Digital Minimalism Discussion Thread

[Homer Potvin]

I wonder if it's a generational thing. I'm in my late 40s and don't see anything wrong or different with screens vs their erstwhile equivalents. So what if I stream a movie instead of watching the same thing on DVD? Or read something on an e-reader instead of in print? Or use the Internet instead of newspapers to read the exact same thing? I'm not seeing the difference.

As for social media... meh. I guess if you lived in a world without it, you can see what a vapid nothing-burger it is. But if that's your only connection to the world, yeah, you've got a "problem." Though is everyone has the same problem, I guess it's not a real problem at all.

Don't worry. One way or the other, it will all be over soon.

 

[Heartlet Happer]

What is wrong with having media consumed too efficiently?

I think it is lack of filters being a problem. In less efficient times the cost and effort to move the information was high. An average person could trust the economy of time to be real, if someone you know, trust, had something to say, it was worth an attention.

 

[ps102]

I wonder if it's a generational thing. I'm in my late 40s and don't see anything wrong or different with screens vs their erstwhile equivalents. So what if I stream a movie instead of watching the same thing on DVD? Or read something on an e-reader instead of in print? Or use the Internet instead of newspapers to read the exact same thing? I'm not seeing the difference.

Algorithms. Media platforms often have a "recommended" section that is algorithmically tuned to you specifically so you're hooked.

They're a key part to why people get addicted to social media. I don't use Facebook, but I do have an account just for the Marketplace part of the site. When I was there a month or two ago, I noticed how the site was showing me specific types of posts and videos. I wondered how it caught onto my interests so I did a bit of experimenting to see if I could trick the algorithm into thinking I liked cooking videos.

So, for about ten minutes, I scrolled through my feed and let Facebook play a minute or two of any cooking-related content I came across. If any other content came up, I'd scroll away as fast as possible. And what do you know? After about thirty minutes of doing this, it started showing me mostly cooking videos.

They probably use more factors than just watch time, but the point is, those platforms have psychological methods to get you hooked. I don't have Netflix but I imagine it has something similar. DVDs don't.

I guess that's the where the main merit of a "vintage lifestyle" comes from.

 

[Homer Potvin]

Algorithms

Yeah, I get that part. Saves me the trouble of having to organize it all myself.

"vintage lifestyle"

First generation in history to lost back with any nostalgia, haha. Glad I'm past the halfway mark.

 

[Tallyfire]

TL;DR - I would love to cut down even more on internet use. Or my phone in general. Or simply use it for an e-reader. Easier said than done.

This is also a topic for me right now, so I can tell you what I've been doing in case you're curious about different methods.

An e-reader has actually been a surprising help. I like reading articles and short stories, but if I start them on my phone I often get distracted by notifications or other topics. So I copy the link and email it to my Kobo (e-reader), which has Instapaper on it. The Kobo downloads it and I can read the article/short story like any other book with highlighting and whatnot. That's helped make the reading more focussed too. No distractions or rabbit holes on the Kobo since it's offline most of the time.

I would love to be less on the internet too. But I seem to have an ongoing trivia in my mind, my own version of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, barring Jeremy Clarkson's voice, asking random stuff that I simply must look up as soon as possible. I could be in the middle of spraying invading ants when he sounds out a question. Drop everything. Google the answer. Sometimes Google the answer for 20 minutes.

I'm like this. I'd pick up my phone to google the answer, then get distracted by new messages, or open an old tab and see something I stopped reading, get distracted for ten minutes, put my phone down and only then remember the thing I originally wanted to look up. So much time wasted.

So I've started "storing" my phone underneath a notebook, and whenever I want to look something up I write it in the notebook. At the end of the day (or whenever I like), I go through the notebook list and look things up on my laptop and tick them off as I go (or just don't bother if I lost interest). The laptop is less of a rabbit-hole for me with fewer distractions. (I even wrote a reminder to reply to this thread .) Putting a notebook on top of my phone has reduced the number of times I pick up my phone by half.

 

[GoldMoon]

This is also a topic for me right now, so I can tell you what I've been doing in case you're curious about different methods.

An e-reader has actually been a surprising help. I like reading articles and short stories, but if I start them on my phone I often get distracted by notifications or other topics. So I copy the link and email it to my Kobo (e-reader), which has Instapaper on it. The Kobo downloads it and I can read the article/short story like any other book with highlighting and whatnot. That's helped make the reading more focussed too. No distractions or rabbit holes on the Kobo since it's offline most of the time.


I'm like this. I'd pick up my phone to google the answer, then get distracted by new messages, or open an old tab and see something I stopped reading, get distracted for ten minutes, put my phone down and only then remember the thing I originally wanted to look up. So much time wasted.

So I've started "storing" my phone underneath a notebook, and whenever I want to look something up I write it in the notebook. At the end of the day (or whenever I like), I go through the notebook list and look things up on my laptop and tick them off as I go (or just don't bother if I lost interest). The laptop is less of a rabbit-hole for me with fewer distractions. (I even wrote a reminder to reply to this thread .) Putting a notebook on top of my phone has reduced the number of times I pick up my phone by half.

The notebook is interesting! Someone also mentioned treating their computer like a pet that must sleep. I think I'll jointly try those two.