In his profound book, Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport argues that technology is indeed not neutral which is a tenant we here at ATC have been adamant or perusing, and that alas, business titans meticulously engineer gadgets as to be utterly addictive for the average consumer. As Rousseau so eloquently puts it ‘The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.’ One should stop and think how many hours of their borrowed time is wasted doom scrolling into the abyss that feeds the puppeteers making money out of our insecurities.
One should deliberately berate themselves after spending extended number of hours, technologically oriented, with the output surmounting to a net negative whilst leaving one worse off then one they engaged with the antagonist to begin with. Moreover, one should highlight the quite eminent question of how much life is being given up by engaging with such a device? Cal Newport regurgitated it perfectly when he said one should live a life of intentionality rather than one of mere convenience. It does indeed take more agency to refrain from such an activity, but one will be better off without it in the long run, reaping the benefits of increased energy levels, focus, and overall happiness.
Solitude deprivation is one tactic Newport notes that is ought to dispel the meager tendency of excessive technology use. One should take long walks alone, practice forest bathing, and exercise the muscle that induces stillness. The more the former acts are implemented the more one will be satiated with their own company, sans technology, thus becoming less dependent on digital distractions to wash away worries and ‘hinder’ anxiety.
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