The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World
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- Create Date：2022-11-10 16:21:35
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：David Sax
- ISBN：1541701550
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Summary
Bestselling culture writer David Sax lays out the case against a false digital utopia—and for a more human future
In The Future Is Analog， David Sax points out that the onset of the pandemic instantly gave us the digital universe we’d spent so long anticipating。 Instant communication， online shopping， virtual everything。
It didn’t take long to realize how awful it was to live in this promised future。 We craved real experiences， relationships， and spaces and got back to real life as quickly and often as we could。
In chapters exploring work， school， religion， and more， this book asks pointed questions: Is our future inevitably digital？ Can we reject the downsides of digital technology without rejecting change？ Can we innovate not for the sake of productivity but for the good of our social and cultural lives？ Can we build a future that serves us as humans， first and foremost？
This is a manifesto for a different kind of change。 We can spend our creativity and money on building new gadgets—or we can spend them on new ways to be together and experience the world， to bake bread， and climb mountains。 All we need is the clarity to choose which future we want。
In The Future Is Analog， David Sax points out that the onset of the pandemic instantly gave us the digital universe we’d spent so long anticipating。 Instant communication， online shopping， virtual everything。
It didn’t take long to realize how awful it was to live in this promised future。 We craved real experiences， relationships， and spaces and got back to real life as quickly and often as we could。
In chapters exploring work， school， religion， and more， this book asks pointed questions: Is our future inevitably digital？ Can we reject the downsides of digital technology without rejecting change？ Can we innovate not for the sake of productivity but for the good of our social and cultural lives？ Can we build a future that serves us as humans， first and foremost？
This is a manifesto for a different kind of change。 We can spend our creativity and money on building new gadgets—or we can spend them on new ways to be together and experience the world， to bake bread， and climb mountains。 All we need is the clarity to choose which future we want。
Reviews
Misti
，
I don't usually like to leave low-end reviews but this is such a pandemic book that it doesn't know what to do with itself。 The first chapter itself was terribly too long and left me unable to find the energy to want to read more。 There are better books about the digital/analog divide out there。 *I received an ARC view NetGalley in exchange for my review。* I don't usually like to leave low-end reviews but this is such a pandemic book that it doesn't know what to do with itself。 The first chapter itself was terribly too long and left me unable to find the energy to want to read more。 There are better books about the digital/analog divide out there。 *I received an ARC view NetGalley in exchange for my review。* 。。。more
David Wineberg
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If the pandemic taught us anything， it was that we don’t want an all-digital world。 All-digital is not paradise or heaven。 It is not even a modestly desirable state of being。 I can’t imagine anyone beyond Ray Kurzweil arguing against that。 And yet， here is David Sax， once again hammering on this non-argument in The Future Is Analog。 The chapters of the book are all days of the week， which turns out be completely meaningless， as the topics are things like school， city life， entertainment， smart h If the pandemic taught us anything， it was that we don’t want an all-digital world。 All-digital is not paradise or heaven。 It is not even a modestly desirable state of being。 I can’t imagine anyone beyond Ray Kurzweil arguing against that。 And yet， here is David Sax， once again hammering on this non-argument in The Future Is Analog。 The chapters of the book are all days of the week， which turns out be completely meaningless， as the topics are things like school， city life， entertainment， smart homes， social media， eating， commuting， office work – and little or nothing to do with the individual days of the week。 Readers would be hardpressed to assign its topics to their respective chapters based on their titles。Worse， every chapter is identical in structure。 It begins with cutesy， even cartoonish slices of life， before， during and after the lockdown in Toronto， where Sax lives。 There follows a dissection of the miseries imposed by doing whatever the chapter is about， but digitally， versus the massive relief of doing the same thing in real life， either before the pandemic when everyone considered it a miserable way to live， or after， when everyone was suddenly enraptured with a return to normal。This formula is flat and monotonous。 It never grows into anything: just more of the same， chapter after chapter。 NDSS for those digitally inclined。 In this case， literally。In between there are all kinds of quotes from authors， friends， neighbors and acquaintances to the effect that everything was and is always better in person。 It is better to learn with a teacher right there， to perform before a live audience， to meet in crowded restaurants， to have dinner at someone’s home， to visit the countryside but not have to live there， and on and on。What is wrong with this “analysis” is that the medium is the message， as another famous Torontonian said to great effect。 Zoom meetings are not perfect substitutes for plays or standup comedy or political town halls。 So don’t complain that they don’t work as well as being there。 Digital media have their place。 And in an emergency， society co-opts whatever it needs to keep going。 But Sax doesn’t distance himself to see that perspective on the human world。 For him， humanity is up close and personal， and nothing else rates。Sax moans about how people wilt working remotely， missing the complexity， the support， the friendships of the office and the joys of shopping and eating downtown。 Offices are “hub（s） of interactions and positive relationships。” Yet in the next breath he acknowledges that at least half those jobs stifle people with pointless tasks， curtailment of creativity， boredom， stress， etc。 So offices are not necessarily glorious ways to live and grow， either。 But they’re better than remote work， he insists。 This， even though he personally has worked remotely for 30 years， spending just six weeks as an employee early on。He spends time adoring Jane Jacobs， lover of cities， and hating Robert Moses， bigoted lover of personal automobiles over all else。 He finds a welcoming companion in the architect Richard Florida who says that after studying cities for 40 years， he has never found one that dealt with a pandemic or other biological disaster that “significantly slow（ed） their arc of growth。” He says that cities are not great because of the shops， restaurants and jobs available， but because of the “sheer physical proximity” – the “external economy of human capital。” In Sax’s terms， the analog attributes of humanity。 Who would disagree？ Planned cities suck。 They are dead on arrival and never come to life。 Cities that grow by the force of the people who populate them are endlessly diverting。 The cyclical exodus to the suburbs soon bores the participants。 No news here。 But Sax is after digital anything， and it is ripe for the picking after the pandemic lockdowns。 He points to contact tracing apps that were supposed to corral those exposed to COVID， which did “precisely nothing to actually slow the spread of the virus。” I don’t know if that’s quite true， and Sax provides no backup for it。 But even so， there is a learning curve the whole world is going through。 Some things work， some don’t。 Some are worth adapting; others are total failures。 It doesn’t mean it is wrong to try them， digital or not。 Especially in a global emergency。Sax claims to be a journalist， but that is nowhere to be seen in this book。 A very high percentage of it is memoir。 He writes of family and friends。 He escapes the lockdown to his mother-in-law’s home on Georgian Bay。 He surfs。 He hikes。 He takes acting and speaking classes。 He loves religious ceremony even if he claims not to be very religious。 His wife and kids provide lots of stories for him。 He thrives on live entertainment， and likes to be entertaining among friends。 None of this adds anything to his thesis other than David Sax likes life analog。He loves padding paragraphs out with long， meaningless lists: “Social media helped some democratic reformers win elections and topple dictators， but it also let fascist populists， antidemocratic demagogues， authoritarians， absolute monarchs， Vladimir Putin， and other outright dictators warp truth， spread misinformation， modernize propaganda， repress their citizens， and steal elections at home and abroad with far greater ease than ever before。” I found it easy to just skip them， in search of new ideas。 Spoiler alert: there aren’t any。Sax couldn’t watch Hamilton onscreen after seeing it live。 He says he turned away in two minutes。 That is typical of the level of complaint in The Future Is Analog。 Sax just wants it all， always live and always in his presence so he can feel part of it。 Otherwise he can’t take it。Incredibly， this is the second such book from Sax， who really made his name with the first one， Revenge of the Analog。 He said it all there， and he says it all again here， but with the pandemic behind him this time。 It turns out after reading the whole thing， there is not a single original idea in the 2。0。 Sax’s big discovery is that digital life is less human。 But he doesn’t point out that every technological advance suffers the same criticism。 When typewriters started showing up in offices， customers complained that they were being treated like idiots: “I kin read writin’， y’know，” is the classic reply to receiving a typewritten letter。 Telephones got the same treatment; they were subhuman， impersonal， and had bad quality sound。 But phones don’t stop Sax from vastly increasing his reach for quotes from people all over the world。 He gets to talk to them on the phone at length， and draw them out for the quote he wants。 Phones are okay now， to the point where Sax doesn’t even notice them。 Zoom hasn’t reached that stage yet。 As you have likely noticed， I was completely unable to find anything Sax said that is worth showcasing。 There are no new thoughts here， just Sax’s clear preference for things analog。 In the conclusion， he hopes for less emphasis on the digital and more on the analog， the natural way of life。 He for one， intends to milk them for all they’re worth。 Ironically perhaps， reading The Future Is Analog on a computer screen as I must， is still not as bad as having David Sax read it to me in person。 Some things can be better digitally。David WinebergIf you liked this review， I invite you to read more in my book The Straight Dope。 It’s an essay collection based on my first thousand reviews and what I learned。 Right now it’s FREE for Prime members， otherwise — cheap！ Reputed to be fascinating and a superfast read。 And you already know it is well-written。 https://www。amazon。com/Straight-Dope-。。。 。。。more
Nathan
，
Funny that Sax almost didn't write this book （according to the "Acknowledgements" section）， because he's turned in what's surely to be one of the best of its category for the year。 Definitely one of the essential post-pandemic （to be more specific， post-2020 lockdowns） books; it contains vital information to assist the reader in contextualizing and navigating a lot of thoughts and feelings regarding the move into an "all-digital" society that a world enveloped in COVID-19 forecasted。 From school Funny that Sax almost didn't write this book （according to the "Acknowledgements" section）， because he's turned in what's surely to be one of the best of its category for the year。 Definitely one of the essential post-pandemic （to be more specific， post-2020 lockdowns） books; it contains vital information to assist the reader in contextualizing and navigating a lot of thoughts and feelings regarding the move into an "all-digital" society that a world enveloped in COVID-19 forecasted。 From schools to work to media to leisure， Sax uses his subject-matter authority to helpfully lay out and put to words what many of us either felt but couldn't put into words， hated but slowly forgot once mask mandates lightened， knew all along but needed confirmation from an author。。。the list goes on。 It continually reminded me of Monica Guzman's I NEVER THOUGHT OF IT THAT WAY in how it could be distilled down to a certain point: People are social， conversational creatures and need that interaction to perform at their best on all levels--plain and simple。 Not that he made it any huge riddle or anything， but I am fairly certain that I know the book that he was speaking not so fondly of in here。 Maybe one day I'll find out for certain。 There's something in this book for anyone。 It's a restorative， invigorating read full of expertly-presented information。 Feel free to read it and grow as a human being。 As I said at the top， I have no doubt it'll be one of the best books of the year。 Many thanks to NetGalley and PublicAffairs for the advance read。 。。。more
Amanda Young
，
Coming out of the stay at home life and heading back into the workforce while others were still waiting out the uncertainty of working during covid gave me an interesting insight while reading this book。 "What is an office？ Is it simply a building where people do their work， or does it serve a deeper purpose？" I found this one intriguing while working for a company that wrongfully insisted it's staff had to stringently be at work daily， （even during multiple office outbreaks） while loving the re Coming out of the stay at home life and heading back into the workforce while others were still waiting out the uncertainty of working during covid gave me an interesting insight while reading this book。 "What is an office？ Is it simply a building where people do their work， or does it serve a deeper purpose？" I found this one intriguing while working for a company that wrongfully insisted it's staff had to stringently be at work daily， （even during multiple office outbreaks） while loving the reconnecting I was doing myself diving back into an office environment。 So having seen it from both sides， I felt the author did a great job envisioning what that fine line could/should look like in the future。 How can we as a society push forward so far into the digital realm without losing the best of what makes us feel human！ 。。。more
Elizabeth McLaren
，
Thank you to NetGalley and Public Affairs for the ARC！Before reading， I was very sympathetic to the future Sax wants to build: it eschews needless and isolating digitization in favor of systems and tools that prioritize humanity in their analog nature。 I’m not anti-digital; I’ve owned an iPhone for more than a decade， order my groceries （and most other things） through an app， and enthusiastically work remotely。 But if it came down to it， I’d rather be an off-grid homesteader than upload my soul Thank you to NetGalley and Public Affairs for the ARC！Before reading， I was very sympathetic to the future Sax wants to build: it eschews needless and isolating digitization in favor of systems and tools that prioritize humanity in their analog nature。 I’m not anti-digital; I’ve owned an iPhone for more than a decade， order my groceries （and most other things） through an app， and enthusiastically work remotely。 But if it came down to it， I’d rather be an off-grid homesteader than upload my soul to be the god of my own digital universe。 I was curious about Sax’s take on the direction we’re heading， why we should head elsewhere， and how we can。After reading， I’m still sympathetic to that future。 Perhaps most notably， I’m more convinced that problematic digitization is stoppable and avoidable。 From the epigraph to the final chapter， Sax underlines the concept that the future is something we innovate， create， and choose， not an inevitable path to ubiquitous （and harmful） digitization。 This isn’t a concept I’d dwelled on before， and Sax is right to make a point of it if his argument is to have any impact on the behavior of individuals， institutions， corporations， and tech billionaires alike。However， I had one hangup with this book， and it’s unfortunately a big one: Sax uses the days of COVID-19 lockdown as the proxy for a more heavily digitized future， but I don’t think it’s an appropriate proxy 。 Taking， for example， the chapter on education， Sax laments the [try to] learn-from-home days and deems edtech a failure because of them。 But it’s hard to separate the poor outcomes of edtech from all the variables of the pandemic。 Teachers， admins， and districts had very little time to set up a remote learning system that had a chance at success。 It can take years for a teacher， school， or district to select the right edtech tools and train their users to mastery （and that’s with students still in classrooms！）。 Of course edtech was a poor replacement for in-person learning; there was no infrastructure to support this fast， unwanted transition。 The increased digitization in the early days of the pandemic was jarring and unpleasant because we didn't choose it。 And， it’s difficult to use the lonely days of the pandemic to argue that digitization isolates us and deprives us of “real” human connection when it was a deadly virus， not our screens， that incited fear of in-person interaction。Sax uses interviews and personal experience more than studies and data （though he does use some of the latter）， and many chapters boil down to the simple （but powerful） notion that there’s simply no replacement for in-person interaction。 While I agree with this bottom line， the emphasis on personal experience/anecdotal evidence and the use of the pandemic lockdown as a sample of a digitized future were a bit too weak for me to settle into anything more than mild agreement with Sax’s main point， which I was already primed to be on board with。 。。。more
Pamela
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Thank you to PublicAffairs and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review。 In his work， David Sax presents the following thesis: Since the world’s technological conditions mean the inevitable arrival of a digital future， an analog future is appearing instead。 In the last few years， we have seen the pandemic introduce the WFH model and terminology such as AI and the metaverse find its way into our everyday language。 We continue to question the future in a post-pandemic world。 Thank you to PublicAffairs and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review。 In his work， David Sax presents the following thesis: Since the world’s technological conditions mean the inevitable arrival of a digital future， an analog future is appearing instead。 In the last few years， we have seen the pandemic introduce the WFH model and terminology such as AI and the metaverse find its way into our everyday language。 We continue to question the future in a post-pandemic world。 This book is divided into different aspects of our lives and the pandemic’s long-term impact: Education， commerce， the restaurant industry， the smart city concept， sports， theatre， book clubs， and interpersonal relationships。 These is a sense of hope and optimism for what our digital landscape can provide people， yet Sax ultimately considers the analog， a non-dependency on technology， as the unparalleled form to reconnect with our humanity。 。。。more
Cynthia
，