Have an Old-school New Year!

Get off Zoom and find some outdoor space...

It's been a long, strange pandemic, and it's ramping up for another act.  Join me as I try to stay sane, stay safe, stop doomscrolling and ride out the latest Covid wave.  Stay tuned for more.

Great Use of Screen Time: Jose Briones and Digital Minimalism

Follow Jose Briones here.

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by Laurie Allee

Must Watch for Digital Minimalists

Watch Jose's interview with Joe Hollier,
creator of the Light Phone 2 

The ironic part about living a life less digitally saturated is that by conscientiously spending time offline you can miss out on some great fellow travellers.  Jose Briones is well worth your screen time.

I first discovered Jose when I was researching dumb phones.  I was struggling with the incessant temptation of my iPhone, and I wondered if there was an alternative that would allow me to stay connected without getting sucked into an endless vortex of scrolling, likes and retweets.  Jose's channel is the perfect one-stop clearinghouse of detailed reviews, with plenty of explanations and demonstrations of the user experience.  If you are shopping for a phone that won't own you, Jose's channel will definitely help you make an informed decision.  He will point you toward some devices I guarantee you have not heard of before.  

Views From The New Normal

by Laurie Allee

In what has to be the biggest irony of 2020 for me, the very digital devices that were causing so much isolation, distraction and harmful addiction are now the ones bringing us closer together, helping us focus our goals and protecting us from illness.  The internet, in a way, has become humanity's central nervous system, and our devices are a lifeline to the in-person world now largely out of reach.  

I'm not even sure when the crisis is past that we will ever go back to eschewing real life for online simulation.  Something profound and life-changing is happening as a side effect of this global pandemic, revolutionary uprising and financial crisis.   We're finding out how much we really need each other.  We're realizing the scope of our structural failures, demanding not only justice but a complete system overhaul.  We're seeing how much more fragile, transient and brief this time on earth turns out to be.   

Instead of removing us from real life, our devices are now keeping us in touch with what's real.  

Digital technology is the new Analog.  

More thoughts on this coming soon.

Away from Keyboard: Embracing Slow Tech

by Laurie Allee

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So I've been offline a lot in the last few weeks.  While I think I can say I've successfully relegated my phone back to the status of a phone instead of a tiny monitor that never leaves the palm of my hand, I still feel the siren call of the internet when I'm working on my computer.  

And I have to work on my computer.  

Disconnecting to Reconnect

by Laurie Allee
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The mixed blessing of deleting my accounts...

Have you cut back on social media and noticed a weird reaction from friends and family?  Now, before I continue, let's get one thing straight: if you are proselytizing digital minimalism to people, then I understand their blowback.  There's nothing more annoying than someone ranting at you to do something a certain way.  Nobody wants a lecture about social media or phones. (They don't want one about politics, religion or child rearing, either.)  

I'm talking about the gut reaction from people when you mention you've quit Facebook or decided to put down your phone.  There's an undeniable defensiveness that comes out, and I think it's so strange.


Here's a sample of the kind of things I regularly hear:   

Unplugged

Come out from behind the screen!

by Laurie Allee

If you subscribe by email, click this to see the accompanying video
See my Life Analog introductory post here.

Phone junkie me.

When I first realized I might need to rethink my relationship with technology, I took baby steps.  You know what I mean: I only checked Instagram ONCE an hour instead of repeatedly, every few minutes.  I waited maybe five minutes after getting up to check Twitter, instead of taking the phone into the bathroom with me.  I put the phone on my nightstand instead of cradling it to sleep.  I mean, come on, I didn't have a problem.  I wasn't one of those phone people.  I could actually get through a dinner with someone by just sideways glancing at the phone on the table as notifications came in.  It wasn't like I picked it up.  (Well, not much.) 



I really thought I was just fine...

Towards a life less digitally saturated...

Disconnect to reconnect

by Laurie Allee

Welcome to Life Analog
A simple blog for living IRL

Log off.  Tune in.  Opt out.

Maybe you've felt it too: that weird, sinking feeling that something is now missing.  Despite the constant connectivity, the app for everything, the Prime Same Day delivery, the likes, the swipes... something is gone.

There's a feeling kind of like what you get at the end of a long, drunken party.  Sure, it's been fun.  It's been rowdy and wild and exciting.  But we've all had a bit too much, and our heads are swimming.  People are showing off and picking fights and throwing up.  At this point it would be really nice to get away from all the chaos, sleep it off, and wake up to something a little more grounded.

If you're nodding right now, then stick around.  Life Analog is my place to piece together a more truly connected life than the one I can get checking Twitter.  Join me as I try to find the tangible in a world that is becoming more and more virtual.

Explore the tabs and links for help with digital addiction, smartphone overload and the inevitable social media hangover.  Look around for inspiration and validation from a weary but hopeful fellow traveler.

I'm not suggesting we completely abandon the digital party.  But let's go back and find the analog treasures we lost there.  Let's step out from behind the screen.

I post several times a month.  (More than that would encourage you to keep scrolling!)

You can find out more here.