Thanks for revisiting this topic and essay. Since it's debut I've changed my phone display to B&W - it made a huge difference and also keep the ringer continuously in silent mode. I simple check for calls or messages at 9, Noon, and 3 - otherwise the phone is out of sight, and out of mind.
I have heard from other readers that the switch to B&W is a simple and effective strategy. Great examples for minimizing toward the practical and away from the distracting aspects :)
The B&W display is very effective in reducing the inclination to glance at your phone. Of course, be sure to turn off all notifications too! No need for those :-)
Dull moments and boredom build the foundation of our human experience, by letting us gather and appreciate the neurotransmitter many of us take for granted: dopamine.
Dull moments and boredom are indeed so essential. A few days ago I spent some time at a cafe, not reading or writing, but simply watching the people pass by for half an hour. I was surprised how refreshing and relaxing it was to simply observe.
Movies, TV shows, online content only on the highs and lows, but life is mostly rooted in the day-to-day through which we can develop the highly contextual and intertwined lives that are a strength and bond in the trying times. We're turning into a transaction-based society that serves only the function of satisfying an immediate need or want.
I love this! Thanks for all the resources. I was in the Army in the 1990s in Germany, before cell phones were common and had SO much fun. You had to stand in line - known as 'Hurry up and Wait - which would have been hideously boring, but you talked to the person in front, or in back. I still have friends from those lines. Several years ago, I rode by a bus stop on my military post and saw two soldiers sitting at either end of a bus stop, not talking to each other, but instead engrossed in the cell phone in their hand. They have NO IDEA how much of life they are missing. Sad.
Thank you for revisiting and resharing this seminal essay, Ruth and Peco!
I was surprised and encouraged by the news about LAUSD, a district that is not generally known for making good educational choices. I hope the admins will give teachers the leeway and backup they need to enforce this rule!
Yes, me too! The school district near us in Toronto has also announced a similar plan. I am very curious to see how this plays out in reality and wonder whether it will simply be a new rule on paper that teachers are simply helpless to enforce because students might refuse to physically part with their phones.
I've been trying to write all my substack posts on paper first. I find that my head instinctively turns toward the computer, especially if I have a question. Relearning to engage with wonder.
Writing on paper first is a great practice that Peco and I use as well. It does take practice as I also find that sometimes my fingers and mind long for the key board in order to make the thoughts flow. Being in a space where I have no access to a computer at all with only a pen and legal notepad resloves that temptation :) I would be curious to know whether you notice a difference in the end result for posts that you have drafted by hand.
for me the biggest difference comes not so much the end result but how long it takes to get there. If I write on paper, free of distraction, then I can usually come up with all the stuff that gets into my post, plus ideas for other posts in a shorter amount of time. When I was trying to come up with the first draft, or even an outline on the screen, I start to fidget with other things, write, erase, write, erase. Take a lot longer.
I removed most social media apps off my phone. I have kept Messenger but not Facebook. Messenger is the main way my sister and I communicate as she does not have a cell phone and dislikes talking on the phone. I adjusted my cell phone to not light up with alerts. I keep it on silent unless I am waiting on a phone call. I like Instagram but look at it once a day. Most of the things I follow on Instagram are penguins, bees, owls, book stuff, music, and scenery. I love some things about having a smart phone, but I believe in boundaries.
First thing I read after getting an internet connection today. Haven't had one for two months since we moved to a rural farm property (and I don't have a cell phone either). This was a great reminder! I'm planning to read it with the whole family this evening.
Immediate positive feedback is addictive, even if only a little-bit positive, but FAST!
Introducing delays in the click-response softens addictions (There should be an "app"!)
Whenever a question enters one's mind, there is no need to muse or ponder, because the screen can quickly tell you. If the screen is sometimes absent, one may, again, muse and ponder, but the "smartphone" is always right there in the butt-pocket, right ...?
(I never bought one, just as I completely gave up TV in 1999.)
I have a laptop hard-wired to a wall outlet 25 feet away from where it lies, on a couch facing the kitchen-garden through glass doors, always a reminder of other engagements. It is the portal to my world-library, but I forgot it at home a little over a week ago and read my current book, instead, Thorstein Veblen's 1904 "The Theory Of Business Enterprise", which is helping me understand much of what happened to money, business and manufacturing in the 20th century, and still today, and what forgotten paths we have not taken...
Walks, as you mentioned, and daily bike rides in low-threat neighborhoods, for me, are a time for reverie, consideration and epiphany. The world-library still sits patiently... I occasionally get a flip-phone call on a bike ride. Not often, maybe once a month (YMMV).
I think the delay on the immediacy, and removing the ubiquity, so that other avenues of thought are taken every day, helps restore humanity.
Realization of our capacity to receive and enact Divine Guidance is another step forward, critical in this epoch we have entered, and usurped by the ubiquitous little screens of answers and deceptions.
Does Recognise, Remove, Return resonate with practice in mediation? Return from distraction through recognition is a foundational method (which Iforone still struggle with). Remembering the present in the Buddhist sense; returning to the Dao.
On Removal, I agree about importance of shifting the narrative, the range of options considered reasonable. Although "considered reasonable" by whom, and how is that mediated?
The only thing I'd add to your brilliant critique and strategies would be more of a focus on 'marketing forces': how capital drives and conditions the machine. (Or vice versa?)
I think what keeps me partially sane is periods away from Internet, in the Burmese jungle occasionally (my day job). And I don't do social media (except Substack). I do practice most mornings, and most importantly have faith in Christ.
Sorry to ramble. Thanks for great writing and insights. Ashley
Thanks for pointing them out Sara. I think they offer concrete hope for those who struggle with severe addiction. I also appreciate that they share 'recovery stories'. I think the challenge for most of us is recognizing how much digital tech suffuses so many aspects of our daily lives and relationships and removes us from reality and each other.Thanks again :)
I invite you top see the draft lecture "The Silicon Rule" at https://cjshayward.com/tedx/. I've worked on the audio.
One friend said in response that he was a fan of the Golden Rule, the Silver Rule, the Silicon Rule, all that. The one concrete step I offer at the end is below your pay grade, but some beginners might find it a place to start cutting back without yet stranding themselves.
I'm glad to be at a monastery that is not cellphone driven...
I span the minimalist nature refuge spectrum. As someone who actively seeks knowledge and cross references seeking truth, I view cell phones as a tool. A tool that imposes costs that one must decide if the cost benefit is worth it. What are the costs? Potential of addiction, diversion of time, central system tracking for those that do not have the individuals best interest in plan, emf source, disruptive to local biological processes, among others I’m sure. Pretty severe when actively contemplated (as we must). Although I try to also build a physical library as back up, there is no denying the convenience, breath, and low monetary cost of the information attained. So here I set pecking away on a small keypad with an irradiating device in my lap emitting unnatural frequencies in the heart of a forest on the fringe of civilization trying to corral me.
There is another path being revealed by the forest if you put the phone down and walk further in. The natural energy fields at earth scale are way more powerful than human technology. Locally they may be overcome but not globally. Although thousands of satellites may prove me wrong. Here, deep in the forest, intuition and subtle sensory perceptions rule. Everything is in some form of connection with everything else. You, your internal forest, and the external forest. It reenforces the idea of the collective. Or swarm in your terms. The power of the collective is key. I’m struggling with how that works organizationally. Maybe random correctness (truth based morality) is the only way it can work.
After six years in this field. I’ve started a substack aimed at Christian parents calling on them to say no to the phone based childhood. https://dearchristianparent.substack.com/p/hey-christians-smartphones-arent?utm_campaign=post&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Thanks for sharing your work Emily! Subscribed :) I remember reading your essay on Melanie Hempe's Screen Strong earlier this year. "What to Say When Your Child Asks for a Smartphone "https://screenstrong.substack.com/p/what-to-say-when-your-child-asks
Thanks so much, Ruth! I love your work!
Thanks for revisiting this topic and essay. Since it's debut I've changed my phone display to B&W - it made a huge difference and also keep the ringer continuously in silent mode. I simple check for calls or messages at 9, Noon, and 3 - otherwise the phone is out of sight, and out of mind.
Thank you for your good work!
I have heard from other readers that the switch to B&W is a simple and effective strategy. Great examples for minimizing toward the practical and away from the distracting aspects :)
The B&W display is very effective in reducing the inclination to glance at your phone. Of course, be sure to turn off all notifications too! No need for those :-)
Dull moments and boredom build the foundation of our human experience, by letting us gather and appreciate the neurotransmitter many of us take for granted: dopamine.
Dull moments and boredom are indeed so essential. A few days ago I spent some time at a cafe, not reading or writing, but simply watching the people pass by for half an hour. I was surprised how refreshing and relaxing it was to simply observe.
Movies, TV shows, online content only on the highs and lows, but life is mostly rooted in the day-to-day through which we can develop the highly contextual and intertwined lives that are a strength and bond in the trying times. We're turning into a transaction-based society that serves only the function of satisfying an immediate need or want.
I love this! Thanks for all the resources. I was in the Army in the 1990s in Germany, before cell phones were common and had SO much fun. You had to stand in line - known as 'Hurry up and Wait - which would have been hideously boring, but you talked to the person in front, or in back. I still have friends from those lines. Several years ago, I rode by a bus stop on my military post and saw two soldiers sitting at either end of a bus stop, not talking to each other, but instead engrossed in the cell phone in their hand. They have NO IDEA how much of life they are missing. Sad.
Thank you for revisiting and resharing this seminal essay, Ruth and Peco!
I was surprised and encouraged by the news about LAUSD, a district that is not generally known for making good educational choices. I hope the admins will give teachers the leeway and backup they need to enforce this rule!
Yes, me too! The school district near us in Toronto has also announced a similar plan. I am very curious to see how this plays out in reality and wonder whether it will simply be a new rule on paper that teachers are simply helpless to enforce because students might refuse to physically part with their phones.
I've been trying to write all my substack posts on paper first. I find that my head instinctively turns toward the computer, especially if I have a question. Relearning to engage with wonder.
Writing on paper first is a great practice that Peco and I use as well. It does take practice as I also find that sometimes my fingers and mind long for the key board in order to make the thoughts flow. Being in a space where I have no access to a computer at all with only a pen and legal notepad resloves that temptation :) I would be curious to know whether you notice a difference in the end result for posts that you have drafted by hand.
for me the biggest difference comes not so much the end result but how long it takes to get there. If I write on paper, free of distraction, then I can usually come up with all the stuff that gets into my post, plus ideas for other posts in a shorter amount of time. When I was trying to come up with the first draft, or even an outline on the screen, I start to fidget with other things, write, erase, write, erase. Take a lot longer.
I removed most social media apps off my phone. I have kept Messenger but not Facebook. Messenger is the main way my sister and I communicate as she does not have a cell phone and dislikes talking on the phone. I adjusted my cell phone to not light up with alerts. I keep it on silent unless I am waiting on a phone call. I like Instagram but look at it once a day. Most of the things I follow on Instagram are penguins, bees, owls, book stuff, music, and scenery. I love some things about having a smart phone, but I believe in boundaries.
First thing I read after getting an internet connection today. Haven't had one for two months since we moved to a rural farm property (and I don't have a cell phone either). This was a great reminder! I'm planning to read it with the whole family this evening.
Clara
Seems quite fitting :) Wonderful to hear about your move and wishing you all the best as you get settled in your new home!
Thank you, Ruth.
Thank you! Very thoughtful and full of ideas as to how to begin. I appreciate that.
What is addictive?
Immediate positive feedback is addictive, even if only a little-bit positive, but FAST!
Introducing delays in the click-response softens addictions (There should be an "app"!)
Whenever a question enters one's mind, there is no need to muse or ponder, because the screen can quickly tell you. If the screen is sometimes absent, one may, again, muse and ponder, but the "smartphone" is always right there in the butt-pocket, right ...?
(I never bought one, just as I completely gave up TV in 1999.)
I have a laptop hard-wired to a wall outlet 25 feet away from where it lies, on a couch facing the kitchen-garden through glass doors, always a reminder of other engagements. It is the portal to my world-library, but I forgot it at home a little over a week ago and read my current book, instead, Thorstein Veblen's 1904 "The Theory Of Business Enterprise", which is helping me understand much of what happened to money, business and manufacturing in the 20th century, and still today, and what forgotten paths we have not taken...
Walks, as you mentioned, and daily bike rides in low-threat neighborhoods, for me, are a time for reverie, consideration and epiphany. The world-library still sits patiently... I occasionally get a flip-phone call on a bike ride. Not often, maybe once a month (YMMV).
I think the delay on the immediacy, and removing the ubiquity, so that other avenues of thought are taken every day, helps restore humanity.
Realization of our capacity to receive and enact Divine Guidance is another step forward, critical in this epoch we have entered, and usurped by the ubiquitous little screens of answers and deceptions.
Many thanks. Inspiring and spot on.
Does Recognise, Remove, Return resonate with practice in mediation? Return from distraction through recognition is a foundational method (which Iforone still struggle with). Remembering the present in the Buddhist sense; returning to the Dao.
On Removal, I agree about importance of shifting the narrative, the range of options considered reasonable. Although "considered reasonable" by whom, and how is that mediated?
The only thing I'd add to your brilliant critique and strategies would be more of a focus on 'marketing forces': how capital drives and conditions the machine. (Or vice versa?)
I think what keeps me partially sane is periods away from Internet, in the Burmese jungle occasionally (my day job). And I don't do social media (except Substack). I do practice most mornings, and most importantly have faith in Christ.
Sorry to ramble. Thanks for great writing and insights. Ashley
Have you come across Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous? It's a 12-step fellowship that is helping many people with this.
Thanks for pointing them out Sara. I think they offer concrete hope for those who struggle with severe addiction. I also appreciate that they share 'recovery stories'. I think the challenge for most of us is recognizing how much digital tech suffuses so many aspects of our daily lives and relationships and removes us from reality and each other.Thanks again :)
I invite you top see the draft lecture "The Silicon Rule" at https://cjshayward.com/tedx/. I've worked on the audio.
One friend said in response that he was a fan of the Golden Rule, the Silver Rule, the Silicon Rule, all that. The one concrete step I offer at the end is below your pay grade, but some beginners might find it a place to start cutting back without yet stranding themselves.
I'm glad to be at a monastery that is not cellphone driven...
🌐Thank you ☦️ ⛲🔥❇️ 🌬️
🕊️Grace and ✨Peace to you both....
I span the minimalist nature refuge spectrum. As someone who actively seeks knowledge and cross references seeking truth, I view cell phones as a tool. A tool that imposes costs that one must decide if the cost benefit is worth it. What are the costs? Potential of addiction, diversion of time, central system tracking for those that do not have the individuals best interest in plan, emf source, disruptive to local biological processes, among others I’m sure. Pretty severe when actively contemplated (as we must). Although I try to also build a physical library as back up, there is no denying the convenience, breath, and low monetary cost of the information attained. So here I set pecking away on a small keypad with an irradiating device in my lap emitting unnatural frequencies in the heart of a forest on the fringe of civilization trying to corral me.
There is another path being revealed by the forest if you put the phone down and walk further in. The natural energy fields at earth scale are way more powerful than human technology. Locally they may be overcome but not globally. Although thousands of satellites may prove me wrong. Here, deep in the forest, intuition and subtle sensory perceptions rule. Everything is in some form of connection with everything else. You, your internal forest, and the external forest. It reenforces the idea of the collective. Or swarm in your terms. The power of the collective is key. I’m struggling with how that works organizationally. Maybe random correctness (truth based morality) is the only way it can work.