Tildes Screenless Day Discussion Thread - August 2021
What is a "Screenless Day"?
Tildes "Screenless Day" is a simple event aimed at encouraging people to take a temporary step away from toxic or consuming aspects of technology and spend their time and energies elsewhere.
When is it?
It takes place over the weekend starting on the first Friday of each month. Participants will choose that Friday, Saturday, or Sunday to take as their screenless day -- whichever works best for their schedule.
Some people might not be able to participate in that window, and that's fine too. They can choose to shift their day earlier or later as needed. It is also completely fine (and encouraged!) to take personal screenless days separate from the event if you like. This thread will be posted the first weekend of each month, but it is open for comments the entire month.
Does it have to be truly "screenless"?
"Screenless" is an ideal, not a mandate. The spirit of the day is to deliberately step away from toxic or consuming aspects of technology, and what that means is different for each person. Thus, it is up to each participant to determine what "screenless" means to them. Some might only choose to not use social media for a day; some might choose to eliminate all "screens" but still use their ereader; some may maintain some screen use but only for necessity (e.g. work; classes; GPS; etc.). Some might get rid of screens entirely, or go fully "unplugged" for the day.
How do I participate?
You do not have to do anything formal at all to participate -- simply take your screenless day in whatever way is best for you!
If you’d like to, use this thread to share plans for your upcoming screenless day or summaries/reflections about it once it’s over.
Can I chat in this thread if I'm not participating?
Yes! The more, the merrier! Discussion from anyone, participant or non-participant alike, is welcome. Though, do understand that it might take a bit longer than normal for some people to respond. :)
I recently watched all of Hacks. There's a line that reminded me of this. The main character says something like "watching TV is basically reading now." And that really struck me as true, and it's something similar to what I said back in early 2017. When I was addicted to Reddit, and trying to quit, watching an episode of a television show made me feel like I had accomplished something, as opposed to spending that hour scrolling through Reddit.
It's interesting now how TV and Movies have sort of been re-contextualized because of the instant gratification you get from social media. Where watching a television show or a movie and actually paying attention requires much more mental effort than just scrolling through a bunch Tweets. So you can technically have a "screenless day" even if you just watch TV. You'd feel more accomplished.