The Truth About Switching (Back) to Old Tech in the New Year
... from someone who already uses old tech.
1. It doesn't have to be expensive
Always try to get free stuff first. If you have a borderline-hoarder parent or grandparent and/or live in an area where people dump stuff in the laneway, it's so easy to get things for free. I think I've paid maybe $300 total for all my old tech and physical media (over 2 years), half of which was on blank cassette tapes so I could record onto them.
2. Get a dumbphone with some apps
I have an Opel phone and it sucks. Not having WhatsApp is an expensive pain in the ass. Learn from my mistakes and acquire a phone that has it (or your area's equivalent). T9 typing isn't that hard once you get used to it, but not having a conversation history to look back on so you don't even know what you're actually replying to is awful.
3. There's no need to pick a format (for home listening) if you have a combined player
If you're trying to get a physical media collection going, find a combined CD/cassette (+ maybe record?) player. The boombox styles should be cheap, mine is a Sanyo CD/radio/cassette thing my mum found in the laneway in the '90s. Sooo ugly but it still works! Don't go over $35 for one, it's not worth more than that.
4. You probably don't need that digicam
I know, it looks cool. But for me, taking photos with it isn't worth it. First I need to take the camera out, and now you want me do do some kind of gymnastics to get the photo onto a different device so I can use it? Bullshit. Just get a phone with no SIM, put it on guided access, and upload photos to a home server. Less aesthetic but way easier.
5. A full cutoff isn't necessarily practical
If you need to use a smartphone for some things (banking etc.), try physically tying it to something and not letting it leave that spot. This gives it its own limited place in your life, like a computer room did back in the day. You can do this with your laptop too, my 2015 MacBook is so old I have to keep it plugged in basically all the time lol.
6. It's so worth it
Maybe it's because I haven't been consistently posting on (non-blogging) social media since high school, but seriously I feel so much more relaxed now. Not having to be 'on' all the time, being able to physically feel what I own (own! not rent!) in my hands, the way it frees up time... all worth the inconvenience of actually existing in the world.
