Vitalik, the guy who co-founded Ethereum, is a devout minimalist. He has lived as a nomad for many years and has written quite extensively about how he travels the world with only a 40-litre backpack. I now need one of these just for diapers and emergency clothes in case of throw-ups. This is what one might call physical minimalism.
In a recent post, he extended his approach to digital minimalism, talking specifically about how he is (1) eschewing social media algorithms, (2) cutting constant cell connectivity, and (3) doing away with web applications (this one got a little too nerdy for me). Obviously this specific approach isn’t going to work for everyone. Vitalik lives a unique life.
But as someone who writes a daily blog, maintains multiple social media accounts for various projects, and generally considers themselves to be a technology enthusiast, this is something that I’m increasingly thinking about. Its time has come, especially with AI opening up a new attention rabbit hole.
I see social media as a necessary evil. It has cognitive costs to us all, but it’s also the way you reach people today if you happen to run a business that aspires to have revenue. The way I have started approaching “digital minimalism” is by trying to be as high-agency as possible.
In other words, I recognize that these are tools I can operate as needed, but I want to avoid being a passive, low-agency consumer of everything. I want some control. For example, I don’t use WhatsApp (except for necessary group travel chats) or check most DMs. There are too many apps. If you want to get a hold of me, send me an email.
I also use Buffer to schedule most social media posts these days, meaning less time in the actual apps. Asymmetric utility is the goal. Of course, it’s not like my screen time is going down; there’s a lot more I could and should be doing. Uninterrupted time to think, focus, and create feels like such a luxury in today’s world.
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