This might be the wrong place to ask this question but, as someone who has owned more Apple products that I could count, I'm interested in reducing my dependency on them (and tech, in general) moving forward.
A significant portion of my life has included spending time and money on devices and applications to "make my life easier / more productive". It's becoming all too apparent though that this has created a reliance on technology that can become difficult to separate from if a company, such as Apple, makes changes that are displeasurable or disruptive to the habits I've adopted my daily life.
I mean, my bluetooth trackpad is acting wonky right now, so that's not fun. Wired always works. Is there too much technology?
I am not a fan of having to keep a phone on me at all times. It's always in silent mode and visual notifications are kept to a minimum. I can and do sometimes go two to three days without even knowing where my phone is. If I leave the house, I more often just take my Apple Watch and a note pad. (However, with the realization that Apple is changing the Watch UX with OS10, I'm not so sure I'll be using it much longer.)
I'll go through my phone once in a while and delete apps I rarely use. If I need something, I can easily reinstall it. The only things I really need a phone for are Maps for navigation, Safari to open a restaurant's menu, to manage my Apple Wallet, to get a Lyft, to view my Fitness / Health info, and to access an MFA Authenticator app.
After my Apple TV, my iPad is probably my most used device, closely followed by my Mac mini. (I have a MacBook for work - I don't consider that part of this conversation.) Thinking about it though, I could probably eliminate the iPad in favor of the desktop experience. Since there is not Finder replacement on iPad, I need a MacOS computer to mange my music, photos, files, etc. Although, I hate sitting at a desk more than I need to already for work. If ~~MacOS~~ Finder were available on an iPad, I might be able to ditch a desktop computer.
I just checked Screen Time on my phone - I'm averaging about 1 Hour / Week. My iPad is about 4 Hours / Week. Why do I even have these devices?
So, my problem is that I need(?) each of these devices for just a small handful of tasks. Stepping back from it, it feels stupid that I have all this crap. It's a lot of money spent and it's a lot of opportunity for something to break my daily habits. Although, speaking of habits, I have to admit I feel an addiction to these things that prevents me from getting rid of them.
Aren't we all addicted to out devices? Are we actively encouraging or reducing our dependency on technology and what affect does this have on our mental well being?
I'm wondering if anyone has taken steps to replace or eliminate devices or experiences. How are you living a minimalist technology life?
Upvote for relevance and quality of the content.
Downvote for irrelevance or bad vibes.
The problem I’ve had with Reddit for so long is people using the arrows for agree / disagree. This does not promote discussion or interesting ideas. This often promotes comments that are irrelevant to the story people are commenting on. If I read a headline, I want the top comments to expand upon and contribute to that story.
Example: the headline might be about the decline of people eating apples. The highest voted comment might be a smartass comment about how red delicious is not delicious. But the article is actually an in depth report on the affects of climate change on apple production increasing the costs to consumers while processed foods have become more popular.
The amount of garbage on Reddit is just unreal. And now they’re training AI with it. All because people use the voting system improperly. Using my example, AI now believes apples are less popular because they’re not delicious. When people use an AI search engine, they’re not getting the true story.
I will absolutely upvote someone I disagree with. It’s rare but if they have an interesting thing to contribute while displaying knowledge of a subject, I’m all here for that. Genuine engagement with people we disagree with is how we all partake in poking holes in our echo chambers.
It’s an increasingly fine line but I don’t see these forums as social media. Ranking things by agreement or popularity feels like social media to me.
If you’re interested in a reward system, check out minds.com. Although, since it’s inception, this platform has become a cesspool or right wing extremism. It’s sad what it’s become.