r/digitalminimalism

I have been wanting to get a dumb phone for about three years now, but there's been one thing really holding me back. Instagram. I love posting on my story, on my main feed, and seeing what my friends are up to (many of my friends live abroad or out of state and I wouldn't normally get to stay in contact otherwise). I would totally delete tiktok and keep instagram on a dumb phone if I could, but the issue is, one always comes with the other. If you can download instagram on a dumb phone, you can get tiktok. Forbidden from downloading tiktok? Can't get instagram either.

I know it is a long shot, but is there any phone or device that allows instagram but not tiktok? I don't really need much other than insta, group messages, some sort of maps, and a camera. And before you comment to use instagram on my desktop, it almost works, except I cannot post on my story. That is the main way I post to talk w my friends, and it would be too much to lose.

recently she discovered online shopping and started purchasing lot of small things whereas her house is already cluttered and there is no space to walk or people to stay. she gets carried away by online offers and out of stock gimmicks and purchases things which is not in immediate need. how do I restrict shopping apps from her phone ? she can reinstall apps from playstore if I uninstall

I think screen time apps are solving the wrong problem entirely. Lately I have been feeling like most screen time apps are built on the wrong assumption like they assume the real problem is that people need stricter rules like timers, locks, limits amd stuff like daily reports that tell you what you already know but that has never been my real problem. My problem was never that I did not know I was wasting time I always knew. The real problem was that in the exact moment I was tired, anxious, avoiding something, or mentally scattered, my phone became the easiest place to disappear into like some sorta escape mechanism and most apps still treat that like a discipline issue. So they either show me numbers after the damage is done, or they punish me in a way that makes me override them the second I feel stressed. That is why I keep thinking screen time apps are the wrong category. Maybe the category should be something closer to something that could actually just make the smartphone a bit less quiet and less dopamine inducing like a whole ahh environment or something. I might be overthinking this, but I honestly feel like a lot of people do not need another productivity system. Well sorry for the rant and have screen time apps ever genuinely helped you, or have they mostly just made you more aware of the problem?

Picked this book up from a local fair yesterday for cheap

Nir Eyal breaks down exactly why apps like Instagram and YouTube are so insanely addictive.

• Trigger - Reel sent by friend via whatsapp
• Action - Click the link
• Variable Reward - 10 sec gym motivation
• Investment - Forward it to another friend

That's it. That's the whole trap.

But the part that got me? I always told myself I was watching Reels for motivation. Hustle content, productivity tips, "rise and grind" videos. Felt like I was doing something useful.

The book basically called me out without knowing me. It's still variable reward. It's still dopamine. The content theme doesn't matter, your brain is still gambling on the next swipe. "Motivation scrolling" is just addiction wearing a self-improvement costume.

If you catch yourself 'motivation scrolling', close the app. You already have the motivation. You're just using the search for more as an excuse to stay.

Hi everyone,

I'm really focused on reading to avoid doom scrolling, but I still feel the urge to keep lists on Goodreads of the books I've read, or I want to read.

I know it's a silly thing, but I'm curious if anyone else is doing it on paper and how it works for you.

Being born in 1999, I grew up with the upcoming of all major social media. I joined early and it became the new 'normal'. I see how Instagram is capturing our minds, feeding it. Even my parents who are in their 50's are devoured by it. My mom, who didn't know how to use a phone properly until 2 years ago is now scrolling instagram reels endlessly. Instagram facilitated this.

However, even though I have been having this desire to delete instagram for over a decade now, it is naive to think it will only change my life for the better. I have travelled a lot and have met amazing people that I some times keep in touch with through instagram.

Selfishly, I don't care much about what 90% of the people I follow post. I have an account with 2000+ followers and 1000 following, the ones I follow I all met in person.
It is not because I am arrogant, but because with my ADHD brain I can barely keep up with my own life, or the life of the ones I love. Seeing what others do that I vaguely know just doesn't do it for me.

The thought of deleting it seems to be freeing me, but also scares more than it should; an intense fear of not being accepted into this society any more. A fear of losing people, which would surely be a reality because I would not be in touch with many people anymore. A fear of making pictures (I love photography, in my own amateur way) and not being able to share it with everyone I know, as I would normally post them to my stories.

It does make me think though, maybe some people are meant to only be met once. Being able to stay in touch with so many people we meet throughout our lives, is it truly necessary?

I know many of you have made this step, or are thinking about it. Could I ask for your opinion?

TL;DR What was your experience like deleting social media? Did it free you?

If you're looking for a new hobby after quitting social media and lowering phone usage I recommend gardening. Specifically for food as we don't know what will happen with the state of the world right now and it's honestly a lot of fun.

I have very poor self-control. I often tell myself not to spend more than an hour on Instagram, but I never manage to stick to it. It’s not just that—I’m like this in many other areas of my life, too. For example, if I see something I want to buy, I’ll buy it even if my savings are almost gone. I’ve recently been reading some books on improving self-control, and I’m hoping they’ll help. Does anyone else feel the same way? How do you handle it?

I do a lot of computer work, so naturally I’d have a higher digital footprint - but it’s getting a little too much for me. Im trying to embrace digital minimalisms and I want to start by reducing subscriptions.

Im trying to cut down my subscriptions, but it turns out that there’s a lot of ‘essential things’ I need that are subscriptions. Im not talking about Netflix or Spotify, but some essential things as well.

I’ve already reduced a bunch services. Switched out my smart automatic litterbox (which had a subscription), to a Petpivot Autoscooper - which has no app, no subscription and no wifi needed. Replaced my smart microwave and juicer with ‘dumb’ Panasonic version. Cancelled a bunch of my automatic services. cancelled xbox game subscriptions

These things are all quite useful for my smart home setup, eg waking up to the smell of coffee, but I’ve realised how dependant I’ve become.

I’m not expecting to remove everything at once but step by step.

Does anyone have a good starting guide, what things to slowly remove at first?

how do you know what's essential and what's a 'luxury'?

I (26F) started my digital minimalism journey around the new year. I had a good two months where I was mostly sober from tech (I know the word sober is a bit divisive but it’s how I view the opposite of my compulsive social media use so it works for me).

Over the past six weeks I have not redownloaded any social media apps and I still use my Jellystar 3-inch phone.

However, I’ve regressed to reading a lot of fanfiction (on my old iPhone, not my small phone) and daydreaming about fictional scenarios, sometimes for hours and hours. It’s really mimicing my compulsive social media use from months ago. The fics and daydreams are romantic and/or sexual by nature. Yesterday I attended an online ITAA meeting (after skipping them for a few weeks) and someone shared a really insightful thought. They said that upon reflection, many of their relapses have stemmed from a certain unfulfilled and real need/desire.

I feel like this applies to me. For example, I have absolutely no desire anymore to use instagram (haven’t thought about it in 6 months honestly) which a year ago would’ve been an unthinkable feat. But right now, my needs are entirely different. I feel lonely and everyone around me is getting into relationships and having the time of their lives. I can’t do that mostly due to me being religions (practicing and abstinent). This unfulfilled need for attraction and romantic attention along with the neural networks that make compulsive media use a path easy and comforting are the driving force behind my current relapse. Also I’ve been under a lot of anxiety lately in school which pushes me towards procrastination and to lose myself in fictional scenarios.

I’ve just come to this insight but I mostly feel stuck and paralysed. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

As the title says, I'm asking for some help, tips, or even direct guidance on how to enter the minimalist world, but with some requirements. I currently use a Galaxy A35, Galaxy S9 Tablet, a paper art/note book, and my gaming PC. My phone I use for practically everything, as I'm sure a lot of others do. My tablet and notebook is for my personal projects as an aspiring writer and artist, and my PC is pretty self explanatory. But the true issue is my phone. I initially had confidence in saying "I don't use my phone that much", or "I barely use it unless I need it". After stumbling across this subreddit, among others, my eyes were opened to my personal truth. After a month of trying to be mindful and not reach for it at every opportunity, I realized how often I have it right in front of my face, even in public. The thing that really blew me away however, was how much I was using it while playing games, going out, or working on my projects. I have no social media apps on my tablet, and feel no urge (as far as I can tell) to doomscroll or mindlessly browse on both my tablet and PC. But my phone is constantly in front of me, and I have Youtube or Twitter up and scrolling away during game menu screens, when I'm trying to work on my projects, talking with my significant other, etc. And before I realize it, the time has zoomed by, weekend or date night is over, and a new work week begins.

There are three key points that I would like to focus on.

1. A reliable, hopefully affordable phone that works with Mint Mobile.
   • This one, while something simple that I can be flexible on, is probably the most important to me. Mint Mobile is my go-to phone plan, primarily because of how cheap it is, and it works exceptionally well in my area. I've looked into quite a few dumb phones, but I can't ever really seem to find a good match, or one that accepts Mint. I've also looked into things like the Light Phone 2, which would work for Mint, but the price point hurts pretty bad for something that is supposed to be so simple. I do need to be able to keep a phone on me with access to texting and, more notably, calling, to stay in touch with my family.
2. Devices with access to Google Maps or an equivalent in some capacity.
   • This one may be a bit strange to focus on for my reasons in particular, but it's important for me nonetheless. I am going to be taking the MSF course in the near future, and have wanted to ride and explore the world on a motorcycle to experience the freedom, and find inspiration for my projects. The second I looked at a real paper map however, I dropped a brick in my trousers. So, having access to a navigation device/service of some kind is something I need. It seems that a number of simpler phones wouldn't likely have a functional GPS (from what I've seen anyway, I may be wrong).
3. A device specifically for music.
   • This one has been especially confusing to me when I tried researching DAPs and affordable MP3 players. I absolutely love music, and hear that DAPs or MP3s are great for audiophiles such as myself because of dedicated quality. I currently use Spotify on my phone, especially the offline functionality when I'm at work. However, the issue I've run into is that I have been using Spotify for so long, I don't really know how to access music any other way. A lot of people using MP3/DAPs seem to have their own libraries that they've ripped from CDs and such, but that seems intimidating and potentially expensive. Additionally, some MP3/4 devices are basically miniature phones that utilize Android to function. While I am willing to buy CDs and my favorite music, this topic has been painfully confusing to research.

By no means am I asking one comment or individual to answer all my questions, but even some leads on starting in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading this, and for any tips or comments on my requests.

As I am writing this, I am knee-deep into sorting and categorizing my book-collection (non-fiction, scientific) and it is about the longest time all week I spent without looking at my phone. Overall I am about 50 books in, which is a surprisingly small fraction of my books. Maybe 10 percent. In the spirit of extracting and organizing knowledge and link it all together, I have started to use page markers a while ago and the trick is to stick a couple of those on the first page of the book so they are always present if you find something cool, so you mark the page straight away.
I am doing this to enter it all in my r/ObsidianMD system. It is my goal to take books I have bought but never really read and read them until I get at least 5 interesting facts, quotes, links to other projects. Often I get stuck reading and taking notes without really noticing, but even with the boring books I get those 5 items easily.
However, you do not have to. Just physically sorting your books, listing and otherwise organizing it, realizing how much you have on certain topics, by certain authors, and so forth is a terrific way to get away from your phone and into the good old world of books again.

I am lucky to get a new position which leds me move from Germany to Sweden in June. I have a small family and my wife and child will also join some months later.

I was always thinking about more digital minimalism (especially as my role as a father) for my personal health and for a better connection/more valuable moments with my family. when moving to another country I also want to discover the city and countryside and not step in my typical comfort zone of going home after work, doomscrolling in public and playing PC all night long. In particular I am trying to cut down my smartphone usage.

In a digital country like Sweden this seems difficult, as almost everything works better in the digital way....I also need a phone to make a video call home, discover new areas, use the public transport etc

My actual plan looks something like this:

- retro handheld and books for my 45min commute in the public transport

- deleted social media accounts (only reddit and YT remaining)

- deleted all disturbing apps (can't delete YT on my pixel which eats a lot of time)

- maybe a walkman/mp3 player and a camera as a substitute for my phone (but I don't know which models are quite cheap and also good)

I thought about using a prepaid phone as a minimal Alternative but this is particularly bad when I want to call my family. I

Do you have any suggestions or similar situations where you have to rely on your smartphone to live in a country and contact your family but also want to decrease your overall screen time?

hello, not sure if this is the correct community to address this issue, but i need some help on how to organize my digital life. Basically I have a bunch of emails that contain shitty nbs (since my name surname isn't really available) I have a bad email I keep using for everything since I was almost 13 hrs old till now (Microsoft acc,Gmail, school, uni, indeed/LinkedIn , literally everything important ) , and the other bunch of emails to sign into other stuff(some imp some not) and such. I want to organize my digital life but I really dont know jow to . I see a lot of people doing professional emails, personal , spam , but I think im way beyond that fixing point. I got a new laptop so organizing folders was a really nice thing to do . can I get some suggestions or ideas that could help?

This morning, I woke up before my alarm to what I'm called an eye-opening nightmare, both literally and figuratively. I am not wanting to go into details, as I'm embarrassed about it, but the nightmare was about an absurdly high phone bill. I don't even think it's possible for large tech companies to have such a high bill for themselves, but the nightmare's led me to realize I need to cut down my phone time now before it gets worse.

I don't think it's possible for me to completely cut out my phone, due to my job and having my friends all split up when we graduate in a few months, but I've been slowly making strides the past few months. I bought a mp3 player and put music onto it, and it is keeping me from lingering on Spotify and hunting for new music instead of actually using it as background noise as I should be. I've also picked up penpalling, so I can keep in contact with some people I've met who just ended up Instagram mutuals (so I can start making steps towards removing the app).

I have started a physical planner, keeping it small and low effort so I don't get overwhelmed, but I find it's just not as effective as Google Calendar for me. I rely on the reminders sometimes, as I often forget about responsibilities in between all that's on my schedule. Which sucks, because I think the best way to get me off my phone is removing the responsibilities from it so I can't use checking said responsibilities as an excuse.

I guess what I'm asking for is how do y'all keep track of everything on your schedule without Google Calendar? I think expanding and making my planner more detailed, as well as actually fixing the watch my dad gave me years ago, might be the way to go. I just worry about my pattern of dropping planners once it's too much of a time commitment. How do you commit to planners and keep it actually beneficial to your life?