Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Digital Diet by Daniel Sieberg - Book review
The Digital Diet
The 4-step plan to break your tech addiction and regain balance in your life
By: Daniel Sieberg
Published: May 3, 2011
Format: Trade Paperback, 272 pages
ISBN: 978-0-307-88738-2
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
"But I've come to recognize that sometime in the last decade we've transitioned from being a culture that uses technology to being one that is completely absorbed by it. The sheer volume began to overwhelm us, and the swelling flood of gadgets and Web sites and doodads started to align into a force that invaded our lives", writes technology expert and self described recovering digital addict Daniel Sieberg, in his perceptive and life restoring book The Digital Diet: The 4-step plan to break your tech addiction and regain balance in your life. The author describes how the overwhelming amount of technology available, and its constant demands on users, has created a distracted population that seems almost unable to carry on standard conversation or live a life immersed in electronic gadgets.
Daniel Sieberg points out that he suffered from the technology overload that enters every aspect of his life. With so many technology tools pulling on his every moment of time, the author shares how his interpersonal relations were suffering from neglect. As a result of this technological addiction, Daniel Sieberg created and utilized a system that helped him to cut back dramatically on his electronics use, but recovered his personal life as well. Instead of taking the approach that technology overuse should simply be stopped for a time, the author encourages developing a more holistic appreciation of the advantages and the limitations of technology. Through a deeper awareness of the importance and hidden dangers of too much electronics immersion, a more balanced life that includes the benefits of technology as well as its risks, can be obtained and enjoyed.
Daniel Sieberg (photo left) makes clear that his book isn't about any supposed evils of technology, but rather about using technology in the right way to enhance a person's life or business. Instead of being an anti-technology Luddite, the author encourages embracing the many benefits of technology use. For Daniel Sieberg, the use of technology must be balanced with a well rounded life away from the technology distractions. To help ease his own increasing dependence on technology use, the author has devised a four step program to ease the technological pressures on a person's life. The four steps are:
1. Re: Think - consider the ubiquitous nature of technology on society and yourself
2. Re: Boot - Using Sieberg's Virtual Weight Index, calculate your use level
3. Re: connect - Bring back the relationships damaged by technology overuse
4: Re: Vitalize - Live a balanced life with technology and personal relationships
For me, the power of the book is how Daniel Sieberg provides a holistic and integrated approach to reducing the constant distraction of technology and its effects on a person's life. Unlike, many books on the topic of lowering technology dependency, the author doesn't advocate a complete technology withdrawal. Instead, with the four step plan for developing and nurturing a more balanced life both using technology and in the non-wired world, provides a responsible and realistic alternative. Daniel Sieberg goes beyond the basic daily issues that involve technology overload, and shares some valuable advice for improving communication within families and circles of friends. The same principles are equally effective for enhancing technology efficiency within organizations.
Daniel Sieberg doesn't simply end with the reevaluation of technology usage, but also considers the health and fitness of the individual. The inclusion of the valuable Sieberg's Virtual Weight Index helps the reader to assess their own technology overload level, and provides a guide to reorganizing the use of technology. Rather than writing about the evils of technology, Daniel Sieberg is a supporter of technology and its importance for improving business productivity, and for enhancing relationships between people. The author's important message is to not let technology take over a person's life at the expense of their interpersonal relationships. This book is both restorative and engagement oriented, making it an essential part of any study of technology and society.
I highly recommend the potentially life changing and restorative book The Digital Diet: The 4-shttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giftep plan to break your tech addiction and regain balance in your life by Daniel Sieberg, to anyone seeking a useful and realistic approach to reducing technology overload, while continuing to enjoy the benefits accruing from the multitude of electronic gadgets available for use. At the same time, this book is also about living a balanced life where both personal relationships and technological considerations are integrated into a seamless whole.
Read the practical and insightful book The Digital Diet: The 4-step plan to break your tech addiction and regain balance in your life by Daniel Sieberg, and discover proven techniques for restoring balance to your life, and rebuilding family communications. This book will help you enjoy the benefits of technology, without its drawbacks. That is a powerful combination for anyone.
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For much more information about Daniel Sieberg and The Digital Diet: The 4-step plan to break your tech addiction and regain balance in your life visit http://www.danielsieberg.com/. For your own copy, visit Amazon.com (print) and Amazon.com (Kindle).
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