Tips For Digital Minimalism
In a world dominated by connectivity, digital technology and blue light emanating from artificial screens, it can be beneficial to take a step back and question our relationship with our smartphones.
Introduction
For most individuals in our technology-dominated culture, we spend large parts of our day glued to smartphones, tablets and laptops. These mediums help connect us with others, complete projects for work and sometimes, just drift off in an entertainment utopia.
The capabilities are endless; from communicating with someone 3000+ miles away to revelling in a 20 kill-streak in Call of Duty. We truly can do everything and anything.
Unfortunately, these capabilities also come with a price. Designers, UI experts and massive technology conglomerates have spent billions of dollars in R&D ensuring that we’re glued to their device, app and website for as long as possible. It’s the information age and we’re the product. Your attention is currency.
This has resulted in extremely sophisticated systems that are built to prey on our subconscious needs and wants to build anticipation, create desire and satisfy our needs. The like button gratifies your desire for status, instant messaging satisfies your need for connectivity, YouTube facilitates your aversion to boredom.
While these massive, MNC’s could describe their work as essential and necessary, the additional digital components — such as the like button — lull is in to excess and digital gluttony. On average, we spend way more time on our digital devices than is necessary - or healthy.
The Washington Posts finds that the average mobile phone user spends at least 3 and a half hours a day using their phone (a number that i expect may be much larger for the majority of individuals). Other studies find that excess usage leads to headaches, memory impairment, ADD, fatigue and even feelings of disconnectedness in a supposedly connected world.
Our hunter-gatherer ancestors grouped together in small tribes, communicated with their mouths rather than their thumbs and immersed themselves in nature. This is how we evolved as humans for thousands of years, this is what we’re biologically developed to do. This is what our brains are capable of understanding most.
Conversely our tribe of ‘the internet’ is billions of persons large, our thumbs do the majority of communicating and we group together in brick houses, immersed in technology rather than nature. We’re not built for this world we live in and we have to mindfully question why and how we use these technologies.
I could waffle on for millennia about why we need to examine our relationship with digital technology but that wont give us any actionable steps. Instead, i’ll propose some simple techniques that i’ve enforced that create space between me and the digital technology in my life. Hopefully, you find some value here that assists you in questioning and re-imagining your relationship.
Actionable Steps
Wind-Down Feature
For both Android and Apple users, a great tool to facilitate some space between you and your mobile phone is using the wind-down feature. This allows you to set specific hours in which your phone becomes GreyScaled (Black and White) and put on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode. Users can specifically set their hours around when they go to sleep and when they wake up. By my phone automatically GreyScaling at 10pm, it acts as a clear signal to
“get the fuck off your phone”
Grey Scale
This feature simply puts your phone in to black and white mode. No more enticing colours, no more vibrant and beautiful hues. While this paradoxically confronts the features that mobile phone companies market to you (AMAZING LED PANEL WITH NEW COLOUR CAPABILITIES), it also drastically reduces your screen time. Simply put, the more boring it looks, the less likely you are to use it.
Get a Flip-Phone or Spare Phone
I have 2 phones. Yes, it’s abnormal. No, i’m not a drug dealer. On one phone i have all the apps i need to get by: online banking, messaging, productivity apps and writing apps as well as photos, videos and all the usual stuff. The other phone is an old, smashed up, Samsung S9 that has the capability to text, phone and use Spotify. That’s it. When i want to be productive i’ll turn off my my main phone, turn on my S9, work to some house music and if anyone REALLY needs to contact me, they can. Most messages received over Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp etc aren’t time sensitive; if you get back to them in 5 minutes or 5 hours, it doesn’t matter. With the second phone, if anyone really needs you for a time-sensitive matter, then they can call or text you. It’s that easy.
Ditch Social Media
Honestly, unless you’re making money via these channels or intend to, you don’t need this shit in your life. I’ve incrementally deleted all my social media over the last couple of years: Instagram and Twitter first, Snapchat next and finally the OG of internet connection and unauthorised data bartering, Facebook. My initial worries were “How am i going to keep in contact with people?”, “Will i miss out on opportunities and parties?” and “Will i lose my closest friends?”. Turns out, all these fears were unfounded. As i deleted social media, i started to cultivate closer and more meaningful/textured relationships with those individuals i really care about. Instead of an off-hand Instagram comment, i’ll phone. Instead of a twitter retweet, i’ll meet you for coffee. Instead of a snapchat, i’ll get drunk and talk about life with you. It really comes down to what you value — a digitally shallow social interaction or real human connection.
To give you an example, i recently had a mate that i hadn’t seen in a while get in touch with another mate of mine to grab my number so we could have a conversation. I was fucking ecstatic because i hadn’t spoke to him in a while and we had a long, interesting conversation with what we’ve been doing and where we’re at. You’ll find a way to make it work with those you care about.
Set Boundaries and Stick to Them
The greatest trick in my quiver of penetrating to the soul of our technology addiction arrows is habits and boundaries. For me, setting aside 4 hours between 9 and 1 to work, an hour for lunch and relaxation and 2 hours for exercise and self-care is a way of setting definitive boundaries that places digital technology on the outside. If i continually make time that my phone is excluded from then that ensures me space and time to concentrate. This gives me a baseline from which to work — a period of time in which my phone is NOT ALLOWED to interrupt. Out with that, i have the choice to spend the rest of my time on my phone if i so choose to, but more often than not i’ll use that time to connect with mates, work on myself or do something i enjoy.
Think of your phone like an overly needy friend, set your boundaries and make them clear. Don’t sacrifice your time for theirs, you should be the most important person in your life. Obviously, there’s a caveat here, with COVID and the lack of social interaction created via lockdowns, it’s harder to meet, do things and communicate in real life. Just do your best, go for socially distanced walks, cook a meal with your family, have ANOTHER zoom quiz with mates (I’m fucking sick of them too). You get the point though, set your boundaries, stick to them and eventually, make it a habit.
Closing Thoughts
As with anything, i’m rightfully afraid of making too many blanket expressions. The above advice may not be applicable to all and it’s generalised to those that live a life similar to mine. You may need to use social media to make money, your work may demand that you be available 24/7 and overall, i’m primarily talking about smartphones rather than laptops or tablets.
My personal journey with Digital Minimalism has been both exciting and rewarding. As i’ve spent less time on my phone and watched my screen time plummet, i’ve found more value in the other parts of my life. I have more time than i ever thought i would and i spend it doing the things that make me happy.
I don’t want to come off as a technophobe — although i do. I believe that digital technology can offer enormous benefits. I just think we need to be mindful about how we use them, because if we’re not careful, those benefits will become inhibitors and reduce our quality of life.
As with anything, i’d love to hear your opinions. Let me know your experience down below.
As Always,
Yours Honestly,
Liam Lawson.
