Synopses & Reviews
From email to smart phones, and from social media to Google searches, digital technologies have transformed the way we learn, entertain ourselves, socialize, and work. Despite their usefulness, these technologies have often led to information overload, stress, and distraction. In recent years many of us have begun to look at the pluses and minuses of our online lives and to ask how we might more skillfully use the tools we’ve developed.
David M. Levy, who has lived his life between the “fast world” of high tech and the “slow world” of contemplation, offers a welcome guide to being more relaxed, attentive, and emotionally balanced while online. In a series of exercises carefully designed to help readers observe and reflect on their own use, Levy has readers watch themselves closely while emailing and while multitasking, and then to experiment with unplugging for a specified period. Never prescriptive, the book opens up new avenues for self-inquiry and will allow readers—in the workplace, in the classroom, and in the privacy of their homes—to make meaningful and powerful changes.
Review
“The debate concerning the pros and cons of our new digital life is intense and books on topic are plentiful. David Levy offers a very different and unique approach to these issues, one that reveals a profound respect for human freedom and inspires an ethical inquiry as to how we consciously choose to live our lives. This is a masterful book.”—Arthur Zajonc, Mind & Life Institute
Synopsis
Through a series of lucid and engaging exercises, readers are invited to discover healthier and more effective digital practices
About the Author
David M. Levy is a professor at the Information School of the University of Washington. He has for many years led efforts to bring contemplative practices and perspectives into higher education. He lives in Seattle, WA.