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When I realized I was spending too much time staring at screens, I needed assistance in modifying my digital habits. The links below include resources that helped me.
Remember, it's not about giving up technology! For me, it's about unplugging from the now-ubiquitous tech that threatens to replace far too much real-world life and human interaction. I love the benefits of an internet-connected world, and I (like most of us) work and play within its structure.
Technology and devices also provide invaluable support for the disabled, and I'm not advocating going back to quills and smoke signals.
But choosing to rid myself of mindless tech use has renewed my sense of community. Being more intentional with the technology I use has invigorated my creativity and revealed profound insights.
Basically, it has made me a lot happier.
It has also reminded me of the grand hopes I had back in my 1990s tech-Utopian idyll. There are so many things about the internet and technology that can be life-affirming, community-building, creativity-promoting and downright wonderful. Those things -- along with many human-oriented cultural activities -- have receded into the huge shadows cast by social media, smartphones and surveillance.
Rule #1: I use my phone as a PHONE
Strip yours of apps, or switch it for a dumb phone, and watch as your life improves in ways you never imagined.
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| Disconnect to reconnect. |
Whenever possible, I choose the slow and real over the fast and digital. I try to pick media that inspires and educates rather than stuff that shocks and outrages. I support quirky, alternative online spaces as much as possible to offset social media monsters and Silicon Valley's Cabal. I'm much more interested in making actual friends than in friending. I want to nurture and grow the meaningful relationships in my real life, instead of trying to gain followers.
Do I still fall off the wagon and descend into a binge-watching, Amazon Prime-ordering, retweeting frenzy? Well, yes.
Most of all: I seek balance between the online and the actual.
I now find that I really love what I do instead of just "liking" what I scroll. Maybe you'll have a similar experience.
Take a look at my Quickstart Guide for Unplugging.
Social Media: Getting rid of it and/or finding healthy alternatives)
The Moment App: Less Phone, More Life
More apps to help you limit screen time
What to do online instead of Facebook
Slow Tech Org
It's Time to Log Off
Cal Newport's blog on Digital Minimalism
EMF and RF Sensitivity Resource
Cordcutting 101 to get rid of cable TV
Toward a Tech/Life balance
The Slow Tech Manifesto
Tips for going Slow Tech
Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous (ITAA)
YouTubers logging off social media
Follow Mark Boyle off the grid
A More Artisinal Internet?
Embrace the Slow Morning Movement
Willow and Thatch, your resource for period dramas
A Life Less Digital Blog
Tech Wellness
The World Institute of Slowness
Scroll less. Read more books.
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| Life in Airplane Mode |
