Getting off the Pipe — Part 0, It’s Time
Preface
If you’ve watched Netflix’s The Social Dilemma, read Adam Alter’s Irresistible or failed a “total abstinence tech detox” in your first day (like me)—you know tech addiction is real. (And BTW email boozehounds aren’t much healthier than social crackheads). The internet, smartphones phones and social media were supposed to help us be better informed, work less and have deeper connections with our friends. So how’s that been working out for ya…
I’ve been on a mission to get “digitally healthier.” Much like physical fitness involves many areas that are improved incrementally and interconnected (nutrition, strength, cardio, sleep, etc), so it seems with fixing unhealthy technology use. I’d like to share my journey as a guinea pig and the step by step solutions that have worked for me.
This post is a little bit of my backstory and awakening. It might sound like your reality. Here’s Part 1 if you prefer to just dive right in to the practical stuff.
The Problem
Even when Sigmund Freud was pouring liquid cocaine into his booger sugar busted nose cavity, he didn’t think he was addicted. Back then it was believed drug addiction couldn’t happen to intelligent people. So too did I not think my relationship with technology was an issue. Yet…
- I often fell asleep looking at my phone (youtube videos, mindless social scrolling, podcasts)
- My phone charged next to my bed, I checked it first thing and it was rarely ever out of reach during the day
- I couldn’t go an entire restaurant gathering without checking my phone at least once
- I felt obligated to respond to texts, messages and emails within minutes or seconds
- When I posted something on social (admittedly rare), I would compulsively check likes and views for the rest of the day
- I was conscious that much of my digital time was empty carbs (barely entertaining or informative videos, a promotion filled inbox, unwanted notifications, sensational news I was skeptical of, etc.)
- And I didn’t really see anything wrong with any of this
“Only drug dealers and software companies call their customers “users”
— Edward Tufte
From an outside vantage point things were fine. I worked. I ate. I stayed out of jail. And like a high functioning alcoholic, so it could remain undetected but internally corrosive for many years.
I’ll use subsequent posts for all the deep dives and remedies, but a noticeable difficulty concentrating was certainly my first bloody nose/red flag. I found myself having problems reading an old school analog book for more than a few pages without getting distracted. I had warehouse rave laser thought patterns while I attempted to meditate. Like a good addict, these problems just caused me to put the book down and abandon a mindfulness practice. Then I had a Menace II Society moment: I noticed myself unable to watch a movie without also being on my phone.
So Now What?
A few weeks back I decided to change a whole bunch of life/tech habits as part of a 10 day reboot experiment. I have seen tangible improvements in many areas of my life and modified the plan as “10 Day v2". Because tech habits are all consuming with many bad outcomes—social validation, attention theft, difficulty with objective reality—I’ll keep posts to a single topic with the tangible steps that produced good outcomes for me.
