The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World

by David Sax Narrated by David Sax

Overview

The beloved author of*The Revenge of Analog*lays out a case for a human future--not the false technological utopia we've been living.

For years, consumers have been promised a simple, carefree digital future.*We could live, work, learn, and play from the comforts of our homes, and have whatever we desire brought to our door with the flick of a finger. Instant communication would bring us together. Technological convenience would give us more time to focus on what really mattered.

When the pandemic hit, that future transformed into the present, almost overnight. And the reviews aren't great. It turns out that leaving the house is underrated, instant communication spreads anger better than joy, and convenience takes away time rather than giving it to us. Oops.

But as David Sax argues in this insightful book, we've also had our eyes opened. There is nothing about the future that has to be digital, and embracing the reality of human experience doesn't mean resisting change. In chapters exploring work, school, leisure, and more, Sax asks perceptive and pointed questions: what happens to struggling students when they're not in a classroom? If our software is built for productivity, who tends to the social and cultural aspects of our jobs? Can you have religion without community?

For many people, the best parts of quarantine have been the least digital ones: baking bread, playing board games, going hiking. We used our hands and hugged our children and breathed fresh air. This book suggests that if we want a healthy future, we need to choose not convenience but community, not technology but humanity.

Editorial Reviews

SEPTEMBER 2022 - AudioFile

David Sax narrates his extended plea for a return to real-life experiences in a world awash in technology. His earnestness is evident in his performance. Sax provides deep introspection on the nature of life during the Covid pandemic, a moment that technology companies promised we'd cope with through Zoom meetups, virtual school, and ever-present mobile devices. The problem, according to Sax? This new virtual world is devoid of spontaneity. In fact, it flat-out "sucks." Living through our screens is emotionally and physically exhausting, and every moment becomes planned, even the well-intentioned after-work video conference gatherings. Listeners will appreciate Sax's affable voice, especially as he conveys truly relatable moments in a never-ending struggle with digital work-life balance. S.P.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

★ 10/03/2022

The Covid-19 pandemic revealed that there are limits to what an online world can and should provide, according to this provocative account from journalist Sax (The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter). Sax posits that virtual substitutes for work, school, and religious activities missed much of the point: Zoom learning, for instance, drastically limited the ability of teachers to interact with their students, and he cites studies that suggest remote work led to burnout. The online shift, Sax writes, came “at a tremendous cost to our humanity,” but a digital world doesn’t have to be the norm. Instead, Sax imagines an “analog future” that’s less a Luddite’s utopia than one that “incorporates all the hard lessons we learned from those difficult years when we lived through a screen” and consists of more outdoor dining, better libraries, accessible outdoor space, and no virtual school, which he calls one of “history’s terrible ideas.” With moving anecdotes (as when his daughter cried because online school offered “ ‘just the work, but none of the fun’ of regular school”), Sax presents a solid case that technology should keep the “real world front and center.” This up-close look at the costs of digital convenience delivers. Agent: Jim Levine, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (Nov.)

From the Publisher

[A]pproachable, witty… [a] deft, colorful discussion."—Kirkus

“[P]rovocative… This up-close look at the costs of digital convenience delivers.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“David Sax convincingly argues that the dream of an effortless digital future is deeply flawed. If we learn anything lasting from the pandemic, it should be that a meaningful life requires messy, wonderful, analog connections with the world around us.”—Cal Newport, New York Times–bestselling author of Digital Minimalism and Deep Work

“Please read this book (the paper version if possible) and discuss it with friends and colleagues (in person over a coffee if possible).”—A.J. Jacobs, bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically and The Puzzler

“There is magic in live. There is magic in real. There is magic in analog. This book is a loud and much-needed back crack for our twisted techno-obsessed society.”—Neil Pasricha, #1 bestselling author of author of The Happiness Equation and The Book of Awesome

“The Future Is Analog is a must-read book if you want to return to what really matters in life: authentic connections, conversations, and depth of character. My only wish is I could have submitted this quote in pencil.”—Ari Wallach, author of Longpath

“Sax brilliantly investigated how we saw the future living online during the pandemic and were reminded of the ineffable beauty and humanity of being present without screens. The Future Is Analog is the perfect guide to help us stay focused on what matters in the blinding light of a technology-filled world.”—Tiffany Shlain, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder the Webby Awards, and author of national bestseller 24/6

In The Future is Analog, David Sax paints a sage and intimate portrait of our digital present, unpacks the promises of what comes next, and reminds us of the physical, un-virtual beauty of living in the analog world. It’s the book for right now.
 —Nathan Englander, author of What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank and Kaddish.com

Considering our abuse of the natural world, more pandemics are on the way. But with or without virulent viruses, the epidemic of human loneliness is bound to grow. No vaccine will be available for that chronic affliction, but in his fine book, The Future is Analog, David Sax prescribes ongoing treatments designed to physically reunite humans within the wider family of nature.
 —Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle

“With facts, humor, and relatability, The Future Is Analog is an insightful snapshot of society’s current state. Even more important, it’s a call for readers to examine what makes us human and to strive to build more of it into our daily lives.”—Brand Outlaw

“[A] quirky and fascinating book… This is an entertaining book; Sax is no dour traditionalist… Sax’s “analog” framing permits a whole cavalcade of social critiques to reside comfortably in the same book.”—The Bulwark

SEPTEMBER 2022 - AudioFile

David Sax narrates his extended plea for a return to real-life experiences in a world awash in technology. His earnestness is evident in his performance. Sax provides deep introspection on the nature of life during the Covid pandemic, a moment that technology companies promised we'd cope with through Zoom meetups, virtual school, and ever-present mobile devices. The problem, according to Sax? This new virtual world is devoid of spontaneity. In fact, it flat-out "sucks." Living through our screens is emotionally and physically exhausting, and every moment becomes planned, even the well-intentioned after-work video conference gatherings. Listeners will appreciate Sax's affable voice, especially as he conveys truly relatable moments in a never-ending struggle with digital work-life balance. S.P.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2022-06-22
A sociological study arguing that the pandemic reinforced a widespread desire for old-school, “analog” connectivity.

Toronto-based reporter and writer Sax follows up his well-received The Revenge of Analog by testing its thesis against the upheavals caused by Covid-19: “Digital technology will continue its advance [but]…the analog world remains the one that matters most.” The author considers how unpleasant months of enforced isolation upended his life, tartly noting, “The digital future was finally here! And it fucking sucked.” In response, Sax envisions a future “where digital technology actually elevates the most valuable parts of the analog world rather than replacing them,” and he organizes the text into seven sections, reflecting the priorities we encounter in a typical week: work, schooling, commerce, and so forth. In each chapter, he first outlines the unexpected pitfalls of digital life and then suggests more humane, contemplative approaches that acknowledge progressive solutions from pre-pandemic society, which he terms “rear-looking innovations.” For instance, he argues in favor of “the physical space of the office and the human relationships that occur there,” noting how remote work proved frustrating in many fields. As a parent, Sax grimly views virtual schooling in terms of its “soul crushing disappointment,” recalling how, “as weeks turned to months, everyone except the heroic teachers stopped caring.” He discusses how this misadventure revealed rampant economic inequality in student preparedness while highlighting the emotional aspects of learning relative to the physicality of schools. Likewise, Sax examines how digital commerce proved both helpful and destructive. The shortcomings of gentrification in cities became clearer, and issues of personal faith, communication, and political discourse were likewise strained. The author relies on (virtual) interviews throughout, synthesizing the views of academics, other authors, and his suburban peers. This creates a pop-psych feel to the text, rendered in an approachable, witty style punctuated with personal asides poking fun at his own relative privilege during the pandemic.

Deft, colorful discussion focused more on social prescriptions than on specific, tangible analog things.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175513050
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	11/15/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged

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