The study and appreciation of the life, works and times of Arnold Bennett

Digital Addiction Getting You Down? Try an Analog Cure.

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Digital Addiction Getting You Down?
Try an Analog Cure

By Cal Newport.  New York Times
April 8, 2019

. . . Mr. Bennett is not a name that typically comes to mind when seeking advice about our current high-tech moment. But he should be.
In 1905, Mr. Bennett stepped away from his traditional genres to produce a short but remarkable volume of self-help literature titled “How to Live on 24 Hours a Day.” Targeted to the middle-class, white-collar workers who were filling in the growing London suburbs, Mr. Bennett argued that making the most of their leisure time was the key to cultivating a meaningful life. His suggestion for doing so was clear: rigorous intellectual self-improvement through reading and concentrated thought.
The specifics of this vision, in which the British “salaryman” scrutinizes Dante, are obviously dated. But there’s a deeper general truth lurking beneath the details: What you do with your spare time matters.

Article online at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/smarter-living/digital-addiction-getting-you-down-try-an-analog-cure.html

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