It is becoming clearer every day that I am a true product of my times. And when I say my times, I mean the nineteen hundreds.
Cue the Waltons theme song.
It feels like I spend most of my life staring at screens. Every store wants you to use their app and everywhere you turn, someone is shoving some fake piece of AI generated junk in your face. From the selection of stock artwork we sometimes use at my job to things people share on social media, it feels like our society has lost track of its collective common sense. It feels like we don’t want a connection to anything tangible or real.
It’s rare to see kids playing outside. People don’t seem to enjoy practicing their craft anymore. Nothing is real. We would rather have a photo on a screen than one we print out and keep in a frame or photo album. We prefer phone games with strangers to board games with family. We want stories in fifteen second soundbytes. We prefer streaming to a CD we can hold in our hands. The tangible has been replaced by the virtual and I’m not digging it.
Good grief. I sound like Andy Rooney. Remember him? The old guy on CBS News who used to complain about everything under the sun?
I don’t mean to complain but I do worry about a society that can’t distinguish between reality and AI. I worry that our society is losing a piece of its soul as we don’t encourage people to be painters, poets, historians, philosophers or musicians. Trade jobs pay better and we tell kids not to waste their time on things that won’t make them money. I worry that the processed food industry has finally turned the tide in the war against people knowing how to grow their own food and prepare nutritious meals. I worry that we have lost our ability to enjoy simple pleasures because we’re so overstimulated. I worry about a world without empathy and without a basic understanding of how far we have come across history. I worry for a country that embraces lies over truth and that thinks rewriting history to suit the egos of a few is ok.
The lack of empathy, loss of joy for anything at all, and misinterpretation of history is a dangerous combination. The endless advice to turn hobbies into side hustles tells us that we can no longer do something because we enjoy it – everything is a potential income stream.
I have been exhibiting signs of adult ADHD. I don’t believe this is as much of a real problem for me as it is for many others but whatever is going on in my brain is making it impossible to concentrate.
I cannot be alone in these thoughts and problems.
Personally, I like to cook, to read and to create things for fun.. I prefer the outdoors to screen time when the summer heat and humidity aren’t hammering us every single day. I like books and exploration, homemade soup, and little decorating projects. Watching lightning bugs at dusk and admiring a sunrise will always be some of my favorite things.
I have begun to think of a more Analog Life as a goal to work toward and have gone so far as to begin plotting the many ways I can make my home more cozy, the ways I can avoid technology, and the benefits of music on the record player, dinner on the porch, and meals I make with a few simple ingredients.
Finding a rhythm to the day and leaning into the boundaries and opportunities of the seasons feels important to me. We are moving into Autumn (hopefully soon), a season of bounty with long walks and lots of textures to keep things cozy. The days are shorter but they tend to be magnificent when the leaves put on a grand show that reminds us all how beautiful it can be to let things go.
Embracing self care through movement in nature, hydration, and nutrition is an important part of each season. Being mindful of how you treat your body shouldn’t be lost on us but it is for many.
I cannot just check out of the digital age. This is how I connect with you, dear reader. It’s a big part of my job and my best connection to friends from afar. It’s how I find things I need. It’s part of the world I live in and not all bad. But I do hope to start trimming the amount of hours that the outside world can occupy in my day.
Twinkle lights on the porch with hot chocolate in hand never hurt anyone’s well being. A book to help us relax in the evening is always a good idea. Food prepared with few ingredients in your own kitchen nourishes the body while breathing fresh air will patch up the damage we’ve done to our spirits each day. It grounds us.
Puzzles and board games at the kitchen table, popsicles on a hot day, classic tunes on a record player, a paint-by-number kit, cookies baking in the oven, cruising with the windows open, a clean home, and time spent with a beloved pet are a few ways to unplug and detox.
Make something with your own two hands just for the pleasure of doing. Close your eyes and savor your food. Learn some sewing skills even if it’s just to repair something you might have otherwise thrown away. Remember that getting something done quickly for the sake of getting it done may not be as good as the experience of doing.
Do these things, not for the Instagram photo but for the joy of doing. Do these things because they’re worth doing. Enjoy yourself. Feel your stress levels decrease. Feel your sense of joy and belonging in this world improve. Understand that the world’s problems are not your burden to carry. Worrying about them won’t change a thing. It sounds radical by today’s standards but it’s not really. It’s just that modern society has tricked you into thinking that a fake thing on a screen is better than reality and that it’s all more valuable than your personal peace.
Let’s prove them wrong, shall we?
You have read my mind. Actually, I think you have read the minds of many people who have come to the same conclusion. I liked the days before any of this, when I gardened silence rather than listening to something on YouTube (university lectures excluded). When I cooked in silence. Cleaned the house without hearing news I really don’t want to hear.
I loathe AI. I suppose there will be excellent uses for it like in medicine, etc., but AI generated images just piss me off, the fake AI narration to videos where it cannot pronounce words properly makes me want to scream.
I could go on and on, and I’ve considered a blog post on my own feelings about the topic of toxic social media. Social media I think was a bad idea I total. Yes. I’m a dinosaur.
In short, you are right.
Try having it make you an itinerary for a trip sometime. I have seen some that are appalling wrong and maybe even dangerous. The images and videos are then worst though!
Lol. We will be dinosaurs together!
I like good old fashioned paper maps!
Me too! I like my paper maps for planning but do appreciate gps when I am navigating city traffic.
While I appreciate your post – and agree there is a kernel of truth in what you write, I don’t think it’s as bad as it seems. I see what you call “analog” lives all over the place. There are community gardens everywhere. Little Free Libraries. I see people fishing – both at home and when we travel. I see kids playing in campgrounds. Bikes everywhere! I know lots of people who don’t or limit Facebook. The young rangers we meet while volunteering in the National Parks give me hope for the future. They are awesome! Smart, personable, caring people. Technology is a tool, and honestly, I love it. Think of all those who blog – not to make a buck, but to express and build a community and connect with others. And so what if people want to make some money? It’s not a bad thing. I remember my “Mass Media” class in my Master’s program. There is a “mean world” effect. The world isn’t as “mean” as it seems on TV – we get a distorted view of the world because crime is always reported – not safety. I see kindness everywhere. I see literally thousands of people each year coming to Big Cypress to enjoy the beauty of the swamp. The swamp! It’s all where you put your focus, Andy. 🙂
Your perspective is wonderful and I’m glad to hear it! I do think people behave differently on vacation than in their daily lives. All I can speak for is what I see in my own corner of the world. Smart people who I know personally can’t distinguish between an AI video and a real picture or video. They’re glued to their TVs and phones and far too consumed with things that I don’t value.
So this is just my commentary on what I see in southern Ohio and on how I wish to live my life. I hope you are having a god weekend!!!
You’re sounding a bit overwhelmed with what’s wrong with the world right now, but you don’t need to bear that burden. You already find plenty of what’s right and others are heading that way, too (including yours truly). My house is filled with cut flowers I grew myself and I made a batch of granola today. Took a group out in my neighborhood to learn native (and non-native) plants. Good day! (Until the rattlesnake surprise 😳!)
I don’t bear that burden. In fact, I’m working to simply step away from it as much as possible. I have better uses for my energy and need to do a better job creating boundaries.
Life is good and hopefully soon to be better. We are under a heat advisory again today but it sounds like the temps will break around Labor Day. It will be nice to go outside again! It has been so long!
Love this – “Finding a rhythm to the day and leaning into the boundaries and opportunities of the seasons feels important to me.”
I’m so eager for fall, I can almost taste the pumpkin donuts! Haha.
I hate that stores and restaurants keep pushing apps on us. I don’t want to download them. It’s ironic how we’re more “connected” now than ever with phones and the internet, and yet we seem to be lacking a true connection with others or even a sense of community. I worry about these things as well. And none of it really seems like progress and that it actually makes our lives any better.
I finally downloaded the Walmart app even though I really don’t want it. I broke when they removed price check machines from the stores and stopped putting consistent (and accurate) prices in the shelves.
I was irritated the other day because I picked up a Sam’s club order for the bank and the only way to check in was through their flipping app.
This is not cool.
Funny because I had to do the same thing and download the Walmart app. It’s also the only way to see their flyer too. Super annoying.
It just makes me angry and not want to do business with them.
Exactly, we are more connected but much more lonely. It’s actually kind of worrying when you think about it, where things are going……I use a Nokia dumb phone, and trying to get an actual camera and mp3 player. I am trying to live as if I were in the 90s and stay like that for as long as i can…….
Good for you! The 1900s is a pretty good time to return to!
Hi Brandi, Yep – I totally agree with you. I try to avoid the ‘digital age’ as much as possible. I don’t have a Smartphone, Don’t do social media, still buy CD’s (hell I’d buy Audio cassettes if I could), Read actual books (preferably with browned pages), still listen to music from the 80s/90s – I try to avoid the new world as much as possible.
Cooking, reading, walking, doing simple things is the way to go always.
Maybe it’s a thing for those of us that grew up in the 70’s and 80’s – I find the modern world harder and harder to connect with.
Hope you and Scout are doing well.
Cheers
Stuart
I think our generation is wired just a little differently. I lived my entire childhood without all the trappings kids have today. I got my first email address in college but research was still mostly done without computers. I have slowly adapted new things but know I can survive happily without then. As part of the last generation before the world went crazy, I can’t help but think life was easier.
Carry on, Stuart! Glad to have you back!
Oh goodness, life was certainly easier! I think we talked before that we were born around the same time – I was also in 77, and I’m so glad I was. It was a wonderful time to grow up – I used to get kicked out the door on a summers morning, and not expected home until it got dark, no phones, responsible for myself – I can’t imagine ever being able to do that with my kids. And technology… Yeah I had old 8-BIT computers etc. but they were just a ‘thing’ not the be all and end all they are now. And having things like Manual Cameras and Walkmans – we learned to fix things when they went wrong – how on earht do you fix a smartphone?
Simple living – it’s the best thing to do and something we aspire too – we cook, do simple things.. A life less complicated is far more fun.
Cheers!
“A life less complicated is far more fun.”
Absolutely.
I agree with a lot of what you said here. The digital life, the gadgets, the AI its all becoming a bit too much now. I am going to write a post about going Analog on my blog later. I already use a dumb phone, have a watch, note pad,4 K camcorder, just need a camera, an mp3 and some CD’s and a CD player. We have become so disconnected and life has become dull and dry. Life was so good in the late 90s and 2000s before all this stuff became excessive.
It really has gotten out of hand, hasn’t it?
Its too much, I just saw on France 24 new s that schools in Denmark are going back to books and papers etc and only using computers only when really necessary. The students hand in their smart phones at the beginning of class and do not use them for the whole day. I am still in a limbo if I should go tottally dumb because people in my Country (England) do not answer SMS promptly like they do whatsapp….
I’m definitely regressing at this point. I don’t want to have more apps. I want more substance, better focus, and more enriching experiences than my oui e can provide. Good for Denmark!
Love the sentiment behind this post. I realised I had a problem with my relationship with tech when I noticed that I didn’t have any hobbies outside of… doom scrolling… We lived for centuries without being attached to digital tech, and while they make life more convenient in some ways, we don’t need it all the time and letting go can make life more meaningful.
You are in good company. Most of us have an unhealthy relationship with tech if we are honest with ourselves.