My transition to digital minimalism has been slow: I slowly transitioned to not having a computer at home and I got an Hisense A9 (e ink smartphone) and added some tweaks and tricks to make it even more minimal, but the more I go on, the more I feel it's still not enough!
I work in an office and spend a whole lot of time alone, in front of a computer. Porn, social medias, etc made my life worse in every possible way, since they were always my crutch for my PTSD.. I tried to make my work PC as minimal as possible as well, but it's not enough!
What triggered me is that now you can even lose time and get into surveillance capitalism even more on WhatsApp as well! since they added channels, I don't even wanna use WhatsApp anymore. I realized how, as a current state of things, the main internet (the main spaces which everyone is on) is just wrong, at least for me, and it's getting worse and worse and worse. Corporates pushing information that makes us sick, I feel like this is ruining life for many people, they are stealing our freedom.
But the more I go on, the more I feel the need to just completely disconnect in every possible way. Digital devices have many different bias on their own, even without the surveillance capitalism nightmare added on top: you can get it if you ever read program or be programmed by douglas rushkoff, these bias are just bound to digital devices and to the internet themselves. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's a choice you make when you use them, you are using some devices with certain biases.
Maybe that's because I have PTSD (currently on therapy and meds for it), maybe that's because I did some acid when I was younger, maybe that's because I crave human contact so much and I never got enough of it, maybe that's because these medias with their bias + the shit of surveillance capitalism but I want to live my life and see people face to face, every day, not just for a month or two, I want my life to be biased towards this.
And if I'm alone, let me be alone! Without relying on porn, or on socials, I want to spend my alone time outside with my animals, getting relaxed under the sun and playing my guitar.
I want get out of my house with a phone that can just call and my ereader, maybe some music but that's it. If I really wanna be with someone, I'm gonna call and be there with my voice, or with my physical self.
I really only need a GPS, some way to stream music + Bluetooth, an e reader, maybe add some way to backup my contacts to avoid losing them and that's basically it. Please suggest some alternatives for this stuff if you have them.
I can know about events from friends or by asking around, I know it will be harder but it can be done, I don't need to work alone on a computer all day, I can get another job, hell I don't even need a banking app! Just pay me with cash! Or I can charge cards to an ATM! I don't need online shopping, I can go to a shop!!
I don't care about photos, I can have a physical notebook/calendar for my appointments (now they also do e ink notebooks), buying bus or events tickets can be harder, but I'm sure there is some workaround for that as well.
I'm asking myself if my sexual health, my ability to bind with people, my overall calm, my ability to focus, my ability to have longer term goals, to sustain harder tasks etc is worth the cost of losing some news, having a harder time to buy something or to lose an event or two and keeping my current job..
I feel like people are so much into digital life that I feel like an outsider and even kinda crazy thinking this all stuff, but I can't be the only one who is just fed up with this and it's just one step away from throwing his smartphone into the trash bin and never looking back.
I want to be free!
Hi! Thank you so much for your answer! I'm using koreader now for my reading and getting books online, a Kobo looks nice because you can apparently install Koreader on it as well, and synchthing too.
The mp3 is also a good idea, but I realized I will have to use a computer and an internet connection somehow at some point, whether it's for managing my ebooks, downloading music or other stuff.. And while it can be wonderful to not having to work at a PC all day, I think I will need at least a laptop that I can bring to a library and help me manage some stuff every now and then, even if I have no internet/smartphone at home.. Well I hope it can be a cheap b/w e ink laptop one day!!
I think part of me just have to learn that some emotions I feel are so strong that sometimes having control on my media use is hard unless I address my underlining condition. I can definitely do better tho!
For example I can change my workplace so I don't have to be on a computer all day alone, working on social medias too pheraps, and I can ditch my smartphone and get a Garmin for gps, mp3 and eBook reader.. Even tho my smartphone is not really being as much of a problem anymore since it is really really minimal already thanks to e ink and plucky andoff!
One thing I notice is that when I feel worse I somehow try to rationalize I can "unlock" some restrictions because I might have become able to handle it, eg. I can install Instagram or a browser to look for events, but I end up in bad media use every time after that!
I think that's mostly because I really need some relief from the constant stress I experience / fear of intimacy which brings me to porn/social medias (from PTSD), and partly because these softwares contain the bads alongside the goods.
Anyway the e ink world is being more and more amazing the more the time passes, and there are people who do care and build better / less or non addictive software too! I think the goal shouldn't be perfection, but rather the best balance between convenience and unwanted effects..
I would be much less driven to use technology at all if I did not have internet at home or didn't have to work alone at a computer, but I could lose too much if I didn't own a computer I could bring to a library once or twice a week to download ebooks / music / watch for events to go to with my friends or download my guitar tabs!
You’re so right: perfection isn’t the goal. It sounds like you have a good sense of what aspects of digital life can be helpful and which can be harmful to you. And how to use hardware and apps to lead you to the moments that bring you joy - such as time with your friends and playing the guitar.
It is encouraging that we’re seeing more e-ink and other technology to counterbalance the potentially toxic rabbit-holes of modern tech. I hope for a future in which we rely on tech as true tools, not attention eaters. I love having a blender in my kitchen, but I don’t want to spend time with my blender beyond blending. Somehow computers have become more than computers.
Anyway, I’m happy to hear that you’re finding ways to address the parts of tech that make you feel bad. And I hope you continue to find ways to prioritize non-tech moments with friends and strangers and music and nature — all the things that humans loved before we invented computers and smartphones.