Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing
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- Create Date：2021-05-13 08:51:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Pete Davis
- ISBN：1982140909
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Summary
A profoundly inspiring and transformative argument that purposeful commitment can be a powerful force in our age of restlessness and indecision。
Most of us have had this experience: browsing through countless options on Netflix， unable to commit to watching any given movie—and losing so much time skimming reviews and considering trailers that it’s too late to watch anything at all。 In a book borne of an idea first articulated in a viral commencement address， Pete Davis argues that this is the defining characteristic of the moment: keeping our options open。 We are stuck in “Infinite Browsing Mode”—swiping through endless dating profiles without committing to a single partner， jumping from place to place searching for the next big thing， and refusing to make any decision that might close us off from an even better choice we imagine is just around the corner。 This culture of restlessness and indecision， Davis argues， is causing tension in the lives of young people today: We want to keep our options open， and yet we yearn for the purpose， community， and depth that can only come from making deep commitments。
In Dedicated， Davis examines this quagmire， as well as the counterculture of committers who have made it to the other side。 He shares what we can learn from the “long-haul heroes” who courageously commit themselves to particular places， professions， and causes—who relinquish the false freedom of an open future in exchange for the deep fulfillment of true dedication。 Weaving together examples from history， personal stories， and applied psychology， Davis’s candid and humble words offer a meaningful answer to our modern frustrations and a practical path to joy。
Most of us have had this experience: browsing through countless options on Netflix， unable to commit to watching any given movie—and losing so much time skimming reviews and considering trailers that it’s too late to watch anything at all。 In a book borne of an idea first articulated in a viral commencement address， Pete Davis argues that this is the defining characteristic of the moment: keeping our options open。 We are stuck in “Infinite Browsing Mode”—swiping through endless dating profiles without committing to a single partner， jumping from place to place searching for the next big thing， and refusing to make any decision that might close us off from an even better choice we imagine is just around the corner。 This culture of restlessness and indecision， Davis argues， is causing tension in the lives of young people today: We want to keep our options open， and yet we yearn for the purpose， community， and depth that can only come from making deep commitments。
In Dedicated， Davis examines this quagmire， as well as the counterculture of committers who have made it to the other side。 He shares what we can learn from the “long-haul heroes” who courageously commit themselves to particular places， professions， and causes—who relinquish the false freedom of an open future in exchange for the deep fulfillment of true dedication。 Weaving together examples from history， personal stories， and applied psychology， Davis’s candid and humble words offer a meaningful answer to our modern frustrations and a practical path to joy。
Reviews
J。 Roslyn
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Pete Davis has put his finger on the pulse of those under 40 years of age and found the vast majority split between the excitement of what he has labeled “Infinite Browsing，” or the “Culture of Open Options” and the “Counterculture of Commitment。” Davis covers all of this and more in his first book， “Dedicated: The Case for Commitment In An Age Of Infinite Browsing，” which hits shelves on May 4。Davis writes that his book “is about the tension between these two cultures。” He likens the open optio Pete Davis has put his finger on the pulse of those under 40 years of age and found the vast majority split between the excitement of what he has labeled “Infinite Browsing，” or the “Culture of Open Options” and the “Counterculture of Commitment。” Davis covers all of this and more in his first book， “Dedicated: The Case for Commitment In An Age Of Infinite Browsing，” which hits shelves on May 4。Davis writes that his book “is about the tension between these two cultures。” He likens the open options to a hallway with rooms。 A young person can bounce to one or more rooms， i。e。， experience new jobs， new relationships， new cities， or commit to stay in one “room” or live in the hallway。 Davis writes that some of his peers “don’t commit to a career path because we’re worried that we will be stuck doing something that doesn’t quite fit our true self。 Others of us are forced from job to job by a precarious economy。 For many of us， it’s a little bit of both。”Is this a new syndrome or has Davis locked onto an age-old problem that the young have struggled with in the last one hundred years？Post-World War 1， a generation of survivors of that war took to speakeasies and sexual affairs with a mania born out of disgust。 They tired of the commitments older generations had imposed on them， which led to a slaughter of vast numbers of young men on the battlefields of Europe。 Joined by young women who had nursed the bloody soldiers or who had lost husbands， boyfriends and siblings， these “Bright Young Things” revelled in the illusion that they need not choose one of the many choices in front of them。The ‘60s also spawned a generation of free-thinking individuals who got stuck on the old existential problem， “Why am I here？” Just as today， there was massive upheaval as the young protested the war in Vietnam。 While that was mostly successful， the fight against racism， bigotry， misogyny， and homophobia still had decades to go before there were major societal changes， and we are still fighting for many of those changes today。So， has Davis simply redressed an age-old problem in 21st Century clothing？ No， I think he has used his brilliant laser focus to effectuate a change in his generation that no one else is championing， and which prior generations of young men and women grew old without understanding how they left the excitement of change behind。He has done this by framing the Counterculture of Commitment not as a giving in to the monotony of adult life， like the protagonist in Herman Wouk’s “Marjorie Morningstar，” or the giving in to untethered philosophy of the beat generation， or the rejection of everything by the hippies。Instead， Davis extolls the “Long Haul Heroism” of individuals who have spent decades creating and building the institutions that nurture and create stability in society， and he uses the “little city” of Falls Church， Virginia as the canvas for his discussion。Addressing the low attention spans and “low commitment spans” of his generation， Davis writes “when you look at what we have real affection for — whom we admire， what we respect， and what we remember — it’s rarely the institutions and people who come from the Culture of Open Options。 It’s the master committers we love。” As Davis introduces us to these master committers， we see that he also is penning a love letter to his hometown， Falls Church。 He writes:“I also grew up in a town — Falls Church， Virginia — that had a strong identity。 It had a small school system and a rich civic life， especially for children: Boy and Girl Scouts， Operation EarthWatch， youth soccer and Little League every Saturday morning， the Falls Church News-Press at everyone’s door every Thursday， the fall festival in October， the Memorial Day parade in May。 Behind every beloved institution in town was a dedicated person。 Howard Herman helmed the weekly farmers’ market。 Nikki and Ed Henderson were in charge of the annual blues festival。 Nick Benton kept the News-Press running。 Barb Cram kept the local art shows going。 Sue John kept the preschool open。 Tom Prewitt coached the youth basketball teams。”Every one of the named master committers built or rebuilt their passion from scratch。 For example， Benton drove into Falls Church one day in 1991 and said， “this town needs a newspaper，” and day after day for 30 years， he has produced that newspaper every week。 Nikki and Ed Henderson moved back to Falls Church in 1994， from studying in Africa， and because of them Falls Church has the wonderful Tinner Hill’s Blues Festival。Davis uses an analogy from Pete Seeger about a seesaw to explain the long-haul dedication required to build something and to effectuate changes。“One side is planted firmly on the ground， weighed down by boulders。 The side in the air has an empty basket atop it。 A small group of people patiently work to fill the basket with sand， one teaspoon at a time。 The crowd watching scoffs， because nothing is changing。 But one day， the whole seesaw is going to flip — not little by little， but all at once。 People will ask， “How did it happen so suddenly？” The answer， of course， is all those teaspoons over the years。”Davis writes that he wrote his book to inspire others of his generation to become committers， committed to entering into “faithful relationships” with “particular causes and crafts， places and communities， professions and people。” He writes:“If you care about advancing the continuing liberation struggles that will give people even more options and free people from even more involuntary commitments， then you need to care about commitment， too。 We are only as free as we are today because committed citizens， patriots， builders， stewards， artisans， and companions got us here。 And every struggle for justice that remains today will only be advanced if enough dedicated people step up again。”Pete Davis has written an insightful book that also is an important book that， hopefully， will inspire， not just his generation， but all generations to dig deep and make the kind of commitments that will spark both creativity and stability。（In return for an honest review， I was provided an advance review copy by the publisher through NetGalley。） 。。。more
Tyler Hall
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FABULOUS！！！
Kristine
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Dedicated by Pete Davis is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early May。Davis writes of the illusion of true commitment in the digital age when people's attention spans really go adrift and spend too much time 'just seeing what's out there。' Don't be put off by the profound and philosophical chapter titles， because this is actually a really good， oft-coasted story between people going all-in and becoming masters of their craft versus those on the outset， admiring the fruit of dedicated people Dedicated by Pete Davis is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early May。Davis writes of the illusion of true commitment in the digital age when people's attention spans really go adrift and spend too much time 'just seeing what's out there。' Don't be put off by the profound and philosophical chapter titles， because this is actually a really good， oft-coasted story between people going all-in and becoming masters of their craft versus those on the outset， admiring the fruit of dedicated people， just doodling when they could really draw， and happy to know a little about a lot of things， not to mention the mixed difficulty yet ease of being tough， resilient， and skilled from years of doing something and the kind of admired， envious fear that it can inspire in others。 I especially adored the story of Alex who found and settled in an informal community of people who play M:tG。 。。。more
Jon
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A motivating case for choosing things in life worth committing to， and putting in the long， slow， work of achieving them。I'm prone to jumping around from idea to idea， project to project， rarely finishing any of them。 Dedicated does a great job laying out this problem that I feel in both society and myself， and has definitely inspired me to focus on fewer things and actually see them through to completion。 Or， at least to want do that。 It remains to be seen whether I follow through。。。This book o A motivating case for choosing things in life worth committing to， and putting in the long， slow， work of achieving them。I'm prone to jumping around from idea to idea， project to project， rarely finishing any of them。 Dedicated does a great job laying out this problem that I feel in both society and myself， and has definitely inspired me to focus on fewer things and actually see them through to completion。 Or， at least to want do that。 It remains to be seen whether I follow through。。。This book originated in a speech， and it bears the marks of those books that might have best been served in a shorter medium。 It's often too-broad and over-generalizing， and could have benefited from staking more of a position when it comes to the solutions to a society of infinite browsing。 Still， if you've been feeling listless， aimless， distracted， or unmoored from stable， meaningful activities and institutions， this could be the thing that kicks you into doing something about it。 Preferably in your local community， with your neighbors。 。。。more
Aaron Akbar
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Surprisingly insightful and practical。 There was less here in the realm of "10 steps。。"， and a lot more of well-worn wisdom that seems the mark of the second half of life。 While there were times I was discouraged by the number of examples given that had to do with Christian circles， the author never pushed those to faith affirmations or any notion that the faith was the only way for commitments。 I could tell it was just his context， and so there was a lot to learn there。 It's definitely easy to Surprisingly insightful and practical。 There was less here in the realm of "10 steps。。"， and a lot more of well-worn wisdom that seems the mark of the second half of life。 While there were times I was discouraged by the number of examples given that had to do with Christian circles， the author never pushed those to faith affirmations or any notion that the faith was the only way for commitments。 I could tell it was just his context， and so there was a lot to learn there。 It's definitely easy to apply his words to a broader context。 And he does this extremely well by going into all sorts of realms of life from how we spend free time， to careers， to education， to relationships。 It was very all-encompassing， and yet still easy to follow and apply。 There's definitely a ton of thoughts here that I'll hold onto。 。。。more
Jon Staff
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A rare book that got me to think in a new way and provided comfort at the same time。 I better understand the tension central to my own life， my generation， and maybe our time -- the tension of wanting to keep our options open， but wanting to be people that make a difference。 By the end， I felt inspired to buck the trend Davis so clearly articulates and actually deeply commit to things。。。 neighborhoods， friends， jobs， ideas， causes。 I really think we'd all be way better off if everyone read this A rare book that got me to think in a new way and provided comfort at the same time。 I better understand the tension central to my own life， my generation， and maybe our time -- the tension of wanting to keep our options open， but wanting to be people that make a difference。 By the end， I felt inspired to buck the trend Davis so clearly articulates and actually deeply commit to things。。。 neighborhoods， friends， jobs， ideas， causes。 I really think we'd all be way better off if everyone read this book。 。。。more
Hana
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As someone who always has too many tabs open， both figuratively and literally， this is a book I needed to read。 I am lucky enough to know Peter from my college years and knows he has been a long haul advocate for commitment and has been studying many of the heroes he writes about for more than a decade。 And just like he speaks in real life， Peter has a knack for presenting big ideas in a unpretentious， non intimidating， and conversational way。 I found myself pausing a lot to consider the ideas P As someone who always has too many tabs open， both figuratively and literally， this is a book I needed to read。 I am lucky enough to know Peter from my college years and knows he has been a long haul advocate for commitment and has been studying many of the heroes he writes about for more than a decade。 And just like he speaks in real life， Peter has a knack for presenting big ideas in a unpretentious， non intimidating， and conversational way。 I found myself pausing a lot to consider the ideas Pete proposed and considering what kind of life I want as someone who has been infinitely browsing for many years and now craves some stability and community more than ever。 The line “We want to have adventures but many of us want to just live in the same neighborhood as our friends” really resonated with me。 And so did the stories about Alex the sports writer and The Magic the Gathering crew。 I love that this book and its author care about both big stories and small ones， both unknown people and household names， and the effects of both government and summer camp。 （And also ideas from across the spectrum from including both Drake and Ira Glass！） This book is timely for anyone constantly browsing and afraid of not constantly keeping their options open。 By the end you’ll want to accept Peter’s invitation to “grab a trowel” or at least just pick one damn Netflix movie tonight。 。。。more
Richard
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Beautifully written and terrifically motivating。 This book was a shoutout to my best self to be more present more often and to vigorously back good people and noble causes。
Rachel Cohen
，
I loved this book; refreshing， agitating， thoughtful。 going to be thinking about it for a long time。
Disha （lattesandprose）
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Eye-opening and to the point。 This book emphasizes some of the concerns， insecurities and struggles that we face in this day and age of technology and immediacy of wanting things to "happen"。 I did like the conversational manner that the author wrote out the scenarios and explanations。 It is obvious that the tips and tricks that are offered have been based in research。 There are lots of quotations and theories that are mentioned by scientists， philosophers etc that the author uses to drive his p Eye-opening and to the point。 This book emphasizes some of the concerns， insecurities and struggles that we face in this day and age of technology and immediacy of wanting things to "happen"。 I did like the conversational manner that the author wrote out the scenarios and explanations。 It is obvious that the tips and tricks that are offered have been based in research。 There are lots of quotations and theories that are mentioned by scientists， philosophers etc that the author uses to drive his points。 I felt that it was a little repetitive at times and that it could potentially be cut down in length。 Overall， it was a good read on self-awareness and self-care tips of how we can learn to recognize our shortcomings and improve our lives。 。。。more
Jeff
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Blatantly Hypocritical， Yet Strong Discussion Regardless。 Davis repeatedly claims that he is not "selling a particular religion， creed， or cause"。。。 and yet the very subtitle of the book is "The *CASE* for Commitment。。。" （emphasis mine）。 Though to be fair， the examples Davis cites tend to be individual trees， while making the case that they are representative of the forest they are in。 Davis， in this text， isn't selling a tree - he is trying to sell the forest。 Yet he *is* trying to sell a *part Blatantly Hypocritical， Yet Strong Discussion Regardless。 Davis repeatedly claims that he is not "selling a particular religion， creed， or cause"。。。 and yet the very subtitle of the book is "The *CASE* for Commitment。。。" （emphasis mine）。 Though to be fair， the examples Davis cites tend to be individual trees， while making the case that they are representative of the forest they are in。 Davis， in this text， isn't selling a tree - he is trying to sell the forest。 Yet he *is* trying to sell a *particular* forest - the forest of long standing and wide reaching oaks， rather than the taller， shallower， and less connected pines。 Still， the case he makes （and I'm forgiving the lack of bibliography， for the moment， as this was an ARC - though I *do* expect an extensive one to be provided in the published edition）， is at minimum worthy of consideration and discussion。 Yes， the language choices are a bit leftist at times， and yes， there are a few holes in the logic and reasonings， but overall， the case made is an interesting contrast to the currently dominant thinking， and this is why I'm willing to overlook the lack of bibliography in this ARC and rate the book at 4， rather than 3， stars。 In the end， an interesting take on things that perhaps goes a bit *too* far at times， but is a refreshing change of pace at others。 Recommended。 。。。more
Meghan Valeriani
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