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I'd be overjoyed at the prospect of a life with meaningful activities and interactions that don't require a screen. I have yet to succeed in making much progres

by Bakary 6y ago

I'd be overjoyed at the prospect of a life with meaningful activities and interactions that don't require a screen. I have yet to succeed in making much progress towards that goal. It bothers me that instead of adapting the tool to us we have adapted ourselves to the tool.

curryst 6y ago
> It bothers me that instead of adapting the tool to us we have adapted ourselves to the tool. Isn't that always the way it is? Society made obvious shifts with the invention of the car. With the invention of the printing press, we adapted by teaching people to read the things it produced. Adapting to our tools seems like the reason we live anything like we currently do. Otherwise we'd still live in communities in the woods, with technology that has adapted to us (which is an interesting thing to think about).
dannyw 6y ago
There are plenty, at least pre-pandemic. • Explore a national park, go on a few hikes (guided by paper maps and a compass), and refine your photography skills with a DSLR/mirrorless. Budget ones can be had for a couple hundred dollars and they still beat phone cameras. • Cook something with your friends, or go out and eat dinner. • Play some board games, join a dungeon and dragons game. A great thing to do when the weather is bad. • If you have children, spend some screen free, activity free time with them. You could just chat, teach them spontaneous new skills, or explore together. • Have a maker itch but don’t want to look at a screen? Play around with physical hardware. Get a soldering iron, some components from Digikey, and make something yourself (and have fun). • Go to a party, festival, or rave. • Drive somewhere and just camp with good company and some drinks. • Meet a friend or colleague spontaneously for coffee and just catch up. • Draw. • Learn renovation and make your home better, just the way you want it (and increase its value). • Learn how to change oil on your car and start doing maintenance yourself. Fixing a car is kinda like fixing a computer. • Go for a swim. • Go to the gym, or workout with mates. • Read a book. • Go for a walk while listening to your favourite albums. Life is filled with meaningful, screen-free alternatives. You just have to appreciate them.
- pmg102 6y ago
  I've tried a number of these activities. What I've found is that most if not all the ones I've tried require and imply screen time. I go down rabbit holes of scrolling phone for the perfect sofa, the perfect cycling jersey, the best mountain airbnb, and so on. The only real way to escape smartphones is to live a 1970s life where the only things you know come from other people or the radio/tv. I have a slight yen to try this but I can't bear to actually try it. It would be like cutting off a limb. I'd be so information poor.
  - dannyw 6y ago
    Smartphones are not the enemy: treat them as a tool you use to make your life as full as it can be. I don’t understand why spending time researching a cool Airbnb diminishes the non-screen-time nature of going to the mountains.
- Bakary 6y ago
  These are all great suggestions. I've certainly enjoyed many of these activities (well, before 2020 I suppose). What drives me crazy is that getting a job that doesn't involve a computer implies some serious tradeoffs, while the computer also bleeds into many of these occupations you listed (especially when needing to learn something).

by Bakary 6y ago

curryst 6y ago

> It bothers me that instead of adapting the tool to us we have adapted ourselves to the tool. Isn't that always the way it is? Society made obvious shifts with the invention of the car. With the invention of the printing press, we adapted by teaching people to read the things it produced. Adapting to our tools seems like the reason we live anything like we currently do. Otherwise we'd still live in communities in the woods, with technology that has adapted to us (which is an interesting thing to think about).

dannyw 6y ago

There are plenty, at least pre-pandemic. • Explore a national park, go on a few hikes (guided by paper maps and a compass), and refine your photography skills with a DSLR/mirrorless. Budget ones can be had for a couple hundred dollars and they still beat phone cameras. • Cook something with your friends, or go out and eat dinner. • Play some board games, join a dungeon and dragons game. A great thing to do when the weather is bad. • If you have children, spend some screen free, activity free time with them. You could just chat, teach them spontaneous new skills, or explore together. • Have a maker itch but don’t want to look at a screen? Play around with physical hardware. Get a soldering iron, some components from Digikey, and make something yourself (and have fun). • Go to a party, festival, or rave. • Drive somewhere and just camp with good company and some drinks. • Meet a friend or colleague spontaneously for coffee and just catch up. • Draw. • Learn renovation and make your home better, just the way you want it (and increase its value). • Learn how to change oil on your car and start doing maintenance yourself. Fixing a car is kinda like fixing a computer. • Go for a swim. • Go to the gym, or workout with mates. • Read a book. • Go for a walk while listening to your favourite albums. Life is filled with meaningful, screen-free alternatives. You just have to appreciate them.

pmg102 6y ago
I've tried a number of these activities. What I've found is that most if not all the ones I've tried require and imply screen time. I go down rabbit holes of scrolling phone for the perfect sofa, the perfect cycling jersey, the best mountain airbnb, and so on. The only real way to escape smartphones is to live a 1970s life where the only things you know come from other people or the radio/tv. I have a slight yen to try this but I can't bear to actually try it. It would be like cutting off a limb. I'd be so information poor.
- dannyw 6y ago
  Smartphones are not the enemy: treat them as a tool you use to make your life as full as it can be. I don’t understand why spending time researching a cool Airbnb diminishes the non-screen-time nature of going to the mountains.
Bakary 6y ago
These are all great suggestions. I've certainly enjoyed many of these activities (well, before 2020 I suppose). What drives me crazy is that getting a job that doesn't involve a computer implies some serious tradeoffs, while the computer also bleeds into many of these occupations you listed (especially when needing to learn something).