back, probably not staying - 10152025

School's back, I'm off my digital minimalism kick and life's been significantly better. I would never say life has progress but more a sense of momentum now. I feel less libidinal and trapped within myself. I'd recommend anybody try out a month if their head's telling them "I shouldn't be doing this" when they pick up a phone.

There's not a great case to be made for the external benefits of digital minimalism: what's the point when everyone else is still using their phone? Nobody wants to talk, nobody's curious about the world or others, people don't investigate what they want. It doesn't make someone better to reject this reality, but it does make you less susceptible to influence.

I still use Instagram for about 5 minutes a day. I use tools like LeechBlock (Mozilla), StayFocusd (Chrome), and ScreenZen (IOS) to impose consumption limits. I am still prone to slipping back into doom-scrolling when life is just really kicking my ass but it's a process of deprogramming. The goal of a lot of web apps is to be as friction-less as possible, constant usage will create a set of habituated reflexes that facilitate quicker and increasingly unthinking consumption. Unlearning these behaviors takes a lot of time and discipline, especially when a lot of participation in society (emphasis on students) is predicated on smartphone access.