The way I drastically reduced digital intoxication

tldr: Picture screens as portals that teleport you to harmful, false lands where your consciousness is hijacked, and your happiness fades in ways you don’t immediately recognize.

Hello, my friends. I just want to share a simple metaphor I came up with a few weeks ago that surprisingly helped me reduce my screen time by a lot (maybe 5x?) and allowed me to be more present. Beware: it might sound a bit silly and may not work for everyone.

I started thinking about screens (primarily mobile, but this applies to laptops, TVs, etc.) as "nauseating portals that hijack your consciousness/awareness and teleport you to obscure, sickening false lands where nothing is real".

As I said, it might sound silly, but using descriptive, negative adjectives (I chose mine, but of course, yours can be different) to picture them as harmful widgets made it easier for me to pause for a few seconds and resist picking up my phone. Now, I just check if a direct message notification comes through, and without even unlocking the phone, I decide whether it needs a response (90% of the time, it doesn’t).

This simple shift has given me hours back every day. I feel more present, calmer, and even a little (quietly, just for myself) proud of having it under control. I am the master and screens are nothing but simple tools again.

I don’t live in a cave. On the contrary, I work remotely for a hyper-capitalist company in the IT world. I close my laptop at the end of the workday and don’t reopen that portal until the next day. After work, I practice sports, cook (which helps me cool down and stay present), spend time with friends or family, try to relax, read, write, or sometimes do absolutely nothing. And yes, sometimes I watch a movie (but not series) as movies start and end the same day, maintaining a clear boundary. My only social media are Reddit and YouTube.

In these digital times, with the rise of gen AI, fake news, fake lives, and widespread hostility, I believe one of the most important skills we need to develop is the ability to filter. We must protect ourselves from all the mental poisons out there. There is a battle for our attention, aimed solely at selling us more and more.

We need to be present and defend our simple yet meaningful lives. It’s our duty, our legacy for future generations: to teach them to develop critical thinking, patience, and the ability to strive for less (in the best sense). My days are starting to feel simple again, and it’s a treasure I had forgotten I could reclaim.

I hope my approach helps some of you. Wishing you a happy and simple life!