Steps to Embrace a More Tangible and Fulfilling Existence
In today's digital age, it's easy to get lost in the endless scroll of social media feeds and smartphone apps. However, a growing movement is encouraging people to step away from their screens and embrace a more analog lifestyle.
Listening to poetry, for instance, can enrich everyday moments, such as waiting in line at the grocery store. TikTok, often criticised for its addictive nature, is also the platform where teenagers share book recommendations and where Dakota Warren reads her poetry.
The smartphone, once a symbol of convenience, has been identified as a major culprit in short attention spans and mental health issues. Research has linked smartphone scrolling to frizzled attention spans, depression, and anxiety. An article in The Atlantic titled "The Elite College Students Who Can't Read Books" went viral, discussing the short attention spans of college students at top universities due to their reliance on smartphones.
To counteract these tendencies, interventions should combine behavioral strategies, digital wellness tools, and lifestyle changes. Minimizing smartphone use during study or sleep times can be helpful, for example, by leaving the phone outside the bedroom or in another room while studying to reduce distractions.
Utilizing built-in smartphone features or apps such as Google Digital Wellness, Screen Time for iPhone, and Android Family Link can help students monitor and limit their daily screen time. Encouraging the use of such apps allows students to gain real-time awareness of their usage and impose limits that reduce dependency.
Groups like Appstinence advocate for a social media–free lifestyle and encourage downgrading from smartphones to simpler phones, promoting digital clarity and intentional living. Their 5D method offers a practical framework to overcome digital overuse, while their initiatives include creating tech-free environments in classrooms to help students focus.
Living more analog involves practical adaptations such as carrying physical tools for note-taking (pen and paper), using physical transit cards instead of mobile payments, and planning for navigation without digital maps, fostering greater intentionality in daily life.
The analog life has made a comeback, with the popularity of offline clubs, vinyl records, and puzzles. Examples of analog hobbies include cooking and baking, sewing, embroidery and crochet, gardening, puzzles, painting, drawing and sculpting, soap and candle making, playing an instrument, woodwork and DIY projects.
A timed challenge can counteract the modern-day tendency to flow comfortably through life. Examples of timed challenges include sketching 30 birds in 30 days, baking a new recipe every weekend for 3 months, and creating a moody playlist for each month of the year.
Stocking up on houseplants can boost well-being, lift and brighten the environment, and provide something to nurture and care for. Journaling every morning can set a positive tone for the day, clarify thoughts, manage stress, prioritize goals, and empower the mind to push through challenges.
The yearning for a slower and more meaningful life is universal, and the analog lifestyle is expected to grow in popularity with the advent of AI and other conveniences. By embracing an analog lifestyle, we can reconnect with the real world, provide a greater sense of accomplishment, and combat depression and lower the risk of Alzheimer's.
Engaging in hobbies such as slow living tips like journaling every morning or taking up gardening from the home-and-garden category can contribute to personal growth and self-development, promoting a more intentional and fulfilling lifestyle. Furthermore, pursuing education-and-self-development opportunities, such as attending offline clubs or learning to play an instrument in the music category, can enhance one's lifestyle as well.
