's basically why I bought the book, and that's what I ended up liking most about it (I know, I know). Other very interesting bits included the (slightly fanboy-ish and unfortunately outdated - some of those apps are dead or different now) overview of "Zenware" (i.e. Freedom, WriteRoom, Futureful (?)), and the Buddhist monastic responses to it. Also, when Pang is on his game, his writing can be smart and funny.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with some of the other reviews I've seen here: it's a bit rambley, a bit meandering, and could have been edited down to something a lot shorter and snappier. In particular, I'd often end up confused (and a little impatient!) after I'd find myself deep into a long, seemingly irrelevant digression into:
- Psychedelic drugs in ancient civilizations
- The path around Darwin's house in England
- These cool VR researchers, doing cool psychology experiments (including that famous one about people behaving different when they get sexier-looking avatars)...
- ...this digressed even further into a note about stereotype threat! Yo, I love stereotype threat, I be droppin' it at aaaalll the parties, but - what!? why?!
- Some unexamined, uncritical press release copypasta about the (IMHO, controversial and not so great) One Laptop Per Child program (talk about development bloat!).
How does all this relate to our eroding attention spans amid myriad tech distractions, and the ways we can claim our brains back? I DON'T KNOW. I couldn't make heads or tails of it, and often found myself plowing through these bits, waiting for the point to emerge. Pang does do an OK-ish job of tying it all up in the very end, but it still felt like many of those pages could have been paragraphs.
That said, there are some nuggets of very interesting issues in here; particularly his adapting Abraham Heschel's ideas on the Jewish sabbath to our digital age. Indeed, that's what he talked about in the Buddhist Geeks podcast, that's basically why I bought the book, and that's what I ended up liking most about it (I know, I know). Other very interesting bits included the (slightly fanboy-ish and unfortunately outdated - some of those apps are dead or different now) overview of "Zenware" (i.e. Freedom, WriteRoom, Futureful (?)), and the Buddhist monastic responses to it. Also, when Pang is on his game, his writing can be smart and funny.