Living Unconformed Lives in the Digital Age: Share Your Story
"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."
- Antoine de Saint Exupéry, author of The Little Prince
The ubiquity of digital tech has changed us, not for the better. As a reader here you are likely either concerned about this, are looking for better ways to navigate daily life in the digital world, or are already living a life counter to the current zeitgeist. Most of us are familiar with the evidence of the myriad negative impacts of phone-based lives, especially on children. Most of us have heard about practical ways to reduce our device use.
But we need inspiration to move us into action. Just as Antoine de Saint Exupéry said we must long for the immensity of the sea in order to build a ship, we must learn to long for the immensity of life if we want to turn back to reality.
Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation presents clear evidence of the negative impact of a phone-based childhood, demonstrating that this is not merely a “groundless moral panic,” but is indeed a “real concern over a tidal wave of suffering that has washed over schools and many families since the early 2010s.”
Haidt’s campaign to “free the anxious generation” has found deep resonance among parents, educators, and youth, who are joining the movement to take action to turn the tide back toward a reality-based childhood. He presents dozens of suggestions for what government and tech companies, schools, and parents can do to return to a phone-free childhood.
My husband Peco and I would like to add to this collective action momentum. We have been writing on navigating life in the digital age for more than year here on School of the Unconformed. Throughout our interactions with our readership we repeatedly noted that in addition to evidence and practical advice, people are in search of inspiring personal stories that model a different relationship with technology.
Over the course of history it was not just facts, nor research, nor evidence alone that prompted social change. It was people. Especially those who inspired others with their vision and their stories.
So here is our invitation to you:
Send us your real life stories of how you live life differently in a digital age.
Length: 500 to 2000 words
We are interested in sharing stories from people of all ages and walks of life:
Whether you are a teen who has decided to take part in Freya India’s Phone Free Friday Summer Challenge as part of the Free the Anxious Generation movement, a young person embracing real life rather than the virtual, a parent making changes to tech use in the home, a senior taking part in book clubs, someone simply embracing ordinary daily acts to keep the invasion of tech at bay, a modern-day luddite, or someone who is just starting today by signing off social media—we want to hear your stories!
The submitted stories will be collected and published in a new section on School of the Unconformed that readers can freely access to gain encouragement and inspiration.
If you are looking for ideas to get started, see Simple Acts of Sanity: A Seed Catalogue, Fasting from the Virtual, Feasting on the Real, or Sacred Synchronies: How to Restore Rhythms that Make us Human.
How:
Send your stories in the body of an e-mail to: schooloftheunconformed@proton.me
Please note: No attachments will be opened.
If you have your own Substack, you can also publish your story there and send a link to your post.
When:
Send us your stories by August 16th.
Thank You:
As a special Thank You for taking the time to share your stories, all participants will receive a complimentary six month paid subscription to School of the Unconformed, which will give you access to all paid archived articles including Sowing Anachronism: How to be Weird in Public, and Private, Unmachined Words: A Reading List to Keep You Human, Beyond Digital Detox: How to Make a Home for Humans and many more, as well as educational resources.
We look forward to your stories!
Please share this post with family, friends, community groups, or anyone else who you think might be interested in inspiring others to live unconformed lives in a digital age :)
If you would like to have a unique experience of “opting into life”, come and join us on A Pilgrimage out of the Machine!
My husband Peco and I will be leading an eleven-day pilgrimage on the Camino trail in Spain next year, from June 14-24, 2025. Joining us, as co-leader, will be writer/photographer Seth Haines from The Examine. Space is limited so reserve your spot now :) You can read all about it here or view the brochure here. This trip is open to everyone, irrespective of religion or background.
We would love to walk together with you!
Commenting as a reminder to myself to write about silent retreats for this and a bookmark to come back and read some of the works recommended- Thankyou 💜