As the leaves turn bright shades of orange, yellow and red — ushering in fall — students all across the country resume attendance at colleges and universities. In an increasingly digitally connected age, this means downloading the variety of applications necessary to keep up with classwork, joining group chats to stay up to date with classmates and being bombarded with notifications regarding the multitude of activities a college student is involved in. It feels as if it’s impossible to exist as a college student without being joined at the hip to your phone.
In the past few quarters, I became increasingly worried with my inability to function without my phone within arms reach. It was hard to enjoy scheduled breaks and downtime without the gripping paranoia of missing some important email or canvas announcement. Even reaching for my phone to check the time sent me into fits of anxiety when I saw emails and texts waiting for a response. When I opted to wear my Apple Watch instead, the incessant buzzing of notifications would raise my heart rate with every beep.
There is mounting evidence that our inclination to live life in the digital world is negatively affecting our perception of reality. Excessive screen use in children and adolescents is now a topic that is being discussed by the Surgeon General, who is usually associated with the warnings on the backs of cigarettes and alcohol. Many states are banning the use of cellphones in school, citing poor behavior, lack of attention in class and students not developing appropriate social skills for their age. If you are even vaguely acquainted with social media, you have heard of the infamous iPad children, notorious for their meltdowns upon having their devices taken away.
While parents and educators in the earlier parts of life are nabbing phones from their pupils’ hands to nip addiction before it starts, another community is focused on intentionally removing their dependence on phones. In online communities like r/digitalminimalism, r/nosurf and r/dumbphones, like-minded individuals gather to discuss the topic of living a disconnected life. Common topics include their frustrations with the expectation for people to be constantly accessible due to the invention of the personal cell, tips on reducing doomscrolling and replacing excessive screen time with constructive activities.
As a college student, it can be hard to go full digital minimalist. Unfortunately, professors no longer communicate through messenger pigeon and there are no horse stalls at Bellevue College. We are expected to maintain a certain level of responsibility towards our classwork, most of which is now posted online and not given in person, save for a handful of professors at BC. However, it was hard for me to justify not attempting a mildly minimalist approach to my online presence, given how heightened my anxiety surrounding my devices had become.
As I flipped through the pages of Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport, I did a mental audit of my online activities, carefully parsing which ones truly added value to my real life. Social media apps were immediately removed from my handheld devices, only to be accessed minimally through my laptop when I remembered to log in. News was limited to only my tablet, laptop and a physical newspaper because it is important for my work as a reporter at the Watchdog to stay up to date with the news. For apps that were absolutely pertinent, I set up scheduled reminders for low-priority notifications to arrive once every two hours and high priority ones, like those for work, to arrive immediately. I also purchased a minimalist launcher from the app store, which turned my phone into a veritable list of apps, removing the distraction of visually appealing icons.
For me, the benefits of this change have been hugely beneficial, even in the two weeks since I implemented it. I rarely think about logging on to social media to scroll mindlessly. I find myself having more time for things I enjoy, like dancing and reading books about math. I’m far more focused on homework now than when I was constantly connected to it. As I am drawn away from my phone, I have started seeking more digitally minimalist options for things I usually depend on my devices for. For instance, I started wearing a traditional wristwatch instead of using my phone to check the time. I now carry around a pocket-sized notebook to jot down ideas and questions. I also try to keep some form of reading material in my bag for those awkward moments when you’re waiting for class to start or in line at the grocery store.
From my point of view, digital minimalism is a set of beliefs rather than a set of hard and fast rules. Chucking out our smartphones for a Nokia with a numeric keypad is unreasonable for us as college students. Whether we like it or not, the world is becoming an increasingly interconnected place, and we have to learn how to adapt to it. However, I think it is plausible for a college student to incorporate elements of digital minimalism into their lifestyle. What worked for me may certainly not work for everyone, but it can certainly be a starting point for anyone looking to loosen the shackles of the tyrannical personal cellular device.
