2026-07-31
@ 2:00 PM
I wanted to collect my thoughts and post a little bit about my upcoming digital declutter. I'm taking August to take a break from a lot of how I use technology so I can better evaluate whether specific uses are impacting me. At present, even though I've gotten rid of almost all social media in my life, I feel like my usage is still more compulsive than I would like. I would prefer if my time on my laptop especially was more meaningful and contained. I often rely on having videos on to fall asleep and it's often the first thing I check when I wake up - I'm uncomfortable with that. Ultimately, I hope to better understand what strategies help me nourish the kind of technology experiences I want and steer clear of those I don't.
Note: I am disabled and unable to work currently. That means my needs are pretty different than someone who isn't dealing with that. I more don't want to become whatever the young leftist equivalent of my grandma watching FOX News 16 hours a day was. I also already don't use most social media platforms. I only check tumblr and mastodon regularly and while I will be abstaining from them for the month, it's not really a focus. I don't have children but I do have a senior dog and someonetimes help take care of my aging parents so my phone usage will need to be flexible. My relationship with media consumption and entertainment - especially when sick and low energy - is what I most want to find a better balance with so that will be my focus.
General Guidelines
- airplane mode - I'm going to keep my laptop in airplane mode. This is a strategy that has worked for me in the past but I never really got the habit to stick. Most of what's draining about screens for me is the internet. So my plane is to keep my laptop on airplane mode if I need it and only switch it of for printing things out and internet errands that I will write down on a list beforehand to help keep me focused.
- stoplight internet - I know some days I'll need more internet than others so for the sake of having some guideslines I came up with the following: green - 1 hour or less of internet per day, yellow - 2 hours of internet per day, red - three hours of internet per day. These are less strict rules and more ways to see how reasonable these goals are. if I'm continually needing more than 2-3 hours for internet chores then I'll need to adjust. Maybe this isn't a helpful framework at all. We'll see.
- screen free sundays - I've always been curious about having at least one day a week I keep properly screen free - with the exception of certain functions on my phone for running household stuff. I wouldn't do internet errands on this day or watch movies, etc. If I can get it to work for me, I'd like to try at least one uposatha day this month (Buddhist day of deeper practice).
Not Allowed
- youtube*
- discord*
- tumblr
- mastodon
- podcasts*
These are what I spend the vast majority of my time on. YouTube especially. Those with an asterisk will have some exceptions listed later on.
Allowed with Ria Only
- Watching movies
- Watching TV shows
- Playing video games
- Possibly a YouTube video if she really wants to show me
We don't really do any of this all the often but I wanted to leave the door open. If media is a way to connect and not a way to turn my brain off then I think there's something useful and good in that.
Allowed Under Specific Circumstances
- If I'm sick, I can use YouTube to listen to specific dharma talks I don't have local copies of. They're a key part of how I cope with bad health episodes and I don't want to limit that.
- I won't count using echolink for participating in ham radio nets against my internet time. It's social and community oriented and radio based so I don't want to count it toward internet time.
- Zoom or similar for attending Buddhist practice groups will also no count toward my daily internet time. It's spiritual practice and it's not like I'm spending that time looking at the screen much anyways as they're usually meditation oriented.
- If there's bad weather, I can use Discord to keep my family updated about it. I am the family weather person and the main space off of social media I could get them to use was Discord so that is what it is for now.
- I can use my phone to text Ria and family. I don't really text anyone else but yeah. I need to be able to text here and there but I do hope to use it less/stick to household/scheduling stuff so other conversations can take place in person more.
- If I really want to I can listen to new dharma talk podcasts on my phone. Nothing else though, I don't really want to listen to podcasts for entertainment.
- I can use my phone to listen to audiobooks. It's what I've got my Libby app on and given how utilitarian I keep my phone + minimalist launcher - I don't see it becoming a scrolling gateway.
- I can use my phone for utilities - camera, security cams, air monitor, joint grocery list, Focus Friend, Merlin Bird ID, etc. I just don't feel like abstaining or trying to find workarounds this break. Maybe another one.
What I Want to Do More Of
- meditation
- writing
- reading
- walking
- writing letters to friends
- writing letters to political prisoners
- crocheting
- making zines
- game designing
- playing games with family
- listening to music on the radio
- listening to soccer games on the radio
- dog training
- resting
Closing Thoughts
I'm not planning on avoiding screens entirely. I rely on my laptop to write and create zines and I think that's worthwhile. My theory is that it's the internet that I'm getting sucked into, not the screen itself, but I'm open to being wrong. If it is, I'll definitely change up how I do my next break. I'm a little nervous for this break. It's in some ways more strict and in others less strict than other breaks I've taken. I think I just worry about what I'll find out; that this has been impacting me way more than I realized or it's not this at all and it's other stuff going on in my life that's been kicking up the chaos. Either way though I figure it's better to know than to ignore it.
Thank you to any one who reads this and who checks back to read. I'm hoping to post at least a weekly reflection but I might post more than that to work out my thoughts and feelings on stuff (probably written offline and formatted quickly when I do my internet errands that day). I'd love to get some mail during this time. If you have my personal address feel free to send me something and if you don't here is my po box.
Hope you're well and may the night not devour us yet.