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Digitopia is ruining our lives

digitopia.io

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Re: Digitopia is ruining our lives

#2

Post by deeshee »

Hey HN,

I, as many of you, work in tech. And the last 3 years were mentally horrible. The constant information bombardment, working remotely and rarely leaving the apartment, isolation, and so on and so forth, have left me scarred.

If anyone feels the same way, I hope that the pieces I'm shipping are helpful as I truly want to help a million people on overcoming the 21st century pandemic.

For those who are curious, I describe Digitopia as: an idealized but ultimately isolating and detached state induced by excessive digital interaction.

Re: Digitopia is ruining our lives

#4

Post by deeshee »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #3

> I’ve decided to combine the words “Digital" and “dystopia” to describe the hole I’ve found myself in. "Digital" and "Utopia" also combine to make "Digitopia". (Maybe my most HN comment yet.)

Yep, that's true. I can only give a philosophical reply to this; we feel as we are in an utopia when utilizing tech to distract us from the negative thoughts/feelings that we are experiencing!

Re: Digitopia is ruining our lives

#5

Post by CalRobert »

deeshee wrote: post #2

Hey HN, I, as many of you, work in tech. And the last 3 years were mentally horrible. The constant information bombardment, working remotely and rarely leaving the apartment, isolation, and so on and so forth, have left me scarred. If anyone feels the same way, I hope that the pieces I'm shipping are helpful as I truly want to help a million people on overcoming the 21st century pandemic. For those who are curious, I…

Digiqatsi, even.

Re: Digitopia is ruining our lives

#9

Post by JKCalhoun »

> Being present - Being in the Digitopian state usually means living on autopilot. Grabbing one thing after the other, trying to get through the day, distracting yourself at any negative emotion you face.

Yes, I've become aware that I am quite disconnected from "living in the moment" in a way that I was not when I was younger, a teenager.

I had begun to think that it was a result of getting older, taking on more responsibility (or just being more responsible, ha ha).

Losing my minimum wage job when I was in my teens, early 20's was not a huge deal. No mortgage but I did have rent — but if I couldn't make that there was probably a friend's mom's basement.

No kids then. No concerns about my health then. Friends to hang out with, commiserate with, bounce your problems off of.

It may still be "just growing up" but I suspect the degree to which I have supplanted the "running around" I did when I was young with browsing may be a big factor.

The author suggest meditation, walking, showering. I've showered daily since I was a teenager, started running daily (now walking) a decade ago.

Like flossing, meditation has come and gone with me. Perhaps I should do it regularly (and floss regularly).

Road trips seem to help me get back in touch with The Moment. No distractions...

Last Fall a high school friend and I rode the "Katy Trail" on our bikes for 6 days. Hauled camping gear, tents, stoves, water, food... It sucked right up until the moment we finished — and now I can't wait to do it again.

Reflecting on it, I think it recharged my soul and brought me back into The Moment for almost a week stretch.

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