Breaking Away For A WIFI-Free Summer
We all know it. Smartphones make us feel bad. The technological and communication revolution, which makes us more connected than ever ended up isolating us.
They isolate us and push people down a rabbit hole of conspiracy and despair. On top of that, technology is just boring. No more see-through plastic or different phone shapes. Just grey rectangles.
Especially during the school year, it’s hard to break free of these confines. Not using your cell phone just isn’t an option. Between checking email, Canvas grade updates, and DuoMobile, phones are a bigger part of life than we may like.
Digital minimalism is a new-ish trend that encourages people to split the uses of their phone across multiple devices to break away from it.
That is why summer vacation is the perfect time to break free of your phone.
Surprisingly, old-school flip phones are still available. The Nokia 2780 is a great start to the digital minimalism adventure. (They even make “dumb phones” that have modern conveniences without the ability to install social media or games.)
Next, you should get some sort of music player. A CD walkman or iPod will suffice, and dig out your old DVDs for some binge-watching classic comedy shows, or have a movie night. Whip out your old DS from the messy drawer you keep it in, and play some of your classic favorites. An old camera is a great way to capture memories without the ability to get distracted by your phone.
(A laptop will likely be needed to check in with school every so often, but trying to avoid this is great.)
Oftentimes, we want to feel like a kid again. Have time to imagine and feel joy. School and work are easy things to blame, but honestly, sometimes it really is those damn phones. If you try to replace your screen time with old-school media, drawing or reading, you will be surprised by how quickly your brain starts to heal.
As stupid as it sounds, “whimsy-maxxing” is honestly a great way to pass the time between shifts. Just do things for the sake of doing them. Play a game of tag with friends or hide-and-seek around campus.
Even when school comes back around, it’s great to carry what you’ve learned forward. A flip phone is not needed to practice digital minimalism.
Deleting all social media (or being strict about limiting your screen time by having a friend set the password) or putting your phone in greyscale to make it less appealing is a great way to make your phone a tool for you, not something that controls your time and dictates how you feel.
None of this is to say you should cut yourself off entirely from the outside world. Keeping up with the news and being an informed citizen is always crucial.
Next time you get the weekly screen-time report and feel that hint of shame or embarrassment, take control and make a change. It’s hard to do this by sheer force of will, so shifting your physical technology is more effective to change your habit.
