r/digitalminimalism

To this day I cannot for the life of me figure out what the appeal is, of watching someone sit down for 4 hours in front of a camera and microphone and watching them scroll through their socials and maybe they talk about stuff.

Like what genre even is that?

What's next? Watching someone, watch that person scroll through their socials and add commentary on their browser choice? And after that going further, like streamer-ception?

The more I spend time doing things away from social media, the less tolerant I become of the content within it.

I recently traveled to China and discovered that people there use electronic devices even more obsessively than in the U.S. You see almost everyone with their heads down, staring at their phones; many people spend over a dozen hours a day on them. In restaurants, people no longer converse; they just play on their phones. Of course, you can do a lot with a phone—order meals, pay for anything. In fact, when I walked into a KFC and approached the counter to order, the clerk looked surprised and said, "Just order on your phone." That’s when I realized that without a phone, I wouldn't be able to function in the country. There were other shocking sights, too: people cycling while scrolling with one hand, or riding e-scooters and motorcycles while doing the same. I also took an Didi (China Uber); drivers usually had two phones—one for navigation and another they were constantly scrolling through. It was simply insane. Even though phone usage in the U.S. is already alarmingly high, it pales in comparison to what I saw in China. Sometimes I wonder what this online existence is turning us into—connecting our brains to a distant online community in a way that makes us forget our own physical bodies. For instance, I rarely eat a meal without taking out my phone; I’ve almost forgotten what food actually tastes like because I can’t focus on the flavor. Our brains have had all their attention forcibly hijacked by something akin to an algorithm. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to truly experience life. Perhaps by looking at a country with even higher phone usage, we can predict what our own society might become if this trend continues. From a pessimistic view, we are already compelled to use phones for so many tasks. When I drive my electric car, for example, I can't even locate charging stations without a smartphone. Phones have become an absolute necessity, yet they constantly demand our attention—to the point where, when I step away from the online world, I find real life incredibly boring and feel compelled to dive right back into that digital realm.

I've been scrolling the best posts on this subreddit today and many of them look like they were written by AI. The irony is they got the most attention and little people if non noticed their AI nature. It's just junk and noise to exploit people and it's getting more prevalent every day and there is no adblock for AI content. Actually it's even worse than classic ads cause to see if the post is written by AI I need to read it first and maybe check the author's profile. It's just attention and time consuming. So lately I've been thinking that Reddit doesn't make sense anymore because of it. And staying away from subreddits about digital minimalism or minimalism in general is the best practice of minimalism. Cheers.

Capable phone???
Competent phone??
Savvy phone??
Astute phone??

AI is telling me “feature phone” but that is apparently sometimes also used for dumb phones… so that doesn’t work for this category of phone, unless we’re going to reappropriate this term.

Since dumbphones aren't working out for many, eg. some people want Whatsapp that has sucked in too many people, then lots are looking for this "middle-ground". The Commodore Callback is an example that is in between.

As Apple/Google phones now invite more AI integration, slop, intentionally addictive, and even dystopian survelliance/influence, I guess “smartphone” still makes sense as a name for those phones.

But not everyone is aiming for digital minimalism, some just want simplified with all modern conveniences. So I'm not sure "minimalist phone" is right, which also almost sounds like a dumbphone.

Smartphones are currently the most common in western countries, so we can’t use words like average/normal until this new market segment increases…

I'm looking to completely without screens for a while. I was thinking maybe a week to start. I wanted to know if there are any tips or any places where I should make compromises. I still want to keep in touch with my friends during this time and I'm not exactly sure how I should go about doing that when I would rather just leave my phone and laptop behind.

For context I have a laptop and a dumbphone that still has minimal access to apps (think like my bank app, e-reader, uber). I currently find myself spending a lot less time on my phone than when I got a smart phone, but still click it open to check for notifications way more than I should and reading e-books much more than I want like as soon as I wake up and go to bed. When I am home I tend to be on my laptop scrolling things like reddit, or playing video games that are honestly just such wastes of time. I use cold turkey as well to block things but the internet is endless and my time is finite. It's eating up my days and I have a lot of goals I want to accomplish.

So to anyone who has gone screen free for a long period of time, what tips do you have?

I feel like all of my activities revolve around the Internet.

(I just want say before I start, I have some pretty bad ADHD which makes it very hard to focus without background noise sometimes)

I really like to draw, but then when I’m drawing, I feel like I need a reference and then I need to stare at my iPad/computer.

Then I get bored of drawing, so I decided to scroll on my phone for a bit.

After that, I want to call my friends or text them, which makes me go on my phone.

A few minutes later, after we’re done talking, I go on Reddit and interact with communities.

Then I say I’ve been on my phone for too long, so I clean my room for a little bit while usually having TV playing in the background.

Then I decided to go on a walk, but then I feel like I need to listen to music…

I FEEL LIKE I’M GOING CRAZY.

I can’t focus without audio in the back sometimes, but then I’m on the Internet then too.

And I’ve tried reading, but it’s really, really hard for me (I have some pretty bad dyslexia).

I genuinely don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m so anchored online even when I’m doing productive stuff, I can’t get away. Do you guys have any suggestions??

I start my day with my phone even though I know it highjacks your dopamine and attention for the rest of the day. I know that I scroll and watch content on social media to disassociate from dealing with my actual life, which I can admit needs a lot of work. How did you guys start to peel yourselves away from the screen??

For context: I do have some hobbies but even during those hobbies (like the gym) it’s hard not to be on my phone. I DJ but when I do that I’m just looking at a different screen with a lot of the same notifications.

I have been on a serious detox from my phone/PC for the last two days now. I know boredom is not something bad and it gives your brain a chance to take a break from all the simulation. However I have no idea how to fulfill my day.

I read and walk daily, but this is not something I can do for a full day. I want to use my boredom to do fulfilling stuff, but I genuinely have no idea. It is crazy that 20 years ago, this was normal and everyone used to just live their life and find ways to fulfill their day. Now boredom feels like something bad and I just forget to life how it used to be 20 years ago.

I am chronically ill, can't work, don't see friends, can't leave the house by myself, family live far away, running out of money fast, partner works full time to support us both. My life sucks, theres no sugar coating it. I find joy in little things where i can. But i am always one small thing away from total collapse. I am my own admin, advocate and carer at this point because nobody else can do anything.

I use my phone, laptop and tv as a way to enjoy life but I've realised while trying to cut down on it that its my only coping mechanism. I can't get any professional support for my mental health, ive tried for years, there isnt enough resources and i am not "bad enough" to need urgent help. Well, that's because of my screen time it seems like.

I spent a few days offline and my depression and anxiety got so bad i felt like I was going insane, from 0-100. It got so bad in such little time i had to hide my meds for obvious reasons relating to depression.

I tried painting, i tried wordsearches, i did some chores. But its the evening. The evening when its dark outside and im tired, if theres no screens and no distractions my brain will just become so mentally ill its unbearable.

So ive no idea how im going to lower my screen time if its genuinely the only thing i have to stop my depression and anxiety completely taking over.

Anyone been through anything similar and can maybe like....help? In any way? Lol, thanks everyone

Or, Millennial re-discovers journaling?

You're allowed to just write something and not post it on Reddit or elsewhere online.

Maybe we've fallen into the modern attention trap of monetized social media and our default belief "they" push on us that sharing is good, which keeps us using and returning to these platforms. Maybe we stubbornly stick to the ideals of the old web, which dies a little bit more every day and is essentially irrelevant for how 99% of people use the internet.

When I invest effort into writing an essay, nearly all of the benefit is from the act of writing itself. It lets me organize and clarify my thoughts and develop new insights.

I get almost nothing in return for sharing it online. I don't respect the opinions of the average Redditor, so what do I care if they agree or disagree with me? If my post gets popular and gets several dozen comments, maybe one or two will actually be useful feedback (e.g. made me reconsider something I wrote, or introduces a new perspective). The rest of the replies are junk.

About a month ago I put effort into writing about a 1,000 word essay over on /r/nosurf. "The internet feels more barren every day, after 20 mins I'm already bored" was the title. My post was removed immediately, I think because I dared to mention "AI" in the essay and the AutoMod snagged it. The inactive mod never logged in to approve my post, so it just went into the void and nobody got to read it. And I realized I wasn't missing out on anything, I had already gotten what I needed to get out of it simply through the act of writing the piece.

I just laughed when I checked the new queue on /r/nosurf after my post was removed and saw it filled with astroturfing ads for vibecoded screentime apps and super low effort posts of like one or two sentences. Yet again we see AutoMod keyword removals mainly hurt actual humans, while the spammers get through on volume alone. Actually let's redux the title... "Wrote something? You may not be allowed to post it."

We (that being humans) are barely wanted here anymore. "They" need you to make their money, but they don't want you to have a voice. It seems the ideal Redditor user is someone who logs in several times throughout the day, silently scrolls and consumes their daily dose of bot slop and agitprop from "approved users", upvotes, maybe drops a couple pointless GIF replies or low-effort "this" comments...

Since then I've written several essays in my note taking app of choice, stuff I would normally post on Reddit, and I didn't. I just kept it private and offline. And I missed out on nothing, if anything I gained because I didn't feel obligated to log back into Reddit a few times that day and check for replies.

And yes, it will be very quirky, unique, and clever to respond something like "but you posted this on Reddit!" I'm not sure why I felt the need to share this one. Maybe I'm hoping to convince others of what I've come to see, and accelerate the death spiral of this site by removing what little remains of the human element.

I don't want to. But I still find myself either scrolling shorts / reels. Or watching some movie or tv show.

I hate that it takes most of my time n energy away. And leave me with nothing to work on for myself.

It is an addiction.

Everytime I pick up the phone. Why do I always end up watching some random shit for 2 hours?

How to fix this

Made a post earlier but haven't really gotten a proper response. I only need to use my phone for messaging apps since I do all my work on my laptop. Tried gray scale, app blockers, minimalist screen etc, nothing worked. Also tried to compensate for the time by picking up hobbies which also, proved unsuccessful. I usually bypass any blocks I make, so how do I stick to the plan? I don't really have anyone reliable to be strict towards me either so I'm lost.

Its so unbelievably ironic that i had to try and bypass my country's stupid id age verification thing (using a glitch) so I could look at the sub reddit about reducing technology use

And that exact thing is one of the many reasons why I want to reduce my use of social media.

Its hilarious but also so incredibly sad and even more so frustrating.

I'm fed up. I hate that our phones listen and watch everything and more. It's beyond just the "innocent" marketing now. It's psychological in sinister ways e.g. insta reels showing you psychological takes on matters in your life that it has, again, just eavesdropped on. PSA: I am not willing to debate whether or not I am being paranoid. This is my experience and it's so much so now that I can't ignore it anymore.

I also hate that AI is the first to put its hand up to answer every goddamn thing and I hate that people are now even talking like AI. I don't want AI to worm into my brain like it has done to other people. I want to stay myself.

Making a switch to a phone that just supports Whatsapp and maybe also a maps feature would be good. Every other essential app I am happy to move over to my tablet and keep that shut away most of the time until I want to use it. There are aspects to modern tech I enjoy i.e. Reddit(!), social media etc. however I would enjoy these things more with better moderation and sense of control.

Please share any routines, systems, ways you have found to live like this. Any ideas about how to better protect my privacy currently on my Google phone and maybe stop getting spied on as much would be good too haha! Thanks!!

Lately I've just been feeling very tired of both apps. It feels like the goal of Facebook is to keep us as divided as possible. Instagram is all ads and random people you don't even follow. I've noticed (many times, actually) that when I open Instagram or Facebook, I just feel...angry. Overwhelmed. Like I'm scattered in fifty different directions. They are both dumpster fires and people showing off. Social media is not, for me at least, fun. It's all politics, the earth is burning, people are starving, this rich celeb got married. Yet I keep going back. And yes I know they're made to be addictive but I still berate myself for being weak. I just feel this strong need to get off these apps and never return. I've left before and I've seen how much easier, calmer, and smaller (in a good way) it makes life seem. Not sure what the point of this post is, other than maybe to feel less alone.

hey all, my friend's birthday is coming up (as well as our 2 year friendiversary) and lately, she's been trying to detox from social media and has been talking about wanting an mp3 player. So, naturally, I've been looking about, but I ave the budget of a broke high schooler (largely because I am a broke high schooler) The most I can do is 40, maybe 50 dollars for one, including stuff like a case, headphones, etc. So, do you guys have any recommendations?