Tech Detoxing
I've been wanting to take it easy on how much I use my phone or social media, mostly Instagram tbh. There's been a trend of using feature phones, single-use devices, journals, etc. to curb the tech addiction; while I would love to take part in that, I am ~broqué~ and cannot afford to buy new-to-me devices and things I can't even guarantee to myself that I would use yet. Here's what I've been trying in the meantime:
Using my phone more responsibly
For this one, I ended up deleting Instagram from my phone after having set a time limit on both the Insta app then on my phone after finding it in the Settings. I also got rid of Google (replaced with Ecosia, so I can plant trees with every search), Chat GPT, Reddit, Pinterest, and Facebook.
This allowed me to stop my doom scrolling without stopping cold-turkey and now I play around on my other apps that I've been neglecting: Cosmos, Falou, Kinnu, YouTube (trying to avoid the Shorts), and Tumblr. I've also been playing my games again like Sky: Children of the Light, Time Princess, and Palia and Legend of Zelda on my Switch.
It's been great trying to use my phone more broadly and being able to socialize and learn on more niche apps that don't have easy Dopamine access!
Using what single-use products I already have
Like I mentioned above, I have been using my Switch again to help curb boredom. I had it for years along with some of my favorite games. It's good to play games to avoid instant gratification and even more so if you have to solve puzzles or grind to advance.
I do have an Instax Mini that I bought used years ago and have grabbed a few boxes of film, but I'm waiting to use those till my upcoming trips~
I've also stocked up on some small spiral notebooks the last time I was on my university campus, adding to my little collection of notebooks and journals. I stopped worrying about "ruining" my pretty notebooks and just started using them for anything I could think of: Writing little notes of things I don't want to forget, budgeting, business plans, story ideas, trip planning, and language notes.
Learning new things
Using apps and sites like Kinnu, Falou, YouTube, and Khan Academy, I have been able to reset my brain from my overuse of Chat GPT. I find that Kinnu is a great place to start if you're wanting to learn things like philosophy, economics, history, life/professional skills, mental wellbeing, and way more in smaller and more digestible portions. It's great for weaning off of Instagram Reels or TikTok if you're wanting to get a lot in a short time.
Falou has been fun for my language learning. I have an upcoming trip to Japan next month, then a study abroad in Italy in January and I've been using Falou to learn useful phrases. It has you repeat phrases or responses which is nice for nailing pronunciation.
Starting/restarting hobbies that I've been wanting to do can also give you the dopamine you're looking for, especially when I manage to actually finish a project. I've got so much supplies from past purchases or from my mom's craft collection that I haven't needed to buy anything new. I picked up sketching! I'm not particularly good, but I'm the only one who will see my whole art book, so who cares?
Going out more
I will say, I did get the Disney Key annual pass. It was an impulse buy that my friend convinced me to get (she didn't need to try v hard tbh). But as I am a SoCal resident, I can pay monthly instead of all at once, so it feeeeels a little nicer. After going 6 times, it basically pays for itself, so I'm using girl math on this one. It gets me some outside time and it's fun to hang out with my friend in a fun place!
There's also nice malls near me where I can stroll around and manifest my future where I am rich and famous and can shop at places like those while sipping a lil boba.
My friend invited me to try out airsoft for the first time and I am so glad I went! I got shot hella times, sweat buckets, and was sore for days, but I did it and I was fairly good! I tossed myself out there since my brightly-colored self was a target anyway and I ended up getting a lot of people before they got me~
So while I haven't gotten rid of my smart phone, I have been able to manage my usage more responsibly. It does take work in that you need to be intentional in not using your phone, but it's realistic!
