Lifestyle

Going Analogue In A Digital World

There’s something so particularly enticing about the basics…

Liam Lawson
6 min readJun 29, 2021

Shit-Hot Learning Curve

I think we could all do with a little simplicity in our lives

They’re complicated.

You have rent to pay, taxes to remember, an ever-expanding network of people to keep up with and an all consuming news cycle.

It’s more than our ancestors have ever been subjected to, and more than we’re humanely possible of handling.

Rather than hunting, shitting, fucking and building we’re tweeting, updating our LinkedIn profiles and posting IG photos in self-absorbed vanity.

I believe our attention is misdirected and recent technological developments aren’t necessarily beneficial for our mental health.

The problem arises from the rapidity with which our social and economic landscapes have changed in the past 100 years — we’ve went from painting cave walls to watching dead music artists perform as holograms.

It’s been quite the jump in a short amount of time.

It’s been a rapid, unforgiving succession of newness. A succession in which you can either try to comprehend or get left behind.

Out Of The Loop Already

I just turned 22.

You’d think that i’d be:

‘down with the kids’

If you assumed that, you assumed wrong.

I’m out of the loop already. For example, TikTok is that all too well known platform that’s dominating Social Media at the moment.

Everything’s happening there.

The platform doesn’t discriminate and seemingly 90% of the world uses TikTok. Celebs, high-schoolers, massive brands, YouTubers, everyone.

When the platform first came around i seen it as some cringy adaptation of Vine. I thought it’d forever be duets, dances and egotistical people flaunting their looks.

I was wrong; it’s much more than that.

Youtubers use it to advance and market their content, brands team up with high-profile users to raise awareness of their products, and the possibilities are seemingly endless.

But in the rapid, mindless adoption of the platform we forgot to consider the consequences.

Yes, the platform can incredibly entertaining and a great place to gain exposure but i’ve seen what a TikTok addiction can do to an individual.

Almost everyone who uses TikTok has a TikTok addiction.

They can’t sit 5 minutes on the couch without taking out their phones and scrolling.

They have to spend at least 30 minutes watching TikToks before bed.

They’re unequivocally engrossed in the platform.

Be Mindful

TikTok’s just one example of how fast technology’s advancing.

While mass adoption of such a thing would usually signal inherent goodness, i’d argue that you can live a more fulfilled life by abstaining.

As with anything, it’s a balance. I can’t blanketly claim that everyone needs to cut down on their technology use but for the most part it’d be a good thing.

There’s good sides and there’s bad sides:

  • You can become a millionaire by trading stocks on your phone from the comfort of your own toilet.
  • You can also end up a fat, depressed, lazy, self-loathing cunt who spends 9+ hours a day glued to a screen.

Finding your optimum balance of analogue and digital is crucial to finding yourself.

Furthermore, finding the optimum balance is going to take willfull, mindful, thoughtful, consideration. It’s going to take effort.

It’s going to take deep contemplation:

What do i want to be doing with my life?

What do i want to keep?

What do i want to cut out?

What do i want to start doing?

What would an ideal version of myself be doing?

I’d argue that almost everyone in the 18–35 age range could do with spending more time in the analogue department as this gives you:

  • More time without phones.
  • More time entirely present with friends.
  • More time reading a book.
  • More time fixing a bike.
  • More time building something with their hands.
  • More time creating.
  • More time cooking.
  • More time with family.
  • More quality time.

Benefits Of Analogue

  1. You exercise your intuition. So much of modern life is handed to us through a digital medium. Google Maps sorts out directions, the TrainLine apps tells you when the next train is, Google Translate combats language problems. We barely use our brains anymore. I’d argue that, in some cases, it’s actually detrimental to our social, psychological and personal development. I’d rather resolve to reading road signs, speak to a flesh n bones human being to ask when the next train is and use a mixture of books, learning and good old-fashioned hand signals to translate a different language.
  2. You have more time to yourself. Constant communication has been made out to be some ultimate goal. You need to have an iPhone so you can Facetime whenever you feel like it. You’d be mad not to do so, how else would you post IG pics, tweet opinions or talk in group chats? Fuck that shit, having a good chunk of your day where you’re simply unreachable is bliss. Get comfortable with your individuality, immerse yourself in hobbies, spend time with the only person that’s ever constant — yourself.
  3. It’s inherently rewarding. I read in Cal Newport’s Deep Work that some of the most satisfied professions in the world are characterised by people working with their hands and completing projects. Electricians, plumbers, builders, woodworkers and so on. They get to spend long periods of time focussing on a problem, figuring out solutions and penultimately producing a finished project. By introducing more analogue in to your life, you can harness some of this power. You can fill a journal and reflect on the last year, you can build a campervan with your two god given hands, you can text on an OG Nokia brick. That clicky, clicky noise is so soooo satisfying.

How

You may be asking, how do i introduce more analogue in to my life?

Firstly, you’ve absolutely got to get yourself a phone that can only text, phone, set alarms and play snake.

I’m not saying get rid of your smartphone, simply turn it off when you don’t need it.

I’ve had one for over a year now and i swear by it.

Close family and friends — the only people that really matter — know that if they desperately need to contact me immediately they can get me there.

Anything that isn’t time sensitive is usually left in WhatsApp, Signal or Facebook messages.

Secondly, throw your fucking smart watch in the fucking bin.

Buy an old Casio (which is digital) or any analogue watch and wear it. It tells the time and that’s all you need a watch to do.

Thirdly, get yourself a mini-journal and bring it with you at all times. Write in it, sketch pictures, note down lists of your favourite coffee shops, make up your own language and keep a copy there. Replace that waiting time that you usually spend on your phone with this or a book. You know that time spent on a train, in line or in a waiting room that you automatically bring your phone out — yeah, change that.

Lastly, find some hobbies that are entirely analogue.

Take up surfing, mountaineering or jogging. If you’re not physically able, learn how to draw, paint or create. If you’re not artistic then build yourself a bed frame, take up photography or learn a language.

Just ensure you’re making the time to spend quality time.

Closing Thoughts

Truth is, vast majority of people our age could do with more time to themselves and less time with their phones.

Think of your phone is a fun but needy friend.

Spend time with them when you feel like it but when they start pestering you, get them to fuck.

Try introducing more analogue in to your life.

You may just be surprised at the results.

As Always,

Yours Honestly,

Commodore Pipas.

--

--

Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson

Written by Liam Lawson

Writing to better understand my own thoughts.

No responses yet