3 ms·

This is truly my idea of hell. Glad it exists for people out there, but this is literally my idea of hell.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
lrvick 4y ago
I used to think that. I racked up thousands in internet fees on my honeymoon. I proposed wearing Google Glass. I worked for two major wearable electronics companies. I was addicted to being connected at all times. Then I spent a year removing apps I do not need because as I grow older I am not proud of how many thousands of hours of my limited time on this rock I spent doom scrolling. Eventually I ended up with one messenger, music app, a camera, a mapping app, and a browser. Turns out, I do not even need those all the time. Started getting to where I would accidentally leave my phone at home... and did not notice. Then I got a standalone offline digital audio player and enjoyed deciding what music to listen to again. I learned to notice signs and maps and surroundings to navigate on my own in most of my local area. I learned I can take notes on paper when I am out and research things later at home. I learned I do not actually owe it to anyone to be reachable during hours I am not being paid. I learned you can pick times and places to meet, and have a rich IRL social life outside chat rooms. I learned reading books on paper creates more focus. I learned I could port my cell phone numbers to an old payhone that lives in my office and some old DECT landline phones around my home walk away from them when I leave to enjoy real life. I have not used a cell phone since December 2021. I am comfortable living in my own head again and am the happiest I have ever been in my life. Take baby steps to detox from connection addiction. You will not regret it.
- SkittyDog 4y ago
  It helps to find valuable, rewarding ways to spend your time that specifically require you to not have a phone in hand ... I do a lot of outdoors stuff (hiking, climbing, mountaineering) which takes me outside of cell coverage, and mostly occupies my hands & attention. Other people just do regular sports, closer to home... Cycling, tennis, basketball, soccer, whatever. Any decent sized town or city should have some kind of options. Indoors, I like craft skills that require your hands & attention... I give myself a bit of repairing climbing/hiking gear, assorted home improvement projects, etc. The point is, this is all stuff that intrinsically feels good, so it's rewarding on its own. I think the best choices also have a social option, so you can connect with people, at the same time.
- aaaaaaaaata 4y ago
  > Eventually I ended up with one messenger, music app, a camera, a mapping app, and a browser. Which mapping app? Ever tried GrapheneOS? =]
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  Keep in mind that the tech you used back in the day was orders of magnitude less user-hostile than what we have now. Maybe your past "addiction" was in part caused by the utility these devices provided, and as that utility faded (or downsides became more noticeable) the addiction naturally went away?
- filmgirlcw 4y ago
  I'm legitimately very happy for you. But the thing is, even though I am absolutely too reliant on my devices and on tech in general, I like my stuff. It is possible for me to disengage if I need to, and I have taken steps to do that more often. I've been in situations with little or limited internet and it's not ideal and can be frustrating, but I can do it. But the idea of being on vacation and unable to watch TV or a movie, stream a video, catch up on my podcasts, stream music, chat with my friends, play a game, or get stuck in some dumb Wikipedia k-hole at 2:00 in the morning, has absolutely no appeal. Yes, a lot of that stuff could be off-loaded to being done offline. I could pre-download videos, podcasts and albums. I could pack a ton of physical books or just download my Kindle library to my Onyx Boox or my Kindle Oasis (I genuinely prefer reading on an e-reader than on paper books because I like having the ability to switch between books and I'm a fast and voracious reader who often reads multiple books at a time -- and I've been that way since I was a child), but I would still resent not having internet access or a TV on my vacation. But that's me. For better or worse, I am a very connected person, and I don't find a ton of comfort being disconnected. I pitched a number of magazines a story about me going to one of those extreme digital detox places (that don't allow any electronic devices of any type, so no Kindle, no offline music player, nothing) and documenting my descent into madness (or maybe enlightenment) a number of years ago, but no one bit. The bottom line is, the only way I would ever do something like this, willingly, would be because it would be funny to punish myself that way and because it would be a good story to tell. But as an actual vacation prospect, no. This whole concept just makes me more anxious and stressed than if I went to a nice resort where I could delete my work apps off my phone and enjoy Instagram on the beach with a Mai Tai.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

I used to think that. I racked up thousands in internet fees on my honeymoon. I proposed wearing Google Glass. I worked for two major wearable electronics companies. I was addicted to being connected at all times. Then I spent a year removing apps I do not need because as I grow older I am not proud of how many thousands of hours of my limited time on this rock I spent doom scrolling. Eventually I ended up with one messenger, music app, a camera, a mapping app, and a browser. Turns out, I do not even need those all the time. Started getting to where I would accidentally leave my phone at home... and did not notice. Then I got a standalone offline digital audio player and enjoyed deciding what music to listen to again. I learned to notice signs and maps and surroundings to navigate on my own in most of my local area. I learned I can take notes on paper when I am out and research things later at home. I learned I do not actually owe it to anyone to be reachable during hours I am not being paid. I learned you can pick times and places to meet, and have a rich IRL social life outside chat rooms. I learned reading books on paper creates more focus. I learned I could port my cell phone numbers to an old payhone that lives in my office and some old DECT landline phones around my home walk away from them when I leave to enjoy real life. I have not used a cell phone since December 2021. I am comfortable living in my own head again and am the happiest I have ever been in my life. Take baby steps to detox from connection addiction. You will not regret it.

SkittyDog 4y ago
It helps to find valuable, rewarding ways to spend your time that specifically require you to not have a phone in hand ... I do a lot of outdoors stuff (hiking, climbing, mountaineering) which takes me outside of cell coverage, and mostly occupies my hands & attention. Other people just do regular sports, closer to home... Cycling, tennis, basketball, soccer, whatever. Any decent sized town or city should have some kind of options. Indoors, I like craft skills that require your hands & attention... I give myself a bit of repairing climbing/hiking gear, assorted home improvement projects, etc. The point is, this is all stuff that intrinsically feels good, so it's rewarding on its own. I think the best choices also have a social option, so you can connect with people, at the same time.
aaaaaaaaata 4y ago
> Eventually I ended up with one messenger, music app, a camera, a mapping app, and a browser. Which mapping app? Ever tried GrapheneOS? =]
Nextgrid 4y ago
Keep in mind that the tech you used back in the day was orders of magnitude less user-hostile than what we have now. Maybe your past "addiction" was in part caused by the utility these devices provided, and as that utility faded (or downsides became more noticeable) the addiction naturally went away?
filmgirlcw 4y ago
I'm legitimately very happy for you. But the thing is, even though I am absolutely too reliant on my devices and on tech in general, I like my stuff. It is possible for me to disengage if I need to, and I have taken steps to do that more often. I've been in situations with little or limited internet and it's not ideal and can be frustrating, but I can do it. But the idea of being on vacation and unable to watch TV or a movie, stream a video, catch up on my podcasts, stream music, chat with my friends, play a game, or get stuck in some dumb Wikipedia k-hole at 2:00 in the morning, has absolutely no appeal. Yes, a lot of that stuff could be off-loaded to being done offline. I could pre-download videos, podcasts and albums. I could pack a ton of physical books or just download my Kindle library to my Onyx Boox or my Kindle Oasis (I genuinely prefer reading on an e-reader than on paper books because I like having the ability to switch between books and I'm a fast and voracious reader who often reads multiple books at a time -- and I've been that way since I was a child), but I would still resent not having internet access or a TV on my vacation. But that's me. For better or worse, I am a very connected person, and I don't find a ton of comfort being disconnected. I pitched a number of magazines a story about me going to one of those extreme digital detox places (that don't allow any electronic devices of any type, so no Kindle, no offline music player, nothing) and documenting my descent into madness (or maybe enlightenment) a number of years ago, but no one bit. The bottom line is, the only way I would ever do something like this, willingly, would be because it would be funny to punish myself that way and because it would be a good story to tell. But as an actual vacation prospect, no. This whole concept just makes me more anxious and stressed than if I went to a nice resort where I could delete my work apps off my phone and enjoy Instagram on the beach with a Mai Tai.