Digital Minimalism

As funny as it seems, there is an entire movement that exists to resist advancement and innovation in technology. There have been books written about it, movies made about it, and who knows what else. It’s called “Neo-Luddism” though I don’t necessarily subscribe to it. However, there are several reasons for resisting technology and wanting to go back to the way things used to be:

1. The new thing isn’t really better than the old one, it’s just more expensive
2. The new thing does one thing better, but everything else worse
3. The new thing requires you to upgrade other things you didn’t want to upgrade
4. The new thing requires more personal sacrifice than you’re willing to give

There are examples of this in every aspect of the marketplace now. Even when buying a car, the car is “connected” and wants to pair with your phone, your personal information, and possibly share that with the manufacturer- and you can’t turn that off. And when the marketplace only has vehicles with these “features” you don’t really get a choice. As I’ve said before, freedom is choice, and when you’re only offered choices you don’t want, you’re not really free.

This is the driving force behind Digital Minimalism: choice and freedom.

Example:
By using WordPress as a blogging platform, I’m making a trade-off. Easy editing, organization, formatting, and exposure in exchange for insecurities, viruses, spam comments, database problems, plugin incompatibilities, and all sorts of other things.

What does that mean for my blog in the future? I’m not sure yet.
Instead, I could go with a static html site. Running a web server for static content is ridiculously simple. And because it’s just serving text and images, you can run it on almost any kind of computer… including a 20-year-old Mac. I’d probably go to a lighter weight style too, but honestly, the layout I’m using now isn’t very graphic-intense to begin with. Simpler is almost always better.

Normally when I talk about minimalism, I’m just speaking theoretically. But this time, I probably will actually do it. I’ve got the web server running right now- it’s already running a cloud server and a gopher server (and occasionally a Minecraft server)- so there’s not much work to be done. Just generate the site, tweak the html templates, and go.

Of course with a static website, there’s no way to leave comments. But I haven’t gotten that many, so I’m okay with that. I don’t necessarily need WordPress-driven comments (or the hassle that comes with them). Email is also always an option.

Am I a Minimalist?

That depends. I am less of a minimalist, and more of an avant-garde at the very core of my being. I do things because I can, and because nobody expects it. When I was younger, nobody else I knew had an online presence; I was striking out into the great unknown back in the early 90’s. I faithfully watched my copy of Hackers. I was pushing the boundaries of technology, and I loved it. I was a dial-up BBS Cowboy in the Digital Frontier.

Fast forward 25 years. Now that technology has permeated every single aspect of our lives (and shows no signs of stopping), I’ve realized I can no longer stay on the cutting edge of anything electronic. And in fact, cutting edge anything means frustration and headaches for me now. It’s not that I’m irritated because everybody jumped on that bandwagon: now it’s a matter of having enough credit limit to buy your way into whatever technology trend they’re selling this week.

There is no more digital frontier: the BBS Wild West has become a Las Vegas burlesque show. And I’m not really interested in bright lights where everything is designed to grab your attention. I don’t want to keep up with trends: I want to buck the trend.

I want to go where people don’t expect me to. Where I can be myself, where I can talk with other people who think like me. Where I can think outside the box, and explore things that most people don’t care about. Where I’m not distracted or frustrated.

Am I just thinking about going non-digital just because that’s not what everyone else is doing? Maybe. There’s some truth in those words. But I think there’s more to it than that.

Less Is More

I’m beginning to realize that less is more. And in the true minimalist view, that applies to digital things as well. Less social media. Less entertainment. Less information, less data, less analyzing. More time and mental energy to focus on life.

I’m reminded of Tyler Durden’s poignant words: “The things you own end up owning you.” And the same applies to your digital life. The more things you grow attached to, the more you find you can’t do without them. And much like how men wish they could be Tyler because he is “free in all the ways that we are not,” we have to choose to reject consumerism and slavery of our minds if we want to be free.

The Winter Of Our Discontent

In the old days, it was billboard ads, TV, and magazines; now it’s clickbait, Instagram, and Facebook making us discontent. It’s a constant pressure to achieve, to perform, to look good, and it always comes at a price. But this is not how God designed us. We were not created to be consumeristic sheep, bleating for the next thrill. We can’t claim to be living for God whilst chasing golden calves. And what the digital world has become is nothing more than the modern equivalent of the Tower of Babel; except much worse. Man’s importance and achievements lofted to the heavens, thumbing their noses at God.

God is not impressed with social media, nor is he concerned with man’s desire for constant approval. It serves no purpose that can’t be solved elsewhere.

Or, to quote an old saying, social media is “the answer to a question nobody was asking.”