The beginning — Letters from a Luddite

In 2012, I disabled the data on my iPhone, turned off my e-mail, and said goodbye to the Internet for 31 days. I chronicled the journey with a letter a day, complete with news clippings, quotes and thoughts on technology. Each letter was hand- or type-written, mailed, then scanned and posted by my friend, Vancouver-based midwife Marisa Ducklow, creating a conversation between friends and open to the world at large. This experiment led to the writing of my first book, The Joy of Missing Out.

This month, I am revisiting the original letters and offering reflections on ten years of pioneering work in digital well-being.

what is it about our phones that compel us to

watch watch watch

and

read read read

and

listen without stopping

until the sound of our own thoughts - the rare gift of our voice - dissolves into the background?

a noise an irritant a distraction

there is no scale to this, to us

a humble woman hammering upon the keys in the attic

there is no vertical, no quarterly earnings, nothing replicable

or…?

we know though why we dash for our devices when they ding in the dark of night

variable reinforcement, viral loops, gamification.

all intentionally hooking us up to the internet iv

slot machines in our hands

just one more spin

we’ve lost days like this

nights, weeks, we are on track for years

i’ve taken to the attic for this writing: a little table, a pen, a window, some paper, joy

this is what i have learned in ten years

three things:

1. the easiest way to get off tech? find something better to do and lean into it.

2. change your environment. move. remove distractions.

3. the power of social commitments. want to know (one of the reasons) the Scandinavians are so damn happy? their time is spoken for. they have, on average, 3-4 social commitments per week. monday is swim club. tuesday is book club. thursday is knitting club.
   
   they choose, commit and show up.
   
   you can, too.