Category: Embracing Digital Minimalism

Mad. Sad. Bad. That’s what the news does to me within minutes. In that exact order. Mad about the state of the world. Sad about the behaviour of my fellow human beings (including my own unwillingness to shut it all out). And ultimately very bad about myself. At this particular moment in history, as a…

I tried to do something simple a few days ago. I treated myself to a cappuccino at a café a little farther from my usual haunt. I intentionally left my phone behind at home and brought only a novel I was trying to finish reading. It was a small act of rebellion, my own quiet…

My millennial son called me a ‘late-stage capitalist’ after I subscribed to several popular meditation apps. I was confused more than insulted. The meditation apps were for calming me down, if that was even possible. Was I really handing more money over to those avaricious tech bros, the ones attempting to turn every facet of…

When I first embraced digital minimalism, I thought about buying a simple flip “dumb phone”. But I couldn’t find one that carried only WhatsApp and a camera so continued using my Google Pixel 6. I have since learned that even so-called “smart phones” can be diabolically dumb. At least the tech networks that connect them…

Have you looked in a mirror lately?  We hear that expression a lot these days. It asks someone to reflect on their own behavior before critizing others. Most people, though, are no longer interested in that kind of microscopic self-scrutiny. Instead, they look at their phones. Tech devices are the modern go-to tools for self-awareness. Notifications flashing across a screen provide instant love from virtual…

I’ve never been known to shy away from outrage. Pick a subject, any subject, and I can probably work myself into a lather over it. Once, I was even asked if I was outraged over the birth of quintuplets at a hospital in Ottawa.  It happened on Morningside, a popular 1980’s radio program in my country. Once…