Tildes Screenless Day Discussion Thread - September 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 can’t really think of a better comment on how tech-dependent I am than I’m the one pushing these threads and I myself haven’t taken a screenless day in the past three months.
I’m going to try to get back on the wagon this weekend.
Had a successful screenless day yesterday (and kind of today)! My personal parameters for "screenlessness" are very simple: no news and no social media. I still texted friends; I used my e-reader; I played video games. I just had to be very careful when opening a web browser. I have Tildes set as one of the tabs that come up when I open my browser, and I had to be very deliberate about not looking at it. The same goes for surfing something like r/aww in a moment of idleness.
Some scattered thoughts:
Not checking in on news, especially COVID-related news, felt very good for me. I really need to learn to regulate my intake on a regular basis and not just rely on cold-turkey screenless times.
Every screenless day I've had has felt longer than normal, and each one gives me a small sort of "away" feeling. It's hard to put in words, but it's the kind of feeling you get on vacation, but only like, 5-10% of that.
I laid down in bed and read a book for a bit and slowly drifted off into a nap. My husband came looking for me, found me napping, and then he and my dog joined me and we all took a midday nap together. It was a delight. This really didn't have anything to do with screenlessness and was more just a really wonderful moment that makes me glad that I'm able to live the life that I do.
Getting into a book is 10 times easier when you're not feeling the mental nudge to check your phone or the news. So is falling asleep.
I'm going to try to replace my idle surfing habit with reading on my phone. I use a Kobo ereader which syncs effortlessly between reading done on the device and on the phone app, so it's very easy to drop off and pick up reading across devices. Whenever I find myself surfing idly, I'm going to try to interrupt that by opening my current book via the app and just reading it for a couple of pages instead.
I still haven't managed to do one, haha~
This weekend would have been pretty good for it... Except I'm behind in class because I got food poisoning! Fun times. :D
Still, I appreciate you keeping these going! It's always interesting to see people's experiences.
Thanks for this - I missed the last couple, but this one comes at a very opportune time for me. I caught myself arguing with a stranger on the internet today, which is one of the largest wastes of time and emotional energy possible and therefore something I try to avoid. I was mean, glib, and rude to another person who was mean, glib, and rude back. It's certainly not something I do when I am happy and satisfied with my life, and is a flag that indicates I may be slipping back into an unhealthy relationship with social media.
I'll commit to tomorrow, I have a book to read and some errands to do. Unfortunately, I think the weather will be gross.
I hate how social media and other forums can produce that one rude, day-ruining comment that occupies way too much of your head space. I deleted a bunch of accounts earlier this year to try to reduce the amount I actually engage with any discussion, especially polarizing discussion.
Same. I try to reduce my exposure too, these ugly polarized discussions online with people whom you have no stake in and who have no stake in you. It's definitely something that feels like work, almost satisfying in the moment, but in reality 90% of the time it just ends up ruining my day. And for what?
I try to only have sensitive discussions with people that I already have at least some respect for or rapport with. I find when I feel there is a fundamental incompatibility of central values and I have no reason to be nice, I'm not patient enough to not end up just fruitlessly trading barbs. It's not something I like about myself, but I don't think it's gonna change any time soon so the best solution is probably to just... reduce my opportunity to end up in those situations. :/
I'm late getting back to this, meant to do it yesterday. Again I just kind of had a pleasant, slow day on Saturday! I went to the market, I went to the gym, I cleaned my house a bit, I read my book. I did end up watching a video with my partner for an hour or so, but that was a social time with her that I wanted to spend and it was a mindful choice to do so. I didn't use the internet or play any video games at all.
Honestly with the amount of time I know I can spend "channel surfing" on the internet I'm almost surprised at how easy it is for me to do these day-long internet fasts. I guess I know that I don't like it, and when I "come back" to it, it becomes clear that I didn't really miss anything interesting.
The problem is that when I start sometimes it's hard to stop. The ad techniques are scary effective.
This lines up nicely with my weekend plans of cycling all day both Saturday and Sunday. I probably won’t have time to look at screens except for routing and the occasional text message.