I get why articles that promise a quick "analog reset" look appealing and are shared with the best intentions. Many of us are trying to claw back attention span these days. But this ain't it and I...
Exemplary
I get why articles that promise a quick "analog reset" look appealing and are shared with the best intentions. Many of us are trying to claw back attention span these days. But this ain't it and I think is even harmful to a degree.
While in a list of 50 things there might be something useful, it also makes it very generic and effectively nothing more than a classic listicle. Which isn't infinite scroll, but it definitely falls into a similar category of relatively shallow content, written to keep someone on the page long enough to show a few more ads. It is ironic how unashamed they are in doing this, decrying "behavioral cocaine" of platforms yet producing a long list broken up by multiple ad blocks and affiliate linked products.
So they have created a list where every other item pushes an affiliate link, making the "analog lifestyle" one of shopping sprees and consumerism. Besides making people feel guilty about not being able to follow up on a very reasonable 50 items (sarcasm), it now also pushes them in other behavior that doesn't seem healthy to me.
You don't need to follow through on 50 steps, and the science on attention certainly doesn’t say "buy a $600 paper tablet," it says remove triggers and set clear boundaries. Which,, is something they advocate for in those 50 steps, but that is just buried between all the blatant marketing.
If someone is really looking to disengage, there is better advice to be found on tildes. There have been several posts about this sort of stuff that I can remember. All of them full of genuine human and good advice. Is it time to get offline? posted in ~tech is one that comes to mind, but there have been more.
I found it a bit annoying that he suggests I buy more things in order to spend less time looking at a screen. Thats my only issue with the article though, the rest makes sense and is all mostly...
I found it a bit annoying that he suggests I buy more things in order to spend less time looking at a screen.
Thats my only issue with the article though, the rest makes sense and is all mostly things I’m doing when I can anyway.
My biggest issue was that since I’m working from home, for a couple years there my routine was that when I get off work I simply switch computers.
Not doing that has had a profound effect on my mental state. Instead, I do a thing that doesn’t require technology for at least 30 mins right when I stop working for the day.
Walk, garden, chores, whatever, just do a thing thats not sit on the computer for about the amount of time that it used to take me to commute home.
Yeah thats everyones business model. I’m just really sensitive to it because I still spend a lot of time on Reddit so my brain is geared such that when someone starts talking about a product,...
Yeah thats everyones business model.
I’m just really sensitive to it because I still spend a lot of time on Reddit so my brain is geared such that when someone starts talking about a product, place, or political idea my alarms go off.
Agreed. Your spidey senses are spot on. It's why I feel these articles can do more harm than good, even when shared with good intentions. As far as reddit goes, there is a reason why so many...
As far as reddit goes, there is a reason why so many subreddits have rules specifically against listicles. They are often just low-effort, ad-filled content that doesn't really add much value and even can do harm.
I did not like the tone of this, for me this does not feel helpful. I'd rather see them explore one or two things more in depth with personal stories relating how they have implemented the change,...
I did not like the tone of this, for me this does not feel helpful.
I'd rather see them explore one or two things more in depth with personal stories relating how they have implemented the change, or something.
Or maybe it's impossible to write these kinds of articles and have them land well?
Or possibly it's just not for me?!
I guess hustle culture, always maximising performance or striving for achievements or whatever is so ingrained that somehow an article that supposedly is about winding down just feels stressful and like I suddenly got 50 new unachievable things on my todo-list.
I think it can be helpful but it really requires you to be able to select a few things and try them out, not rewrite your life according to this as if it's a Bible. It's ok to just browse the...
I think it can be helpful but it really requires you to be able to select a few things and try them out, not rewrite your life according to this as if it's a Bible. It's ok to just browse the buffet, not take one of everything.
Anxiety among other things can make that really difficult (so can hyperfocus for example). If it doesn't serve you, throw it away!
I agree, but even when it's written out in the listicle itself it's hard for my mind to not read it like commandments where not doing one of them makes doing the other 49 moot. It's just not for me!
I agree, but even when it's written out in the listicle itself it's hard for my mind to not read it like commandments where not doing one of them makes doing the other 49 moot.
Yeah, that's how I read it. Definitely a few things I'm going to try out, a couple of things I already do, and some I don't really care about. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yeah, that's how I read it. Definitely a few things I'm going to try out, a couple of things I already do, and some I don't really care about. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It's so funny that some of the things he mentioned in the article were things that my friends (ok, my found family) and I have been doing for over a year now to make sure we still get to spend...
It's so funny that some of the things he mentioned in the article were things that my friends (ok, my found family) and I have been doing for over a year now to make sure we still get to spend time together. It's hard for many of us because several of us have chronic illnesses that preclude us from leaving the house. I just missed a housewarming party this weekend for a chronic illness reason, but invited the same people over for a snack tasting later in the month (and I'm hoping none of us flare or are too sick to come, I would miss my friends).
It's pretty annoying to me that some of the tech he mentions leaving behind is mentioned in a kind of judgey way like the smartwatches. Many people have them for medical reasons and he just glosses over that fact.
Bit of an aside on smartwatches, but I absolutely used to be judgy about them, because I only considered them as shiny new toys (and the people I knew with them seemed to mostly treat them as...
Bit of an aside on smartwatches, but I absolutely used to be judgy about them, because I only considered them as shiny new toys (and the people I knew with them seemed to mostly treat them as that).
Only recently did I learn how useful they are for certain professionals, specifically someone in education explained why they're so helpful. It was like a lightbulb moment for me.
At this point, as an educator, using it for discretely checking messages and occasionally sending out confirmations or short communiqués is essential. I'm not allowed on my phone with the kids...
At this point, as an educator, using it for discretely checking messages and occasionally sending out confirmations or short communiqués is essential. I'm not allowed on my phone with the kids (this is changing soon with my new job) and so having this method to keep up with messages is essential.
I think that going forward, my requirements for a watch will soon change. The main thing I'd like in the future is an analog watch that has automatic time keeping and some form of timer function.
I do like using my old Fitbit Charge 3 (I've replaced it with a refurb several times) - I can see texts, calls and outlook notifications and that's basically it. Let's me track just what I need to...
I do like using my old Fitbit Charge 3 (I've replaced it with a refurb several times) - I can see texts, calls and outlook notifications and that's basically it. Let's me track just what I need to do see if the situation is an emergency or ignorable. It's all about what features serve you
Mostly just to keep on top of potentially important messages and communications among staff while running around with one's attention and hands full of children. My understanding was the school...
Mostly just to keep on top of potentially important messages and communications among staff while running around with one's attention and hands full of children. My understanding was the school often used chats to coordinate during the day.
This came from someone who assisted kids who needed one-on-one or small-group help and realistically had very little 'off' time. I think sometimes it wasn't feasible to pull out a phone, sometimes it wasn't necessarily safe (in the sense the phone could be grabbed and damaged), and just overall a phone is indiscrete when instructing.
I used to have the same judginess. And to be fair, I still think the watches with cell capabilities and advanced apps are at least overkill for a lot of people. But after getting a free Fitbit...
I used to have the same judginess. And to be fair, I still think the watches with cell capabilities and advanced apps are at least overkill for a lot of people.
But after getting a free Fitbit that effectively nudged me to walk and exercise more. And after noticing that seeing and dismissing texts/notifications on my watch meant I often didn't have to pull out my phone (and get sucked into my phone for 5, 10, 100 minutes). I've seen that are some big benefits, depending on the person.
Things I use my Apple Watch for daily: Lower friction 2FA prompts at work, several times per day. Triaging notifications without taking my phone out of my pocket, which is less socially obtrusive...
Things I use my Apple Watch for daily:
Lower friction 2FA prompts at work, several times per day.
Triaging notifications without taking my phone out of my pocket, which is less socially obtrusive and less temptation to unlock the phone.
Quick acknowledgement for my pager app
Exercise tracking
Constant noise exposure monitoring. I'm careful about protecting my hearing, and I can check the ambient noise level in decibels at any time, and choose to either use AirPods with ANC (approved for a certain amount of hearing protection) or passive concert earplugs if I anticipated needing them. It will also pop up noise alerts when it detects certain levels of sound.
Low friction payments. I can double press a button and hold my watch to a gas pump or payment terminal in a store. I barely use Apple Pay on my phone now, because the watch is faster.
Some of these seem more like analog vibes than actual utility. Like what is anyone going to do with a pocket radio? All the stations are owned by like 2 companies now and all they do is play ads....
Some of these seem more like analog vibes than actual utility. Like what is anyone going to do with a pocket radio? All the stations are owned by like 2 companies now and all they do is play ads. You can either do that or listen to Right Wing talk shows or casually misogynistic drivetime DJs. It’s not the 1970s anymore.
There’s also no problem with just having a dedicated MP3 player (or Digital Audio Player (DAP) as they call them now). It’s not “analog” but it’s a thing that does it’s job well without assaulting you with distractions. If you are getting a pocket radio now, the most useful thing to do would be to get one of those emergency national weather service ones that you can hand-crank.
Typical to have ads and push certain products (not surprised). Otherwise, some solid points, and many that I have been already doing for a long time. That e-ink tablet was the biggest "no thanks"...
Typical to have ads and push certain products (not surprised). Otherwise, some solid points, and many that I have been already doing for a long time. That e-ink tablet was the biggest "no thanks" for me. It's often HOW we use devices, and the way certain apps are designed, that is the larger issue; not so much the device itself.
A dumb phone IS a good idea, and that one they show, I have looked at many times. Sadly I don't think it is possible anymore to simply not have a smartphone. Far too many critical things run on them. It is a better compromise to make the phone boring, delete apps and accounts that just suck your time. Approach the smartphone as a TOOL. A swiss army knife for life -- NOT a source of entertainment and dopamine. I don't think the Reminders app on the iPhone is an issue. I don't think it's a bad thing to look at the weather on your phone. Something like the Messages app... with family spread all over the country, that group chat can't really live on a dumb phone.
A smartwatch, with careful management of notifications, can be a useful item too. Apple has gamified fitness. If that's what gets a person from couch potato to exercising 3-5 times a week, who is to say the watch itself is "bad"?
I get why articles that promise a quick "analog reset" look appealing and are shared with the best intentions. Many of us are trying to claw back attention span these days. But this ain't it and I think is even harmful to a degree.
While in a list of 50 things there might be something useful, it also makes it very generic and effectively nothing more than a classic listicle. Which isn't infinite scroll, but it definitely falls into a similar category of relatively shallow content, written to keep someone on the page long enough to show a few more ads. It is ironic how unashamed they are in doing this, decrying "behavioral cocaine" of platforms yet producing a long list broken up by multiple ad blocks and affiliate linked products.
So they have created a list where every other item pushes an affiliate link, making the "analog lifestyle" one of shopping sprees and consumerism. Besides making people feel guilty about not being able to follow up on a very reasonable 50 items (sarcasm), it now also pushes them in other behavior that doesn't seem healthy to me.
You don't need to follow through on 50 steps, and the science on attention certainly doesn’t say "buy a $600 paper tablet," it says remove triggers and set clear boundaries. Which,, is something they advocate for in those 50 steps, but that is just buried between all the blatant marketing.
If someone is really looking to disengage, there is better advice to be found on tildes. There have been several posts about this sort of stuff that I can remember. All of them full of genuine human and good advice. Is it time to get offline? posted in ~tech is one that comes to mind, but there have been more.
I found it a bit annoying that he suggests I buy more things in order to spend less time looking at a screen.
Thats my only issue with the article though, the rest makes sense and is all mostly things I’m doing when I can anyway.
My biggest issue was that since I’m working from home, for a couple years there my routine was that when I get off work I simply switch computers.
Not doing that has had a profound effect on my mental state. Instead, I do a thing that doesn’t require technology for at least 30 mins right when I stop working for the day.
Walk, garden, chores, whatever, just do a thing thats not sit on the computer for about the amount of time that it used to take me to commute home.
I guess that's just a byproduct of the site's business model — affiliate marketing.
Yeah thats everyones business model.
I’m just really sensitive to it because I still spend a lot of time on Reddit so my brain is geared such that when someone starts talking about a product, place, or political idea my alarms go off.
Agreed. Your spidey senses are spot on. It's why I feel these articles can do more harm than good, even when shared with good intentions.
As far as reddit goes, there is a reason why so many subreddits have rules specifically against listicles. They are often just low-effort, ad-filled content that doesn't really add much value and even can do harm.
I did not like the tone of this, for me this does not feel helpful.
I'd rather see them explore one or two things more in depth with personal stories relating how they have implemented the change, or something.
Or maybe it's impossible to write these kinds of articles and have them land well?
Or possibly it's just not for me?!
I guess hustle culture, always maximising performance or striving for achievements or whatever is so ingrained that somehow an article that supposedly is about winding down just feels stressful and like I suddenly got 50 new unachievable things on my todo-list.
Frankly, this isn't written to be helpful. It is written to keep people engaged just enough to generate more ad or in this case affiliate revenue.
I think it can be helpful but it really requires you to be able to select a few things and try them out, not rewrite your life according to this as if it's a Bible. It's ok to just browse the buffet, not take one of everything.
Anxiety among other things can make that really difficult (so can hyperfocus for example). If it doesn't serve you, throw it away!
I agree, but even when it's written out in the listicle itself it's hard for my mind to not read it like commandments where not doing one of them makes doing the other 49 moot.
It's just not for me!
Nah absolutely get that.
Be free and yeet the list if it doth not serve thee.
Yeah, that's how I read it. Definitely a few things I'm going to try out, a couple of things I already do, and some I don't really care about. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It's so funny that some of the things he mentioned in the article were things that my friends (ok, my found family) and I have been doing for over a year now to make sure we still get to spend time together. It's hard for many of us because several of us have chronic illnesses that preclude us from leaving the house. I just missed a housewarming party this weekend for a chronic illness reason, but invited the same people over for a snack tasting later in the month (and I'm hoping none of us flare or are too sick to come, I would miss my friends).
It's pretty annoying to me that some of the tech he mentions leaving behind is mentioned in a kind of judgey way like the smartwatches. Many people have them for medical reasons and he just glosses over that fact.
Bit of an aside on smartwatches, but I absolutely used to be judgy about them, because I only considered them as shiny new toys (and the people I knew with them seemed to mostly treat them as that).
Only recently did I learn how useful they are for certain professionals, specifically someone in education explained why they're so helpful. It was like a lightbulb moment for me.
I'd love to know how it's helpful in a classroom setting!
At this point, as an educator, using it for discretely checking messages and occasionally sending out confirmations or short communiqués is essential. I'm not allowed on my phone with the kids (this is changing soon with my new job) and so having this method to keep up with messages is essential.
I think that going forward, my requirements for a watch will soon change. The main thing I'd like in the future is an analog watch that has automatic time keeping and some form of timer function.
I do like using my old Fitbit Charge 3 (I've replaced it with a refurb several times) - I can see texts, calls and outlook notifications and that's basically it. Let's me track just what I need to do see if the situation is an emergency or ignorable. It's all about what features serve you
Mostly just to keep on top of potentially important messages and communications among staff while running around with one's attention and hands full of children. My understanding was the school often used chats to coordinate during the day.
This came from someone who assisted kids who needed one-on-one or small-group help and realistically had very little 'off' time. I think sometimes it wasn't feasible to pull out a phone, sometimes it wasn't necessarily safe (in the sense the phone could be grabbed and damaged), and just overall a phone is indiscrete when instructing.
I used to have the same judginess. And to be fair, I still think the watches with cell capabilities and advanced apps are at least overkill for a lot of people.
But after getting a free Fitbit that effectively nudged me to walk and exercise more. And after noticing that seeing and dismissing texts/notifications on my watch meant I often didn't have to pull out my phone (and get sucked into my phone for 5, 10, 100 minutes). I've seen that are some big benefits, depending on the person.
Things I use my Apple Watch for daily:
Lower friction 2FA prompts at work, several times per day.
Triaging notifications without taking my phone out of my pocket, which is less socially obtrusive and less temptation to unlock the phone.
Quick acknowledgement for my pager app
Exercise tracking
Constant noise exposure monitoring. I'm careful about protecting my hearing, and I can check the ambient noise level in decibels at any time, and choose to either use AirPods with ANC (approved for a certain amount of hearing protection) or passive concert earplugs if I anticipated needing them. It will also pop up noise alerts when it detects certain levels of sound.
Low friction payments. I can double press a button and hold my watch to a gas pump or payment terminal in a store. I barely use Apple Pay on my phone now, because the watch is faster.
Some of these seem more like analog vibes than actual utility. Like what is anyone going to do with a pocket radio? All the stations are owned by like 2 companies now and all they do is play ads. You can either do that or listen to Right Wing talk shows or casually misogynistic drivetime DJs. It’s not the 1970s anymore.
There’s also no problem with just having a dedicated MP3 player (or Digital Audio Player (DAP) as they call them now). It’s not “analog” but it’s a thing that does it’s job well without assaulting you with distractions. If you are getting a pocket radio now, the most useful thing to do would be to get one of those emergency national weather service ones that you can hand-crank.
Typical to have ads and push certain products (not surprised). Otherwise, some solid points, and many that I have been already doing for a long time. That e-ink tablet was the biggest "no thanks" for me. It's often HOW we use devices, and the way certain apps are designed, that is the larger issue; not so much the device itself.
A dumb phone IS a good idea, and that one they show, I have looked at many times. Sadly I don't think it is possible anymore to simply not have a smartphone. Far too many critical things run on them. It is a better compromise to make the phone boring, delete apps and accounts that just suck your time. Approach the smartphone as a TOOL. A swiss army knife for life -- NOT a source of entertainment and dopamine. I don't think the Reminders app on the iPhone is an issue. I don't think it's a bad thing to look at the weather on your phone. Something like the Messages app... with family spread all over the country, that group chat can't really live on a dumb phone.
A smartwatch, with careful management of notifications, can be a useful item too. Apple has gamified fitness. If that's what gets a person from couch potato to exercising 3-5 times a week, who is to say the watch itself is "bad"?
Anyway, good list, ignore the ads as per usual.