Thursday 2 April 2020

Logging Off by Nick Spalding

Andy is addicted to tech, and it's causing physical problems. His doctor recommends a complete digital detox, and Andy is forced to agree. Kept on the straight and narrow by his journalist best friend in the name of well-written soft news, he's amazed when his crusade actually seems to connect with people. Can he make real connections in an analog world?

There's an odd dichotomy about reading this on a kindle; I kept expecting someone to show up and remind me that I was supposed to be on a detox. That's how absorbing this novel is.

It's true that most people spend a lot of time on tech nowadays, And I'd easily believe that it's having physical effects. I liked that this book did not make any claims to easy answers; in fact, it made a point of explaining that detoxing is not a one-fits-all solution, may not help everyone, and that there are as many bad points to it as good ones. The world is not kind to people who can't access the internet nowadays and Andy has several problems that would have been easily avoided if he'd had his phone.

This is also a remarkably funny book, not preachy at all. I very much enjoyed reading it.


Andy Bellows is in a right state. Plagued with insomnia, anxiety and neckache, he’s convinced there’s something seriously wrong with him. And the worst thing is that his doctor agrees. The diagnosis: Andy is in the grip of a self-destructive addiction to technology—he just cannot put that bloody mobile phone down.

Texting, tweeting, gaming and online dating—technology rules Andy’s life. His phone even monitors his bowel movements. So how will he cope when he’s forced to follow doctor’s orders and step away from all of his beloved screens?

From having to leave the flat in search of food like some kind of Neanderthal to engaging in conversations with actual people, Andy’s about to discover just how bewildering—and scary—the analogue world can be.

And when his sixty-day detox hits the headlines—making him a hero to suffering technophiles everywhere—Andy is sorely tempted to pack it all in and escape in the nearest Uber.

Can he get himself out of this mess, and work out how to live a better, technologically balanced life…without consulting Google even once?

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