We live in complex times regarding our relationship to technology, we have already reached a tipping point regarding the geographical, ecological, and social impact of technology, thus looking for alternatives regarding these technologies, both the hardwares that rely on slavey and mining, and the softwares, mostly controled by oligarchies that drive an economy based on spoliation, and have clear right wing political inerests, is not only an interesting personal choince, but a political commitment as well.
However, it is important to understand that these are tools, and sometimes we veer towards a fetishistic aproach toward this topic. Physical media is pretty cool, but having a nice HD with movies you downloaded can be as good as having a collection of dvds, or what seems more concious regularly fixing your smartphone or this wave of buying "dumb" phones. The way you interact and use these technologies is truly what matters.
Why should you use your phone less if your goal is to keep in contact with important people in your life? Using your phone for 3 hours because you have been chatting with friends is different than using it the same time doomscrooling. You can use your messaging app, and block apps or straight up delete apps that you believe are unhealthy for you. Phone time is a quantative number, but you can have a qualitative approach to it.
I apologize if this sounded a bit ranty. I hope you can keep in touch wth your dear friends through many ways, and if the phone is accesiable to all of you, I would say why not? I reccomend using Signal as a messaging app hihi
5d ago
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i have been on a journey to untangle my tasks from my iPhone.
i'd be out in the world someplace, pull out my phone for something as menial as checking the time, or as well intentioned as capturing the moment in a pic, and immediately get sucked into texts and instagram™️ and all the virtual things happening in this tiny lil demon light box.
the goal: pull my phone out of my bag ONLY for phone things. that's texting, calling, and apps that can't be replaced
the solutions so far:
🕰️ i started with a watch (shoutout Casio) and i wear it every day. once I broke the habit of checking my phone for the time, I felt legitimately freed from something Major
📷 I bought a small digital camera to leave in my bag. the pics look better and I don’t get distracted by the virtual world when I'm trying to capture something in the now
đź“š I bought a kindle. It fits in my jacket pocket (literally) and gives me something to do when I'm on the train or waiting for an appointment that isn't scrolling
I just realized so much of the time I spent on my phone was not intentional. It was a thing I was doing in between Other intentional moments. my screen time is still several hours a day (don’t get me wrong) but I think my brain has healed at least 3%.
welcoming other ideas as wellđź’ˇ
Sep 24, 2024
🔌
I like to let my phone die— I often don’t charge it overnight, and try not to plug it in during the day. If you’re able to access work/school through only your laptop, let your phone die, or leave it on the plug in another room.
I also delete most apps from my phone for periods of weeks, and minimally use social media— if this works for you, it can feel very liberating, and makes me feel much less constantly accessible (which I think is a good thing).
Something that helps me is thinking about the flattening of correspondence; before social media, if you wanted to communicate to a friend, it was one-on-one— you might write a letter, or call, or email, but what you were doing was conversational and relational. When we use social media, we flatten a lot of individual relationships into one relationship between us and our “audience.” Instead of sharing a thought or comment intended for one person, and designed for them to reply and continue the correspondence, we put out press releases on our own lives: “this is what I had for breakfast,” “this is a meme about my mental health,” and we become part of a passive audience in our friend’s lives. We end up feeling like we’ve just seen our friends, because we’re “viewing” their lives, but actually apps leave us feeling very isolated and anti-social. Try deleting your most used social media apps, and also schedule a walk/movie night/coffee with a friend.
Outside of radical deletion, pick an audio book to listen to, and pair it with a hands on/tactile activity: you could load the dishwasher, or draw, or try embroidery.
Jul 29, 2024
đź“´
I LOVE limiting screen time because I become hypersensitive to how used I am to using easy entertainment as a crutch to keep from dealing with my own discomfort. A professor of mine always used to talk about how screens keep us from reaching rock bottom of our souls. From really knowing ourselves, our minds, and most of all Boredom. And I think there’s a ton of merit to that thought.
it made me focus on letting myself get real bored by not being on screens. ive found it opens up the door to my own thoughts and creativity, but also lets me fill that time with other things. Looking around, going on walks, reading books, writing. Things that might be distractions, but they fill my soul up instead of draining it.
ideas emerge from my mind much easier, or maybe it is just easier to pull them out of my mind without the yucky film screens wrap all my thoughts in.
One thing I recommend doing is turning phone grayscale on by turning color filters on and reducing white point. You can make it an accessibility shortcut so it’s easy to switch between color and b&w screen but it makes my phone in general feel much less like a weapon against my eyes and brain. And, frankly, it makes scrolling less beautiful than the real world. Like I could either look at this sad little light box fake world or THIS ONE IM LIVING IN.
I also just can't overstate how much I love being off instagram. I get to ask friends who I really care about what theyre up to, they tell me real things about their lives instead of the polished version, I share the same back. I don't feel like I have to keep up or worry if I dont want to.
And I honestly feel happy to not be faced with a divisive algorithm and stupid reels sucking me in.
It just feels like the kind thing to do for my mind. I know this is a dissertation but I’m really passionate about this initiative LOL.
Jun 1, 2024
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🕵
One of the things I like the most about Pi.fyi and the current scale of users is that it's still noticeable when a rec was inspired by another.
Sometimes the rec directly mentions the other, but other times you can kinda assume that reading an especific thing here triggered a memory or an ideia.
It's very cute and interesting to notice the small influences interacting with other humans online can have.
Feb 11, 2025
🧽
I know there are days when you are so tired, or maybe you made a big meal for friends and family or you spent the afternoon meal prepping and now you have to clean like five pots and a tray, but be brave!!! (my inner monologue)
Don't force your future self to wake up to a bunch of dirty dishes. It will keep your mind full because you will be constantly reminding yourself to clean that up.
May 23, 2025
đź“
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