Will switching to all "analog" tech really improve my life?

[DiffydaDude]

I would've written a different title for this but the character limit wasn't making it an option. But anywho, I've seen a lot of YouTubers with 2010s hipster-like design language and a channel with their real name as their account name and a background in marketing and productivity tout the benefits of using "analog technology" like books or whatever to dispose of their smartphone, which technically calling it analog is totally wrong because it isn't mechanical and that totally fuckin annoys me but anyways they also love to promote some sorta self help book/guide, usually by a college social democrat/english scholar/business conoisseur that loves flashy shock words like "enshittification" and "doomscrolling" and "ethical AI" or something like that. I'm not knocking their grift but I've always felt kinda off about these people. Its like they're promoting the physical version of false confidence, especially with how a lot of these videos are more about productivity and work. It's not bad, it just feels kinda sterile. Like yeah, switching to a dumb phone and writing more; I'd love to do that sometime soon. But the way they talk about it feels like it's not really solving the root of the problem. Maybe it's just a me thing, im not into journaling all that much, i have a waste book I made last year; I think that reading some book about lifestyle changing isnt gonna solve the issues of phones or social media. I think a more proactive approach is needed. Not only should people use physical stuff of their choice, but also start providing things in a way thats not been so harmful like social media has been since the Adpocalypse.
Im still trying to figure out how to start removing phones from my life, but I dont really know how to yet; I just feel like the solution these guys tout really isn't catching my drift. Maybe it's the percieved cheesiness. Maybe it's the feeling of sl-ooooauughhh-p that i kinda get from them, but its just not my thing.
Also, side note, I met this guy named Josh Urban at a career fair at the beginning of this month and he was real awesome. He let me try out his typewriter and I recommended the melonland forum and a couple other web revival sites to him. I told him about the indie web and web revival and new webscapes people are making. Hes pretty cool.

[Melooon]

I was once staying in a youth hostel in Chicago; I was traveling on my own and had nothing to do for a few hours, so I was quite pleased when some missionaries from some sort of evangelical group came over to try and "save me" We talked for about half an hour, and I asked them a lot of questions and they offered a lot of answers ~ I'd say more than that they offered a lot of solutions to problems that they imagined I might have in my life; I'm not sure if they realised, but I only had one problem in life at that moment in time, and that was wanting someone to chat to for a while; and they did actually solve that Everything else they offered was dogma though ~ as humans they had contributed something to my life, as missionaries they were wasting time.

That's the funny thing about problems and solutions ~ no one has the answer, and in truth no one knows whats really wrong. You might find value in something someone says, but really that's you finding value in yourself; other people can never known what you really needed.

So to your title question "Will switching to all analog tech really improve my life? [like lifestyle coaches say it will]" ~ maybe! You very well might find some value in using analogue things ~ however using a typewriter verses using a word document is mostly just going to make your typing louder and teach you about ink ribbons

[cult_status18]

I would've written a different title for this but the character limit wasn't making it an option. But anywho, I've seen a lot of YouTubers with 2010s hipster-like design language and a channel with their real name as their account name and a background in marketing and productivity tout the benefits of using "analog technology" like books or whatever to dispose of their smartphone, which technically calling it analog is totally wrong because it isn't mechanical and that totally fuckin annoys me but anyways they also love to promote some sorta self help book/guide, usually by a college social democrat/english scholar/business conoisseur that loves flashy shock words like "enshittification" and "doomscrolling" and "ethical AI" or something like that. I'm not knocking their grift but I've always felt kinda off about these people. Its like they're promoting the physical version of false confidence, especially with how a lot of these videos are more about productivity and work. It's not bad, it just feels kinda sterile. Like yeah, switching to a dumb phone and writing more; I'd love to do that sometime soon. But the way they talk about it feels like it's not really solving the root of the problem. Maybe it's just a me thing, im not into journaling all that much, i have a waste book I made last year; I think that reading some book about lifestyle changing isnt gonna solve the issues of phones or social media. I think a more proactive approach is needed. Not only should people use physical stuff of their choice, but also start providing things in a way thats not been so harmful like social media has been since the Adpocalypse.
Im still trying to figure out how to start removing phones from my life, but I dont really know how to yet; I just feel like the solution these guys tout really isn't catching my drift. Maybe it's the percieved cheesiness. Maybe it's the feeling of sl-ooooauughhh-p that i kinda get from them, but its just not my thing.
Also, side note, I met this guy named Josh Urban at a career fair at the beginning of this month and he was real awesome. He let me try out his typewriter and I recommended the melonland forum and a couple other web revival sites to him. I told him about the indie web and web revival and new webscapes people are making. Hes pretty cool.

I get what you mean a lot of those people want your money from what I know their are people who make whole careers out of writing self help books so its a whole thing where people will try and pull you into those circles so you can read them all weather they are actually doing it to sell the books or not is prob case by case but I know its a whole thing

And on the topic of social media I've never really had any besides YouTube. When I was 12, I used Instagram for a while, since all my at the time friends pressured me into using it I never really did anything with it, and I don't use it anymore I pretty much only hang around YouTube and here and I'm also involved with Neocities too I only have 5 friends on Discord, and only one I actually talk with The others I I friended once and didn't talk with afterwards and I'm not fond of reddit the only community I was In I left for personal reasons so social media is very alien to me so I just never bothered with it and even on here I tend to not find much in common with other people besides web revival so Ive always thought of people being addicted to social media as very strange so those people look like total grifters to me I totally understand how off they come off as! 

[larvapuppy]

Maybe you could link some of the videos you are talking about so we can have a better understanding of what you're arguing against? The post seems a bit strawman-y since I have never watched a video like this so I don't know what you mean. 

And you seem to already have the answer to your question, you don't believe that their approach will improve your life, so why not stop watching their videos and watch something that you like instead?

This is an obvious answer, but I think digital technology and analogue technology both have their places, it just depends on what you are looking for from your tools. "Smart" tech can be amazing for productivity, there are apps that will automate everything that can be automated! But if you put a billion trillion distractions on those same devices you will fall prey to distraction. Maybe some people find it useful to take back their attention span by abstaining from using distracting modern devices. Willpower can only take some people so far. If you are looking to be productive you will have to find out what workflow suits you.

And yes, if you go on the website where people constantly are trying to sell their audiences books and courses, you might get ads for books and courses, unfortunately.

[DiffydaDude]

Maybe you could link some of the videos you are talking about so we can have a better understanding of what you're arguing against? The post seems a bit strawman-y since I have never watched a video like this so I don't know what you mean. 

And you seem to already have the answer to your question, you don't believe that their approach will improve your life, so why not stop watching their videos and watch something that you like instead?

I wanna be able to discuss something but I dont know how else to present it.
The channels Im talking abt are people like Zacc Rolands, henrydidit, Steven Foster, Robin Waldun, etc.
Theyre all kinda different about one another but they generally talk about the same sort of things. I.e. reading, journaling, 'analog' tech.
I think @Melooon hit it on the head with his reply. I've been wondering about how I use my stationery because I use both paper and computer together. I was wondering what it'd be like if I used all paper or all PC for writing stuff down, and I'd reckon that maybe I just find value in whatever seems coolest for the job. I do like paper though but graphic designing a poster is pretty fun as i've learned.

[nintendowii99]

The channels Im talking abt are people like Zacc Rolands, henrydidit, Steven Foster, Robin Waldun, etc.
Theyre all kinda different about one another but they generally talk about the same sort of things. I.e. reading, journaling, 'analog' tech.

As someone who is pretty involved in the "return to analog" world, I don't really know those people. One thing I noted is that they all tend to have videos like, "doing X saved my life!" or "doing X will save you!" That is a pretty dead giveaway that their content is going to be a bit preachy. To be honest this seems like a really niche subgroup of youtubers that are making this kind of content, which is what I think @larvapuppy was referring to when they said it was a strawman argument. There are tons of more "normal" videos about relying less on smartphones. The recent Eddy Burback video was great!

In my opinion, you don't need someone to tell you how to return to using analog technology, or at least, rely on a smartphone lesss. We all know how. Just use your phone less and replace it with other items. You don't need a hipster youtuber to preach it to you, just live it, if that is what you choose to do. If you don't believe it will make your life better than don't do it. Just ignore the youtubers.

I tend to watch youtubers that have similar values as me, but none of the ones I watch are preachy in the way the ones you listed are. Have you seen the channel Retail Archeology? It's a really interesting channel about the changes retail has gone through over the last few decades. He also does a lot of thrifting videos and focuses on physical media/vintage tech. I'd be happy to list many more recommendations.

[DiffydaDude]

@nintendowii99 Yeah I'd absolutely love to see more recommendations!

[Corrupted Unicorn]

I think the golden rule would be like:



No two people are alike. Analogue tools have advantages, but also inconveniences. Figure out what works best in your case.

But please don't buy an expensive item (analogue or digital!) just because some guy told you it's best for you. That's an easy way to collect clutter. If you're curious, find what's the cheapest option available and go for that to get a handle of it. If you like it, you can get a more expensive version later. Like, don't buy 80$ colored pencils if you don't know if you wanna actually commit to using them 

Some examples:
- I love analogue animation because it lets me animate anywhere, and I don't depend on a computer, electricity, and the necessary animation software installed 
- But I use a step-counting app on my phone instead of an actual step-counter because I keep dropping them, forgetting about them, and eventually they break
- I can't find the specific video right now, but Youtuber Struthless talks about how he used digital journalling using the Notes app to replace the need to browse social media
- And I have both real and .pdf books. I prefer the sensory experience of physical books, but they take up space; but I can carry as many digital books I want in my phone. And I can get some that aren't available in my country. But carrying one (1) physical book with me allows me to focus on that book easier. I really like taking one to commutes.

[fawn]

I do feel a lot of creators are seeing the current influx in this revival of "nostalgic" living and are monetising it in whatever way they can, whether it be a product or just a monetised video. It's upsetting but I do just think it's par for the course at this stage. I'm actually struggling to find the words for what I feel I've been experiencing recently, but my algorithm knows the changes I've been making and has been pushing these sort of self help video that I'm very torn on. Many good points being made but the execution feeling inauthentic? I wish I could grasp at this thought a bit better because it's something I would love to dive in to and discuss properly haha. I suppose it's the dichotomy I've been seeing of
1. Here is a passion ramble about why you should make your own personal website and also why phsyical journaling is beneficial and also why you really should look at how much time you spend on your phone
and
2. Here is essentially the same thing but presented in a manner that feels corporate and has a sponsorship to something that goes against what I'm promoting

I'm guilty of having to fight this sort of holier than thou feeling when somebody in my circles is working on making similar changes (less social media, more intentional media consumption, less screen time) because it feels like it just clicked with my brain one day and stopped being something difficult for me at all, but it's important to remember that so many of us were essentially doomed on arrival to have addictions to that lifestyle and it's especially hard if it's all somebody has ever known. I don't think the creators you and I are talking about are the same, but I think they likely evoke the same feeling of "good in concept, suspiscious in execution". Of course I want all my friends to at least try to make those shifts, and of course I want all corpos to go poof! overnight, but neither of those things are fully feasible for varying reasons and to varying degrees.

I hope some of this made even a slither of sense, and didn't derail too far from the original intent of the post at hand. I have a habit of reading a thought on here and then my brain runs a parallel train of thought that might not wholly match the post's intent but also doesn't feel like it's own topic haha.

[Blue]

Every time I see those videos, I always think of how most people perceive self-help books: they make you feel good for a moment, and then it doesn't really do much long-term. It's just a way to get people's money.

Anything that is any sort of an extreme ('remove social media', 'stop using your phone', etc) just screams 'I'm trying to sell you something'. I will always believe in 'everything in moderation' because that is the one true way of approaching everything. You cannot completely cut out technology from your life, as you need it for almost everything nowadays. Making some small changes in your day-to-day life is a lot more meaningful than a full-blown 'life rebrand' or however you wanna call it.

For myself, I take all my uni notes in notebooks in cursive. That's one way for me to write every day. I sometimes write in my diary, though this is a more rare occurrence right now as not much is happening. I have a personal journal where I write down my ideas, plans for writing, and overall hobby stuff. But all my actual writing goes on on my PC since I write fanfiction that will eventually be posted, so writing that anywhere else isn't really a good choice (and I have such a nice sounding keyboard that I can't bring myself to not use it). You can say my writing is 50:50 on the digital/paper ratio. You can apply this to almost everything.

Some things are easier to do one way than the other. I don't really like reading ebooks since it's hard for me to fully concentrate that way, so I mostly read physical books. It can depend from person to person, but you can say that balancing things out is miles better than just removing something from your life unless it's actively causing you harm that only disappears once it's been removed.

[Rosaria Delacroix]

There's no real silver bullet in life. I'd suggest picking and choosing bits to experiment with- even if it doesn't become a lasting feature in your life, you'll learn a lot from it.

For a personal example: I kept an obsessive sleep tracker for months in my bullet journal, and found that I didn't really need it- and that it was more trouble keeping it up to date than it was worth: though I did learn a lot about precisely how much sleep I needed in order to function at a bare minimum, how much to have good flow to a day, and how much was a bit too much or was concerning when charted against other early indicative signs of a depressive episode. I don't track my sleep now, but it was valuable data that I still think of sometimes when scheduling or pacing myself.

Even the act of tracking it taught me a lot: I used pen and paper to do so, and it shaped a lot of how I would continue to track various variables in my life. Some benefit from a structure where intrusive notifications are actually helpful, due to limited windows of times of high alert and priority- hence using a digital calendar to schedule meetings and appointments.

Others are more relaxed, and I derive more benefit from seeing them at a larger timescale, or tracked in addition to other things that may be influenced by them: I chart all of my health symptoms by hand, as well as whatever method I am using to track my writing progress: as I find that to be more motivating when I have to actually physically commit to the fact of doodling it all out by hand.

Something I see a lot of people- including myself, struggle with, is getting stuck in a more cerebral perspective on things: an endless conga line of mental worries and anxieties sticking in your craw like broken glass you're absolutely convinced you could mull down to beach glass given enough time: smooth and rounded and utterly perfect.

In the meantime, you've a mouthful of sharp shards- that you could more thoughtfully refine with trial and error with a handful of tools: while a nail file might be impractical, or not quite the right fit: it's a step forwards to the more suitable dremel. But you'll never figure it out without at least a little experimentation and play- even if things come out a bit lopsided or crooked or shaped funny from playing Barbie Dreamhouse with a bunch of power tools.

Basically: try stuff out. See if it works for you or not. Readjust as needed. It's the same iteration as good science, except you're honing your experimentation protocol to better tailor a life that suits you, and your unique needs. There can be established exemplars in the field that it might be a good idea to stick to for foundational approaches, (good sleep is usually core to anything productivity related), but ultimately, it's the experiment of your life. You've gotta play it by ear, at least a little.

Anyone who tells you that they've got it all figured out is either a charlatan, or misguided. They may have refined the perfect process and tools for their life: but their life is their own, and it's very unlikely to map a perfect one-to-one for someone with vastly different life experiences, preferences, and lifestyle. The best thing you can do is pluck out all the bits that sound good, and ditch the advice that doesn't work out.