As of late, I have wondered if my natural interest in technology is good for me at all. I mean, I know there is much good that comes through technological discovery and advancement, but I am not involved in any of that. I sit and ponder operating systems, what editor is the best, what service should I use for this or that. Furthermore, I am not the one advancing things myself, I more or less use and critique them at best.
Also, I do work in technology, it has been my day job for some time. Many times the stuff I play with in my free time is stuff I am already thinking about at work or could be thinking about or trying at work. Do I need to be spending all my waking hours thinking about tech? I do have other interests.
I have always been interested in the natural world, especially wildlife. When I was young, my dream job was to work for the Forest Service and write and observe about what I see and learn, partially inspired by Edward Abbey. Even today, I feel I enjoy sitting in the sun watching a flock of geese migrating south, than I do sitting and doom-scrolling Mastodon, Nostr, or X. I really feel better about life itself at those times. But maybe due to convenience or laziness, I find myself spending more time indoors figuring out which Linux packaging system I like more than another. Is that really that important?
The time has come for me to fuss less about tech and it’s tools. No, I’m not giving it up. It has been a huge part of my life for so long now. But I am going to stop searching and toying with different things. I basically know all my favorite tools and platforms. The things I find most useful are known to me already. I’m going to settle, and just use my tech when needed. I’m sure I’ll still fuss over things more than the average Joe possibly. But when work is over, I think I will keep it at over. Yes I’ll still use my phone, post to a blog, take pictures, edit them, play with notes and journals, but I’m going to stop the tinkering involved in my free time, or at least try to limit it much more.
Instead, I am going to go on more walks, maybe take up birding, and definitely try to sit and read more books, and I think I will try to avoid the tech books all together. Topics like nature, science, history and spirituality will instead take the place of my usual reading of the history of Nintendo, or books on software licensing, protocols, tech figureheads and so on, you get my drift.
It’s almost like an addiction, it sure can be fun at times, if not to say very stimulating.I want my life to be more full, and for me at least, I feel hiding too deep in the tech world limits those possibilities. Either way, I have babbled enough on this topic, it has been on my mind after listening to a podcast with the discussion of someone who studied wolves, and I found myself being extremely jealous. Maybe I will forget the whole thing. For now, I think it’s time to minimize tech a little and maximize my life.
Cheers!