“If I want to do something, I’ll just use the tool designed for such a task.”īut he admitted it’s been a “tiring” experience in a video shared on Bilibili in May - he uses a camera to record the videos and laptop to post them on the site but rarely watches other content. “Using tools with a simple function can make me more intentional and aware of the purpose of my behavior,” he said. He uses cash or bank cards instead of digital payments like WeChat and Alipay in a country where eight out of 10 adults made online transactions last year he uses information boards with a call button at designated locations to hail cabs and he makes trips to grocery stores to get his supplies - all everyday activities that can usually be done with a tap on a phone screen. This means he is more or less resorting to things of the past. He has been using a minimalist phone that only allows him to make calls, send messages, or set an alarm for the past 20 months, becoming an outlier in China’s digital revolution that integrates almost every aspect of daily life, at least for now. Everyone is busy with their own business.”īut Leon is not just minimizing the time he spends on his smartphone but among the rare few to entirely give up the technology. “The world went on as usual when I wasn’t looking at the feed. “I no longer scroll through my social feed every day like I used to, and no longer feel I’m missing out if I don’t check it,” wrote a Douban user who turned off the feature on messaging app WeChat nearly two years ago. There, they share anecdotes about their social media fasting and other activities, from limiting hours they spend online to uninstalling apps, or switching to digital devices that are simpler to use. In China, as smartphone addiction becomes common - the country has the highest smartphone use among 24 countries researched for a 2021 study - several “digital minimalism” forums on social platforms such as Douban suggest that tens of thousands of people have joined the movement. In his book of the same name, he wrote about the philosophy of using technology that allows people to focus on a few carefully selected online activities, while optimizing their time on things they deem valuable. Leon’s one-and-a-half-year hiatus from his smartphone has become a growing trend among many Chinese wanting to pursue “digital minimalism,” a term coined in 2019 by American writer and computer science professor Cal Newport. “The point of a ‘digital declutter’ is to figure out what technologies I really need after getting rid of all of them.” “Smartphones are supposed to bring us convenience, but it’s like eating rice with sand mixed in it when using them,” Leon, using a nickname, told Sixth Tone. What started as a one-month experiment has now turned into a lifestyle. The creative consultant then bought a simple Light Phone 2 and later a Punkt MP02 minimalist phone and armed himself with a notebook, ID card, public transportation cards, a torch, and bank cards - otherwise all incorporated into a smartphone. The 29-year-old from the central city of Wuhan switched off his iPhone and decided to ditch the smartphone in March 2021. But when some of the apps that bring ease started offering irrelevant services - such as food delivery apps peddling loans and a bike-sharing site featuring matchmaking options - Leon realized it was time to take a step back. Smartphones are synonymous with convenience.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |