i-Hermitism: a Digital Detox Cult
Technological Detox without Technological Abstinence
“Unfortunately, no one can be told what The Matrix is. You’ll have to see it for yourself.” was one of the most memorable quotes from Morpheus in the Matrix franchise.
Matrix can be experienced but no one can describe it to you.
But still, allow me to have a shot. Give me a fighting chance to explain how most of us live in some kind of a Matrix. In a digital world which is completely detached from our everyday lives and which we visit in order to escape reality.
Because all of us do that.
Because all of us will take our smartphone out of our pockets in our daily commutes or when we wait in a queue.
Because all of us seek some kind of status in the social media.
Because all of us desert into our i-Pads and laptops after a hard day of work to burn some free time over Netflix.
We accidentally built the Matrix by creating an unstructured digital world without borders that generates positive chemical reactions in our brain. (Yada-yada dopaminergic and instant gratification societies…)
And despite the fact that we do not need to connect through cumbersome armchair-like devices to it, we still fail to pull the plug and return to our normal routines and lives.
And before you misjudge me for an anti-conformist, I need to put a disclaimer here: I am as much addicted in my digital life as the next person (if not more). And that makes me feel very concerned about the use of my time and the misuse of my brainpower.
Because I know that I possess more information in my pocket than I would ever need to have access to and more processing power than my brain will ever have.
I am forced to use my phone more often than my intellectual capacities. I do not need to memorize any itineraries, any routes or even any movie or song names. I do not even need to know proper spelling or even proper mathematics. The World Wide Web will facilitate me in a neck-breaking speed in an unparalleled variety of ways.
However, our memory becomes weaker or stays underdeveloped.
We ruminate information instead of trying to generate them through a complex mental process ourselves.
We trust a foreigner’s opinion that we read on the internet instead of experiencing something ourselves.
We tend to lose focus easier and to have a shorter attention span.
We just want to consume as much information as possible whenever we want it.
We become information consumers instead of information processors.
Simultaneously, since we have such a plethora of information in our pockets and the easiness of communicating with anyone possessing a similar device to ours, we tend to have scattered day long discussions with all the people we love and care instead of having 10 to 15 minutes of a true conversation or a face-to-face discussion. We become more connected with our friends and family in a quantitative way than in a qualitative way. We believe that we come closer with each other by not being close to each other.
Last but not least, we have become outrageous information generators. The data and content created per capita is astronomical without necessarily meaning that the value created is augmented. The existence of internet and social media gave the opportunity to anyone to display their opinion out in the world and to be heard.
If you have a fair point you will be listened.
If you have a polarizing point you will be listened to even more.
If you are creating drama you are viral.
This is food for thought.
Because the opinions are defined based on the amount of publicity they provoke and not based on the validity or value of the communicated points.
Yes. We finally have the ultimate freedom of speech. But we have achieved that on the expense of intellectuality.
And I am not arguing that it is impossible to discover the intellectually correct opinions. I am only arguing that the vast majority of people will either not be interested in them and the social media algorithms will circulate only the opinions and the content that is more mainstream, more easily digestible and more entertaining.
Embracing the Tech Detox.
And I am not pretending that I am holier than the Pope. I am not a solution provider to this uprising phenomenon. I am just more concerned than you are and I want to have a starting point.
And, we are too invested on our technological marvels from a sociopolitical perspective in order to backpedal now. We cannot eliminate the usage of smartphones and we cannot eradicate the universality of technology. The benefits are too great to implement such a catastrophic U-turn.
Thus, my starting point to this sociotechnological problem is the following: We NEED to find a better equilibrium between our “Matrix” and real lives.
We need to deliberately try to limit the usage of technological devices in order to support our non-digital real life.
My starting point to this technological detox school-of-thought is a concept which I would like to call i-Hermitism (and the supporters of it are called i-Hermits).
First of all, it sounds cool and hipster-ish, so I am not negotiating the name of the cult at all. Just accept it. Done deal!
Second of all, it is a very simple concept that does not involve full abandonment of your smart devices: You select a specific hour (literally 60 minutes) every day that that you will not use any technological device at all and you become a digital Hermit. Nada. Zilch. Simple as that. Unmitigated real life to its purest form by isolating yourself from the technology for a short time period on a regular basis.
Pretty much imitating a hermit crab retracting back to their shell when they see a danger. And in our case, the threat is invisible and requires nerves of steel to protect ourselves.
You can decide this yourself and based on your own needs how you want to implement this in your schedule. The only requirement is that you need to enforce it on a daily basis in order to find these 60 minutes of technological abstinence.
In my case, it is as simple as turning off my phone for an hour when I am out with my some friends. Not only do I focus on the social interaction 100%, but also I manage to prove a point to my friends that if they have their phones on they will succumb to the temptation to use at least once every 10 minutes despite their best intentions.
An alternate solution can be an hour of me-time that you will spend by yourself at home. Turn-off all your devices (you can leave some device playing music in the background but resist the urge to use is) and try to perform an activity that does not require a tech device. Read a book. Exercise. Bake a cake. Start a stamp collection. Whatever it turns your crank, as long as it does not involve you leaning over an illuminating screen.
After a few days of implementation I have realized that it is actually easier to enforce it than initially anticipated.
And it is goddamn liberating.
You do not check your notifications and emails and you do not wait for a call or a text. It helps you understand what is the true importance of staying with your eyes pilled on this small 5-inch display all day.
Of course you will miss a few days here and there. I am sure about this. But showing to yourself that you can survive every now and then without capturing an insta-story can only improve your social life and it will help you focus more on living the moments and utilizing your hidden creativity and intellectual abilities.
So if you are as much concerned as I am for this subject then maybe this is a good way to start.
Will you join me in this i-Hermitism movement?
Peace and tranquility.
More posts from the voice inside my head:
