technology

There’s No Such Thing as Free Wifi

/ L Jack Claussen / Leave a comment

I have a strange problem.  I feel very guilty when I sit in a coffee shop, using their high speed Wifi, without buying anything.  Growing up, I was always taught to buy something—water, a candy bar—from a gas station after using their bathroom.  This polite gesture now nags at me as I write these words, sitting in a local coffee shop, writing and drinking water.  But the problem becomes more complex when I add that I am on a diet and I’ve already had lunch.  I would love to buy a sweet treat or a smoothie, but I don’t want the calories.  I’d buy coffee, but I don’t drink it.  Or tea.  A year ago, I would have bought a glass of fountain Coke, but I’ve cut it out of my diet.

Much like a gas station bathroom, I am expected to buy something in exchange for sitting and writing in their establishment.  It’s an unspoken pressure I feel every time, causing me to write at the local public library instead.  But the library often has screaming kids that even my Sennheiser noise-cancelling headphones can’t block out.  There is a din at the coffee shop, but it becomes a low white noise with my headphones on.

While I love supporting my local library, I prefer the environment of the coffee shop.  Yet I can’t shake this nagging feeling.  To be clear, if it was a Starbucks, I would not feel guilty.  I have no moral problem ripping off a giant corporate company.  But this shop is local and only one of two locations.  It has a hipster aesthetic and good lighting.  I can spread out at a table or sit in a leather chair by the fireplace.  The bathrooms are clean.  What’s not to love?

So that’s why I feel so guilty.  I feel like I’m stealing from the owner.  I’d be happy to tip the coffee shop a few dollars for a few hours of peace, but I don’t want to waste my calories on a food item I don’t want.  This feels like the most #FirstWorldProblem situation I have ever been in, but it begs the question: Is there such a thing as free Wifi?

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My Disenchantment with Technology

/ L Jack Claussen / Leave a comment

You can blame this blog post of Cal Newport.

After reading his book Deep Work [Amazon], I became interested in his ideas and ordered a hardcover copy of his newest book, Digital Minimalism [Amazon].  While not dismissing the benefits that technology has created in our lives, Newport goes on to examine the habits that have led to phone addiction.  I am guilty of such an addiction.  Over a year ago, with extremely important deadlines pressing in on me, I deleted the social media apps from my iPhone.  However, once those deadlines had passed, I added them back onto my phone and carried on scrolling for hours on end.  If I was bored, I found myself scrolling Facebook or Twitter mindlessly.

However, a few days ago, I deleted Facebook again from my phone.  I also limited the amount of time I could use the remaining social media apps to thirty minutes a day.  In these last few days, I have found myself calmer and more focuses.  I don’t check my phone nearly as often.  I don’t feel the desire to scroll while watching television.  I have been reading regularly again, despite thinking before that I didn’t have the time in my day.

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Newport’s Defintion of Digital Minimalism

I still have bad tech habits.  I watch too much YouTube daily.  I constantly check my calendar because I forget my schedule for the day.  But I am working on these habits as well.

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This brings me to another point that I’ve recently realized.  I usually jump when a new iPhone is released.  I always think the new product is an improvement on the older model I have in my possession.  But lately, I noticed that I didn’t get the new model when I came out.  I almost didn’t notice it and I couldn’t tell you the name of the newer version.  I own an iPhone 8 Plus, which has 256 GB of storage, more than enough for me.  The screen is fine, although I need to replace the chipped screen protector.  I think I had my current phone for almost two years, and I don’t plan on upgrading in the near future.  Honestly, I have no desire to do so.  I even recently looked at purchasing a Google phone, but it lacked the storage capacity I require.  The only reason I have stuck with Apple is because I became enamored with their products in college.  I am typing on a MacBook Pro, I own an iPad Pro, and an Apple Watch.  But as I come to rethink my relationship with technology and, frankly, its effects on my mental health, I have become more mindful of the devices around me.  I would like to phase out my Apple Watch, but I value its fitness features, although I’m beginning to weigh those against the constant nagging on my wrist.  The only reason I wouldn’t switch to a conventional watch is that I have to keep track of my steps and other data throughout the day.  Aspects I once found appealing—the notifications, the Siri voice feature, etc.—now annoy me.  I’d rather wait to look at my phone, in my own leisurely time.

Rethinking my use of technology has led me to understand that the constant bombardment of messages, notifications, and data has been causing me unneeded anxiety.  I already have generalized anxiety; I don’t need my devices added to it.  So if you message me, I may not respond quickly, a quality that used to frustrate me with other people.  I am taking a lesson from Newport’s book and being mindful of the tech around me.  I am even experimenting with analog habits like paper journaling.  Oh, what a brave new world.