Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell

3 reviews

nataliebootlah's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

How to Do Nothing is a philosophical look at how corporations rely on our willingness to pay attention to what they tell us to pay attention to, otherwise known as the attention economy. 

 

While I did not particularly love this book, the discussion I had with my book club and changes I’ve made so far are telling of the book’s influence. I found How to Do Nothing to be a passionate information dump of why we should pay attention (ba-dum-tiss) to where we’re lending our attention. Should it be on the phone in our hands, constantly indulging in the algorithm? Or, should it instead be on what’s happening in the real world, our lives, and with our family and friends? 

 

I personally took away that to “do nothing” in the context of this book, is a form of protest against the belief that productivity needs to be constant at the expense of our well-being, the growth of our communities, and the destruction of our environment, all while making corporations rich. 

 

I already knew how easy it is to get lost endlessly scrolling for hours on this little app, but I needed a kick-in-the-ass wake up call. There’s a lot going on in the real world (duh) but distraction and FOMO are real. This was a reminder of how important it is to disconnect from my phone and acknowledge and critique what's most important to give my attention to. Thus, I am trying (key-word ‘trying’) to re-engage with the world in thoughtful ways. If you don’t see me online as much, imagine that I’m frolicking in fields, spending time with friends, taking down the patriarchy bit by bit, and burying my nose in new books.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Genocide, Racism, Suicide, Colonisation, and Classism

zombiezami's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction and Suicide

seizure

jbellomy's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective relaxing slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction