This might be the wrong place to ask this question but, as someone who has owned more Apple products that I could count, I’m interested in reducing my dependency on them (and tech, in general) moving forward.

A significant portion of my life has included spending time and money on devices and applications to “make my life easier / more productive”. It’s becoming all too apparent though that this has created a reliance on technology that can become difficult to separate from if a company, such as Apple, makes changes that are displeasurable or disruptive to the habits I’ve adopted my daily life.

I mean, my bluetooth trackpad is acting wonky right now, so that’s not fun. Wired always works. Is there too much technology?

I am not a fan of having to keep a phone on me at all times. It’s always in silent mode and visual notifications are kept to a minimum. I can and do sometimes go two to three days without even knowing where my phone is. If I leave the house, I more often just take my Apple Watch and a note pad. (However, with the realization that Apple is changing the Watch UX with OS10, I’m not so sure I’ll be using it much longer.)

I’ll go through my phone once in a while and delete apps I rarely use. If I need something, I can easily reinstall it. The only things I really need a phone for are Maps for navigation, Safari to open a restaurant’s menu, to manage my Apple Wallet, to get a Lyft, to view my Fitness / Health info, and to access an MFA Authenticator app.

After my Apple TV, my iPad is probably my most used device, closely followed by my Mac mini. (I have a MacBook for work - I don’t consider that part of this conversation.) Thinking about it though, I could probably eliminate the iPad in favor of the desktop experience. Since there is not Finder replacement on iPad, I need a MacOS computer to mange my music, photos, files, etc. Although, I hate sitting at a desk more than I need to already for work. If MacOS Finder were available on an iPad, I might be able to ditch a desktop computer.

I just checked Screen Time on my phone - I’m averaging about 1 Hour / Week. My iPad is about 4 Hours / Week. Why do I even have these devices?

So, my problem is that I need(?) each of these devices for just a small handful of tasks. Stepping back from it, it feels stupid that I have all this crap. It’s a lot of money spent and it’s a lot of opportunity for something to break my daily habits. Although, speaking of habits, I have to admit I feel an addiction to these things that prevents me from getting rid of them.

Aren’t we all addicted to out devices? Are we actively encouraging or reducing our dependency on technology and what affect does this have on our mental well being?

I’m wondering if anyone has taken steps to replace or eliminate devices or experiences. How are you living a minimalist technology life?

  • Auster@kbin.social
    4·
    11 months ago

    While the most recent piece of Apple technology I’ve used was a Macintosh 7, I’ve gone through similar issues with Android phones and desktop devices.

    For Windows, the reliance came from the tendency of people (myself included) to avoid change, and Microsoft exploiting that, and with Android, because rare are the cases of commercial phones that don’t come with Google’s bloat.

    But, upon switching to Linux and vanilla Android, as Nobuo Uematsu once said, “(…) the more limited people are, the more ingenious they begin to get (…)”. So while I had lost most tools I had in my comfort zone, it was a good opportunity for renewal, of which I took advantage.

    In lights of that, my recommendation is to “take the leap” and try technologies you’re not used with, and see what you can learn from them.

    • oxjox@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
      3·
      11 months ago

      the more limited people are, the more ingenious they begin to get

      Just another way of saying necessity is the mother of invention. Which I don’t disagree with at all.

      I think the opposite has taken place over recent years though - Invention has replaced Necessity.

      Smart people have invented “cool” technologies often for the sake of being cool. The spectacle and wizardry of technology can distract us from what’s behind the curtain and from a task that only a human mind can or should unwind. I can’t tell you how many times my boss would tell me to integrate some cool new widget into something then when I asked why he’d say, “cause it’s cool”. Yeah, where’s Google Wave now?

      I think taking the leap into unknown technology has been the problem. For me, at least. I wound’t have a career without doing so but at this point, the weight of my choices is building up.