A blog about my life, fitness and fun! (...and maybe a few cat pictures...)

A blog about my life, fitness and fun! (...and maybe a few cat pictures...)

Friday, January 25, 2019

Deep Thoughts: Digital Minimalism & Solitude

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Hey all! I am linking up with Fairytales and Fitness

I have some DEEP THOUGHTS today!

Remember Jack Handy's deep thoughts!? Omg they were so funny...



Today I'm going to tell you about a great podcast I listen to, and a very specific episode of it.

Ezra Klein, editor-at-large and founder of Vox, puts out a podcast several times a week. Some of them are political, but he interviews people on a host of other topics as well. In fact, I would argue those interviews are the most fascinating episodes. Everything Ezra puts out is topical and current, and there are so many episodes I listen to where I think of someone in my life and think, "Oh my gosh, so and so needs to listen to this!"

~ Digital Minimalism ~

I recently listened to his interview with Cal Newport, who wants us all to become "digital minimalists". Newport defines digital minimalism as "a philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else".

So that got me thinking... am I digital minimalist? I use technology A LOT (podcasts, Duolingo, my blog, reddit, Facebook...) but I value everything I use it for. I think I do need to reevaluate my whole need to blog every day, because I don't think it's working for me anymore!

~ Solitude ~

In the same interview, Newport talks about how since technology is such a huge part of our lives, it is harder for us to experience solitude. Here are two of Newport's lessons solitude:

“Lesson #1: The right way to define “solitude” is as a subjective state in which you’re isolated from input from other minds.
“When we think of solitude, we typically imagine physical isolation (a remote cabin or mountain top), making it a concept that we can easily push aside as romantic and impractical. But as this book makes clear, the real key to solitude is to step away from reacting to the output of other minds: be it listening to a podcast, scanning social media, reading a book, watching TV or holding an actual conversation. It’s time for your mind to be alone with your mind — regardless of what’s going on around you.

“Lesson #2: Regular doses of solitude are crucial for the effective and resilient functioning of your brain.
“Spending time isolated from other minds is what allows you to process and regulate complex emotions. It’s the only time you can refine the principles on which you can build a life of character. It’s what allows you to crack hard problems, and is often necessary for creative insight. If you avoid time alone with your brain your mental life will be much more fragile and much less productive.”

So Newport's definition of solitude shook me. I always equated solitude to "alone time", so I thought I got plenty of solitude and alone time. But whenever I'm alone and doing something that could technically count as solitude (driving, cleaning, shaving my legs, running, etc) I am always listening to  a podcast! So it's very rare to just be alone with my thoughts. Of course, sometimes my thoughts drift during a podcast and I think about other things. But it's definitely not true solitude...

And those are my deep thoughts for today!
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are you a digital minimalist?
How often do you experience solitude?

9 comments:

  1. So interesting! I love to listen to the radio during my alone time here at the house, I have it on ALL the time!
    Other than that, I think I am on my way of becoming a digital minimalist. I gave up facebook for pleasure along time ago because it did not "add" anything to my life and for some reason only caused me anxiety (don't ask me why) and I noticed it was a big time waste. I only get on now when I have to look up info on something ( like a company or restaurant). It's sort of a shame that social media is such a huge part of our life (willingly or other wise). And depending on the type of work you do, it may be a necessary evil. I started writing professionally again and social media is something I'm going to have to get into a little more to stay current. *Sorry for such a long comment and I know it does sound contradictory! Happy Friday!

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    1. It does not sound contradictory at all. It sounds like you are using social media in the ways that ENHANCE your life (looking up businesses on FB) and not in ways that are bad for your life!

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  2. Something I have been doing lately that I haven't done since I first started running is not listening to music or podcasts! I still listen to something when I row, swim, lift and cycle but my running is quiet now. I am really enjoying it. I don't know if it will last but apparently my brain needed some quiet time!

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    1. It's nice you were able to recognize that! I started to try not to listen to podcasts on the way home from work. It actually calms me down faster than a podcast does!

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  3. Intriguing! I have gotten so I don't "need" my music with me for every run. There have been a few times I've headed out for 4 or 5 miles (on my own, not with a friend) that I forgot the bring the Ipod along with me (because I don't usually use it for short 2-3 milers). Oddly, I really didn't miss it and was able to really zone out and enjoy everything around me because I had ZERO distractions. Obviously, when I'm on the 'mill, that's a different ball game LOL

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    1. Oh the mill requires several layers of distractions, right!!??

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  4. I LOVED Deep Thoughts with Jack Handy! It was the only thing I liked about SNL for awhile, actually.

    I agree that solitude is so important, and being able to step back and cut back on tech is crucial. I find myself getting annoyed by texts these days because they feel so intrusive - like, even when it is a friendly text and not work-related, I still get annoyed that someone is trying to encroach on my alone time. And the expectation is that we always have our phones on us, so we SHOULD answer immediately. But often, I will put my phone in another room when I get home from work and totally ignore texts and calls until the next day! My brain needs it!

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    1. I understand! I normally don't mind texts but sometimes they make me anxious. Not mad or anything, and I would MUCH prefer someone text than call! Just remember, we don't get mad when others don't respond to texts right away, so they prob don't get mad when we don't either!

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  5. in many activities I am completely shut off from technology. I don't run with music or podcasts anymore, I also bike with complete silence (well, there's noise from the outside world). I have been also shutting down at night and not having my phone anywhere near me when I go to sleep. But I'm still kind of randomly online at times and I'm actually trying to change that a bit.

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