DIGITAL MINIMALISM: WEEK TWO
Background: Inspired by Cal Newport and a great deal of related research I’ve been doing recently, I have decided to run an experiment in Digital Minimalism. Please see this post for more context behind the experiment and why I decided to run it.
The main thing I noticed this week - week two of my experiment - was that on several occasions, I simply forgot about my devices. I forgot to bring my phone out of the bedroom multiple times; I forgot to put my watch on a handful of other times; I forgot to retrieve my phone from the kitchen where it sat, plugged in, until midway through the morning.
The forgetting itself wasn’t a big deal; I returned a couple of missed phone calls later in the day and worked on filling in my semi-permanent watch tan line. But what did seem like a semi-big deal is that the forgetting itself could happen. That only a couple of weeks into my experiment, having my phone with me at all times would be less of an instinctual and habitual action and more something that I need to remember. This alone makes me feel as though the experiment so far has been worth it -beginning to move from a place of habitual action, to conscious remembering.
I also had few minor inconveniences - wanting to check the updated take-out restaurant of a favorite restaurant on Instagram; wanting to look up a teacher for an online course I was considering. I also missed a birth announcement from Duke’s foster mom which, thankfully, Jake showed me so that I was able to send a text.
I am currently debating the benefits of deactivating the app versus just leaving it alone for a bit longer. Interestingly, in typical social-media-big-brother-style, one can only deactivate the app once per week - meaning, if you go back on for any reason (for example, to leave a note to invite folks to reach out via the website instead of direct messaging in Instagram), you need to wait an entire week to deactivate again. The fascinating theme in everything that I’ve been reading about the way that social media works is how desperately these companies want you to use - and stay engaged with - their apps. Social media companies have been called the cigarette companies of our current time (intentionally creating a product that is addictive, and then adding features to make it more addictive, all to benefit profit and the bottom line). The more that I read and the further I step into this experiment, the more that I agree with this parallel.
I also learned this week from a friend who is reading No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram, that Mark Zuckerburg has purchased VPN companies in order to track what other apps people are using when they aren’t using Facebook or Instagram....which one could argue is a bit weird at best and mildly terrifying at worst. So not only are we being tracked while engaging with social media, but now, we are being tracked (by the same organizations) while doing other things on our devices as well.
If I were to give myself a grade for the second week of this experiment, it would be:
Social Media: B+. I did go into a slight rabbit hole on Facebook one evening researching something that a friend was purchasing. It was an intentional rabbit hole, though, (and the business didn’t have a website - just a business Facebook page) ;) so I am calling this okay.
News: B+. My obsessive news consumption was much better this week than last. Instead of doom surfing and feeling upset about what has been happening in my city and state, I took the opportunity to write to both our mayor, and our governor, to express my perspective and to offer to get involved. (For the curious: so far I haven’t heard anything back from either office.)
Other Technology/Phone Use: B+. Mostly a few podcasts, part of an audio book, and texts with family and friends.
Okay, that’s a wrap on the Week 2 Digital Minimalism Experiment reflections. Thank you to everyone who has reached out about this topic - it’s been a pleasure to talk with you about your own relationship to technology, how you’re thinking about this topic, and what you’re struggling with.
Thank you, as always, for reading!
Warmly,
Sarah
