This is what I am passionate about! I don’t have a smartphone but I do have an iPad. I will hold off on getting one for as long as possible. The way that social media sucks you into the online world, is deeply concerning. Certainly we need to have support groups for phone addictions, like AA.
I don't have a mobile phone at all. There is one in the house that I use if I need to access a secure web site, but it's an old push button phone that sits in a drawer. My online life is accessed using a PC so I can switch it off and go outside without worrying about notifications. But I'm in my 50s and, despite having used tech since I was 11, never got caught up in the mobile phone thing. If someone needs to get in touch, send a carrier pigeon - LOL.
Purely by coincidence, before I read this essay I had already decided that today I was going to delete various social media accounts that don't serve me in any positive way, and unplug my Internet router. The need to answer the call of the real world is becoming urgent, and I've been far more tech-addicted than I would generally like to admit.
I don't know whether stowing the router away in a cupboard will be enough - maybe I'll have to get rid of it altogether and just go to a cafe or something when I need Internet access. But I can already tell I'll probably end up racking up my phone bill by abusing 4G for lack of WiFi, so at some point I suspect the Smartphone will have to go to.
It's reached the stage where I'm so angry at the way that I'm living that I'd welcome the inconveniences that come with being (mostly) disconnected. I just can't allow myself to keep living plugged into something that constantly feeds me poison.
I was already planning on making today the first step towards pulling that plug, but reading this has motivated me even more. Thank you, and good luck with the struggle too!
(As an aside, another coincidence from just reading your post There's Nothing in the UK - it sounds like we had similar experiences two years apart. I'm also from the UK, was in university in 2012, travelled to Australia in 2016, and visited Honk Kong on my way home.)
I feel you! The main thing I've learned is going cold turkey doesn't work - you need to replace screen time with something else like reading or writing and develop it slowly. I think it's also going to be a lifelong struggle, because those tech companies will never give up trying to lure you in. Also, hooray for UK / Aus / HK experiences! I'm glad someone else trod that path.
I have the same struggle with my phone, have you tried the stayfree app? I've had to use it on my laptop as well so that I can't get distracted by reddit when I'm trying to write.
Great find! Im not familiar with Northern Exposure, I’ll have to catch up. And no! I’m using Opal on my phone at the moment which is pretty good. Reddit is the ultimate time sink
I completely understand and share your thoughts about this, Thomas.
I have written something about my social media/technology addiction back in January I think and I have to admit that I'm grateful for having an analogue childhood where the only phone we had was the household one. I wish I could say that a smartphone is not needed but where I live it's really a necessity nowadays. Even my parents in their 70s need it for administrative stuff (bank, medical prescriptions, government website logins and so on), those who don't have one have to rely on younger family members and it isn't very practical.
I do have as smart phone but randomly scrolling through social media bores me and I tend to avoid it. I would much rather pick up my camera and go out for a walk in nature.
I run lots of photo walks and workshops and everyone who attends enjoys time away from their screens connecting with others and immersing themselves in nature. We all feel so much better for it too.
Like you I feel digital connection is over rated and it can never never beat spending time in the landscape with like minded people.
I don't have a smartphone, I've managed so far to bypass all the life situations that seem to demand it, though I suspect at some point I may be forced into buying one. I can't understand the people who walk along the street, faces turned to their phones or the groups of people out for meals, their faces all turned to their phones.
Well said, and I agree - my 'day job' is making birdwatching booklets and the *whole point* of the logbooks is that they don't need a signal, or charging, and don't have notifications. Where I work at Charleston there's also an app, but there's poor signal in the house so it rarely works, so we always suggest to people that they soak up the atmosphere, talk to the room stewards like me, and consult the app afterwards. I love my smartphone and its functionality but social media is a necessary evil, sadly.
I wholeheartedly agree with you on this. I have sat on station's so many times and watched hundreds of people who have no connection to the world around them. Been to concerts and wonderful and seen 3/4 of the audience watching it through their screens, disengaged. I leave my phone at home if I am having a get together with family and friends. I have gone back to using a camera for recording events and places. I now make a concerted effort to have ever longer periods off line. Otherwise life will just have passed us by, with no memory of it's existence.
Great insight — I've spent 3.5 weeks without my phone in the past two months and it's really changed everything. Time itself seems to have slowed down. At the same time, I love Substack and the way the internet can connect us and democratize knowledge and I do think the internet is merely an extension of human nature. Addictive social media algorithms choked with advertising, however, are just cruel, and I do feel like we're seeing a massive move away from that.
3 years ago I deleted and disconnected fromall social media. This year I discovered Substack. I now spend hours scrolling on Substack.
This is what I am passionate about! I don’t have a smartphone but I do have an iPad. I will hold off on getting one for as long as possible. The way that social media sucks you into the online world, is deeply concerning. Certainly we need to have support groups for phone addictions, like AA.
Nice work! Support groups are a good idea
I don't have a mobile phone at all. There is one in the house that I use if I need to access a secure web site, but it's an old push button phone that sits in a drawer. My online life is accessed using a PC so I can switch it off and go outside without worrying about notifications. But I'm in my 50s and, despite having used tech since I was 11, never got caught up in the mobile phone thing. If someone needs to get in touch, send a carrier pigeon - LOL.
Love it! I’ll send a messenger boy on horseback with news from the north
I'll keep an eye out for him - LOL.
Purely by coincidence, before I read this essay I had already decided that today I was going to delete various social media accounts that don't serve me in any positive way, and unplug my Internet router. The need to answer the call of the real world is becoming urgent, and I've been far more tech-addicted than I would generally like to admit.
I don't know whether stowing the router away in a cupboard will be enough - maybe I'll have to get rid of it altogether and just go to a cafe or something when I need Internet access. But I can already tell I'll probably end up racking up my phone bill by abusing 4G for lack of WiFi, so at some point I suspect the Smartphone will have to go to.
It's reached the stage where I'm so angry at the way that I'm living that I'd welcome the inconveniences that come with being (mostly) disconnected. I just can't allow myself to keep living plugged into something that constantly feeds me poison.
I was already planning on making today the first step towards pulling that plug, but reading this has motivated me even more. Thank you, and good luck with the struggle too!
(As an aside, another coincidence from just reading your post There's Nothing in the UK - it sounds like we had similar experiences two years apart. I'm also from the UK, was in university in 2012, travelled to Australia in 2016, and visited Honk Kong on my way home.)
I feel you! The main thing I've learned is going cold turkey doesn't work - you need to replace screen time with something else like reading or writing and develop it slowly. I think it's also going to be a lifelong struggle, because those tech companies will never give up trying to lure you in. Also, hooray for UK / Aus / HK experiences! I'm glad someone else trod that path.
https://youtu.be/JS2N4VWIbCI?si=CVFMeQfMHWkDQX_b have thought about this scene a few times since reading your piece.
I have the same struggle with my phone, have you tried the stayfree app? I've had to use it on my laptop as well so that I can't get distracted by reddit when I'm trying to write.
Great find! Im not familiar with Northern Exposure, I’ll have to catch up. And no! I’m using Opal on my phone at the moment which is pretty good. Reddit is the ultimate time sink
I completely understand and share your thoughts about this, Thomas.
I have written something about my social media/technology addiction back in January I think and I have to admit that I'm grateful for having an analogue childhood where the only phone we had was the household one. I wish I could say that a smartphone is not needed but where I live it's really a necessity nowadays. Even my parents in their 70s need it for administrative stuff (bank, medical prescriptions, government website logins and so on), those who don't have one have to rely on younger family members and it isn't very practical.
I wish you a nice unplugged week 🙂
It binds us to it, doesn’t it! Thanks very much for reading and sharing ❤️
I do have as smart phone but randomly scrolling through social media bores me and I tend to avoid it. I would much rather pick up my camera and go out for a walk in nature.
I run lots of photo walks and workshops and everyone who attends enjoys time away from their screens connecting with others and immersing themselves in nature. We all feel so much better for it too.
Like you I feel digital connection is over rated and it can never never beat spending time in the landscape with like minded people.
I don't have a smartphone, I've managed so far to bypass all the life situations that seem to demand it, though I suspect at some point I may be forced into buying one. I can't understand the people who walk along the street, faces turned to their phones or the groups of people out for meals, their faces all turned to their phones.
Impressive! It’s difficult when people are battling against psychologists working hard to keep them hooked.
It helps that my partner doesn't have a smartphone either!
Well said, and I agree - my 'day job' is making birdwatching booklets and the *whole point* of the logbooks is that they don't need a signal, or charging, and don't have notifications. Where I work at Charleston there's also an app, but there's poor signal in the house so it rarely works, so we always suggest to people that they soak up the atmosphere, talk to the room stewards like me, and consult the app afterwards. I love my smartphone and its functionality but social media is a necessary evil, sadly.
What a marvellous day job you have! Analogue is definitely the way to go when it comes to birdwatching.
I wholeheartedly agree with you on this. I have sat on station's so many times and watched hundreds of people who have no connection to the world around them. Been to concerts and wonderful and seen 3/4 of the audience watching it through their screens, disengaged. I leave my phone at home if I am having a get together with family and friends. I have gone back to using a camera for recording events and places. I now make a concerted effort to have ever longer periods off line. Otherwise life will just have passed us by, with no memory of it's existence.
Great insight — I've spent 3.5 weeks without my phone in the past two months and it's really changed everything. Time itself seems to have slowed down. At the same time, I love Substack and the way the internet can connect us and democratize knowledge and I do think the internet is merely an extension of human nature. Addictive social media algorithms choked with advertising, however, are just cruel, and I do feel like we're seeing a massive move away from that.