The Things I Keep Offline
If you really think about it, it is nearly impossible to underestimate the importance of technology for us, both as a society and as individuals. The ability to grow, store, and transport large quantities of food alone has changed the course of human history forever. Technology is allowing us to live longer, and certainly more comfortably, while distributing and managing our resources, sharing knowledge, and communicating with others. It is enabling us to enjoy an endless array of opportunities.
Nowadays, technology is very present in our everyday life, constantly changing and developing, mostly without us even being aware of it, as it is simply impossible to keep up with every new development. How many of us are able to point out the technology behind the improvement in the safety score of a new car we purchase? How many of us actually code ourselves on our laptops? And who in the world can keep up with all those wonderful new appliances and apps that are available for those of us who like to cook?
Some technologies seem to have always been around, to the point where we don’t even realize how incredible they are. If you are reading this, you most likely live in a place where people no longer die from a tiny wound that got infected. Chances are your house is lit and has running water, and it protects you from the weather and keeps you safe from predators. Can you imagine our cities without traffic lights? And how about life without the internet, which is actually still relatively new?
Some technologies are real game changers. Take blockchain, for example. If you forget about all the get-rich-quick crypto-currency schemes and just consider what the actual technology is enabling us, it’s hard not to be fascinated and excited. I’m still learning about AI, and to be honest I’m not sure I’m thrilled with every direction it’s taking. But I get excited by other new developments and features, such as a helpful new tool added to a graphic or animation software I like, for example, or my favorite truck manufacturer planning to release an electric truck for the first time next year. I’m enthusiastic about new developments in agriculture I read about from time to time, water purifying in remote parts of the world, and of course, innovations in healthcare and energy.
And yet, with all due respect to technology and to the important work of the people behind it, there are other things to consider, and quite a few disadvantages to the continuous flow of new technology we are presented with these days. For me, the three main things to keep in mind at all times are my attention, my privacy, and the fact that new doesn’t always mean better.
When selling us products and services, getting our attention is key. The more time we spend on a platform, the more likely we are to be exposed to marketing content, whether it be an actual ad or incorporated more subtly into movies or TV programs, for example. The more engaged we are with a platform — clicking, commenting, etc. — the more time we spend there. At the same time, we are revealing more about ourselves and our preferences, which helps advertisers target us and send the kind of marketing content that we might find interesting and is most likely to end in us purchasing their product or service. Our attention is worth a lot of money to companies, and it shouldn’t be of less value in our own eyes. It is important to be aware of the constant well-funded, well researched, and often very effective efforts being made by advertisers to get our attention. These distractions prevent us from spending our precious (and limited!) time focusing on what matters to us, rather than on what matters to whoever wants to sell us something.
For me, the key is to be extremely picky when it comes to the content I’m exposed to and the channels I choose to get that content from. I opt to pay extra to avoid watching commercials and ads whenever possible, and I keep track of the time I spend on a platform.
In addition, I try to avoid purchasing products that offer “more” than what they were originally intended for, or that are way more complicated than I need them to be. The simple truth is that every new thing we add to our lives makes, or will make, demands on our time and attention. Anything we buy needs to be taken care of. This may mean cleaning, protecting, and storing it properly, mending it when it fails or breaks, and so on. Both software and hardware need installation, protection, updating, and learning how to use, and everything we purchase requires maintenance and managing, including technical support, subscriptions, and so on. The more we accumulate, the more time we spend looking for missing items, parts, and instructions. It may seem like “just few minutes here and there,” but it all adds up.
Is a certain item worth our time and attention? There is no right or wrong answer. We each get to decide for ourselves what we wish to invest our time, money, and attention in. However, I believe that we should make the effort to be mindful of our choices if we want to stay in charge. The alternative is purchasing things just because someone else wishes to sell them to us, handing over control of our resources to complete strangers, and ending up having all kinds of things we don’t really need and which require us to spend more money, time, and attention taking care of.
Basically, it all comes down to one thing: remembering that technology is meant to serve us and not the other way around. Personally, I like to keep things simple. After doing my due diligence, I might decide to purchase an item or new technology. But more often than not, the products I choose are as basic as possible. I don’t use my smartphone as an alarm clock to avoid being bombarded by all kinds of alerts the minute I wake up. Instead,I use a simple old-fashioned alarm clock. My wrist watch isn’t “smart.” It shows the time, the day, and the date. It has a stop watch and an alarm clock, and a button to light the screen when it’s dark. I don’t need it to do any more than that, and I don’t want it to distract me throughout the day. I am not interested in receiving an alert every time I get an email, for example. I check my inbox when I have time to read and answer emails. I assume my smartphone has many features I don’t even know about, but I’m happy with it being of high quality, and serving me well. It does everything I bought it for. In the same way, my washing machine has about a dozen different programs, but I only use around a third of them on a regular basis.
I don’t use my smartphone to listen to music either How can I enjoy the music when messages and other distractions are constantly demanding my attention? In fact, I usually chose vinyl when I’m at home. Away from home, I prefer to use my tiny old iPod. It’s very low maintenance, has a long-lasting battery, is durable, and travels well. I did choose to invest in first-rate headphones, however. Since my objective is high-quality sound, I chose the technology that gives me what I’m looking for and allows me to enjoy the music without distractions. Whether the technology is new or not is irrelevant to me, and so are the current trends. If I’m being completely honest, the quickest way to my heart would probably still be a good mix tape.
Finally, there is the issue of privacy. For most of us, assuming we don’t live off the grid, our exact location is known to anyone interested at any given moment. Our personal data has most likely been sold more than once. If we’re using Google, Bing, or something similar, then clicking the “no cookies, please” button on a website just gives us an illusion of privacy. But as soon as we are connected, our privacy has already been compromised. Once posted, our personal information can resurface at any time in the future. And there is quite a lot of information a tech savvy amateur hacker can get their hands on.
We all can (and should) choose adequate passwords, and use different passwords for different purposes. And we should avoid posting or uploading private photos and other sensitive content that we don’t want other people to see. Of course, we shouldn’t keep our passwords on our computer, and we have to realize that everything we upload to our computer, email, cloud, or smartphone, as well as everything we print (as it’s there on the printer’s memory card) can be found and used by others.
It might be argued that most of us are not all that interesting as to become a target for hackers, but in my opinion it’s still better to be respectful of our own privacy. I prefer to do what I reasonably can to protect it. For instance, I save my digital files of personal and work material on hard drives offline. When it comes to my most personal plans and ideas, the ones that are closest to my heart, I opt for low tech, and just write them down on paper. I have a feeling that sometimes we are so enthralled by technology that we forget its limitations. Even the best hacker can’t steal what isn’t there. It’s the same principle as using a paper wallet for your bitcoin, if you have any (I don’t, of course). I’ve offered here just a few examples of the type of things I keep on paper for as long as I can before uploading them to a computer.
Long before the internet even existed, Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Men have become the tools of their tools.” While I appreciate technology, and am grateful for it, I believe we shouldn’t be blinded by its glowing blue light. Our attention and independent thinking, our time and our privacy, are assets to be protected, and no one else will do it for us. It is my belief that we can and should enjoy the benefits of technology while being mindful of its limitations and of the enormous, ever-present noise it brings into our life.
Thank you for reading my blog. I truly appreciate your time and attention. I hope we all have the resources to benefit from what technology enables. And I also hope we have the courage to see through the noise and only choose what serves us best.
