Since being away at a bookish retreat in January and having a digital detox; I have definitely been thinking more about my use of technology and the information I consume on a day to day basis. I came away from the retreat with great intentions about having regular detoxes and being more mindful about my consumption but have very quickly fallen into bad habits.

Recently I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed and just a little bit rubbish and The Visual Detox is a book which came along at the right time for me.

The book’s starting premise is that we often talk about information or technology overload in our society but visual information is not something we give much thought to; we have become so used to being surrounded by imagery all the time, that we have become desensitised to it and don’t give it much thought. But in reality many images we are exposed to are carefully thought out and intended to make us think a certain way, desire a certain object or aspire to achieve a certain something whether that is a material object, a type of lifestyle or maybe even our own thoughts and belief systems.

This book has brought to light how subtle but impactful visual imagery can be, and how we can reduce the impact by being more aware and mindful of what we are surrounded by.

I found the writing style of the book accessible and easy to follow; the author uses real life examples which really helped me to understand the content better and think about how it applied to day to day life. There is theory behind it but it’s not dense which made it a far easier read.

The tools and tips throughout the book were helpful; not too overwhelming and just small practical steps which can help us to curate the visual information we expose ourselves to. Since reading the book, I have certainly found I am noticing things more and trying to be more mindful about some of the more subtle messaging I might be being exposed to.

This is a well written, informative and thought provoking book. I enjoyed it

A great book on how much visual content we consume in a day, and what it does to us, and how to move forward knowing all this.

Perfect book for advice on how to navigate and balance the digital world that consumes us.
I couldn’t think of a more prevalent book to share with readers.