Sometimes taking a break from tech is really good and awesome and try it maybe!
Ok so a couple weeks ago I just felt sick of social media. I had spent all morning just mindlessly scrolling social media and by like 2pm I had enough so I swore to do a screen fast. I had made plans for this kinda thing before but never really stuck to it until that day. from about 3pm until like 1pm the next day I completely avoided screens, and I want to write about what that was like.
Basically -- it was really nice. I just relaxed and did so many things I wouldn't have otherwise gotten done I: made art, played with my pet, looked out the window, day-dreamt, read a book, watered the plants, journalled. I felt this strange kind of bliss and freedom feeling. I've done screen fasts more since then, never for as long tho. I also often do other kinds of tech-fasts tho, such as not using tumblr or youtube for a day; or avoiding going on my phone in bed at night, or for the first few hours of the day. And whenever I do this I compare it when I do use my phone in bed or in the morning, and I find I'm much more relaxed and happy when I take a little break from my devices.
Now don't get me wrong I'm not saying to give up completely this or that; technology has many great uses and the internet has many cool things on it (like this post? heheh), but what I'm saying is that its good to just take a little (or long-ish) break sometimes.
Ok so like most people when I first started cleaning myself I used a hoover (vacuum cleaner for smelly americans). But one day I decided to use a broom to clean the floor of my room (I don't really remember why) and I haven't gone back since due to the many benefits:
It's sort of therapeutic. I quite enjoy reaching into the nooks and crannies of my room and collecting all the dust and miscellaneous rubbish into nice neat piles; it's satisfying and a form of mindfulness I'd say. Also with a broom I can be particular and calculative with my cleaning in a way that a fast-action hoover just can't mirror, which I like
The silence. Hoovers are famously very loud, brooms barely make a sound; I really like this cuz with how busy and chaotic our days tend to be in the 21st century I think we can all benefit from a little of silence. But I don't always keep the silence silent, often I'll play some music or a podcast or the next episode of the sitcom I'm binging while I sweep, things that you can't really do with a noisy hoover in the background (unless of course you have headphones in set to a loud volume ig?)
It saves energy. Hoovers use electricity, brooms don't, this not only reduces your Carbon Footprint but saves you a bit of money on your electricity bills. When it comes to the three Rs of the waste management hierarchy (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Recycling is in most places easy and intuitive with effective systems built for it; Reusing is decently practiced with reusable bags and water bottles extremely common and Instagram Reels and whatnot full of videos on how to reuse mundane household items, but Reducing (particularly reducing electricity usage) I personally feel is under-stressed despite being the most important one. While it is true and important to keep in mind that the concept of a Carbon Footprint primarily and originally applied to large organisations such as Oil Companies, before being rebranded as something individuals ought to concern themselves with - if we want to create a more sustainable future we ought to not only invest in greener sources of energy, but also reduce the mount of energy we are using, as the population grows and electricity demand increases we need to be able to keep up without having to resort to decimating whole habitats to put in solar panels.
The moral of the story is that sometimes certain technologies provide an overall worse experience, and don't be afraid of doing something the old-fashioned way. Depending on taste of course, I'm sure there's some people who would not enjoy sweeping as much as myself. This post is not meant as anti-hoover, until recently I used to sweep my rubbish into a little pile and then get the hoover and suck it up (now I use a dustpan and brush), cuz Neo-Luddism is not about completely rejecting all technology and returning to caveman, but rather being critical of harmful technologies and the abuse/overuse of technology.
Originally my post was going to end there: "hey look relatively recently I've started to sweep instead of hoover and it's so much better!" But then I noticed a relative of mine (whom I live with) sweeping as well. Which brings me onto:
Luddite Lesson 002.5!
Lead 👏 by 👏 example 👏 and slowly you can change the world.
Now you see in the past these relatives of mine used to use wet-wipes to clean the floor of their room (supposedly every morning), now it seems they've switched to broom and dustpan like myself. I can only assume they've done so because they've seen me doing so and realise the benefits of it. But yeah moral of the story: be the change you want to see in the world
