Digital boundaries: Offline and unplugged
I’m shelving the world in my pocket tracking device between 1900 and 1000 daily.
My joy and presence is greatly amplified if I give myself this gift, of being in real life.
The catalysts were many:
Most earthshaking was looking into my godson’s wide open eyes and seeing his awe and curiosity just overflowing from him. He and all kiddos deserve our gorgeous, attentive, expressive faces looking right back at them, in appreciation and connection.
Next was another sprightly nephew, who likes Fortnite. I had no idea what that was til listening to the NYT podcast “Microsoft and the Metaverse” yesterday.
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Minute 7 talks about how Fortnite is the on-ramp to the Metaverse. This future is not one I want to bestow upon our youngest. Going off the grid is the most peaceful and spiritual thing to me. Growing up camping, boating, and riding horses made me who I am, and none of that involved screens. The sense of accomplishment and healthy pride from our own achievements (actually using our brains and bodies) is undeniable, something VR and AI can never replicate.
An author I know wrote, “You don’t need a Metaverse. You need a friend.” One who knows only unfeeling automata and simulacra of relationships and connection, loses the essence of humanity.
Lastly, I see a side effect of the pandemic as magnifying screen time and the on-demand economy (which I call menace economy): Netflix, Amazon, tv, video games, e-learning, Zoom dates, ordering food, ordering everything at a few clicks. All of this relies on a vast underclass of essential workers (which I call expendable workers), and I choose to opt-out of all of this as much as I can. In doing so, I hope to use my own resources and faculties over convenience.
Spending time with beloved kids and babies makes one so much less selfish, and so much more aware of how our environment shapes us. The number of littles in my world is growing, and my heart grows right along with them.