Created by Ranjith Vijayan, last modified on Feb 17, 2022
The pandemic has fast-tracked digitalisation for all aspects of our lives. Be it for work, study, entertainment, or socialising; we are having digital solutions amid social distancing and other measures to control spread of the virus. We have learnt how to do product marketing, sales, requirement studies, solution walk-throughs, project kick-offs and bug fixing without going to office, let alone going onsite. We even celebrated go-lives of projects that had commenced after the pandemic had started, wherein the team members – developers, system administrators, testers, project managers, vendors, end users, customers, have never met “in-person”. People who joined our office during the pandemic time have left the organization without even visiting the office.
While we’re all living ultra-connected lives, with miraculous amount of computing power packed into tiny devices through which we can communicate with anyone, without realizing that they may be sitting in different parts of the planet, the line between physical and real world has become blurry.
In the 2021 year-end blog post on Bill Gates’ blog, the founder of Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation includes a prediction about the future of work.
“Within the next two or three years, I predict most virtual meetings will move from 2D camera image grids – which I call the Hollywood Squares model, although I know that probably dates me – to the Metaverse, a 3D space with digital avatars.”
Bill Gates - founder of Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Gates notes that the pandemic has already “revolutionized” the workplace, with more companies offering flexibility for employees who want to work remotely. “The boundaries between once-discrete areas of work — brainstorming, team meetings, casual conversations in the hallway — are collapsing” Gates writes, and he says remote working will only pull more people into the Metaverse.
With the unstoppable approach of advances in technology, the Web 3.0 and Metaverse - will continue to make the line between what is reality and what isn’t - a lot more blurry in far more ways. As far as social connectivity is concerned, it would not be an impersonal mode of 2D experience any more. Rather, it would take us to the next level of virtual reality in which humans, as avatars, will interact in a three-dimensional virtual space.
As we move to the Metaverse, a gradual transmission will happen in interfaces and devices that we currently use to access internet. The devices that are currently in your pocket or on your desk top will get replaced with wearables living on your face – such as headsets, smart glasses and so on.
But the question is… at what cost? Aren’t we are already on a pretty bad track with this whole digital thing? Technology is not entirely a bad thing. But it seems hard enough already. When the online wonderland gets filled with everything that we ever wanted, and more, won’t it still lack the substance? What will happen when we cannot recognize the difference between a real moment and a digital one?
Surveys have shown that the average TV time has fallen steadily since 2014. This does not necessarily mean that people are spending less time in front of screens. The decline is due to an increasing amount of time spent with phones, tablets, and laptops. A recent poll taken by People magazine estimates that an average US adult spend the equivalent of 44 years of their life looking at screens. The current life expectancy of the US is about 79. Which means you will spend 35 years of your life in the real environment, including your sleeping time.
When technology will get more addictive, it is important to understand where you are spending your time - the most precious and very limited resource in our world. Yes, “our time” is limited, and will no matter what, run out.
Research has shown that levels of anxiety and depression have exploded, especially in the younger generation.
Limiting digital time matters now more than ever as the more evident digital addiction will be destructive to our physical lives.
Digital Minimalism is a simple philosophy and a counter-force against the digital distractions that have plagued our generation.
Computer science professor Cal Newport coined the word Digital Minimalism in his book by the same name, wherein he explains the philosophy that our relationship with technology and tools is nuanced, and deserves more intention than we give it. Newport calls the digital distractions by an appropriate term “the attention-resistance”. Digital Minimalism offers a strategy and a lifestyle to take control of our attention, and put it towards things that bring us value rather than succumbing to all the distractions.
The WEB 3.0 and Metaverse
The terms “Web 3.0″ and “Metaverse” have been used interchangeably. While they both point to a vision of a future internet, they are different.
Lets briefly look at how the internet has evolved in last few decades.
In Web 1.0, internet connected us to the information. Then in 2.0, we got social media where we have connection to information and people. In the 3.0 era, we would be having connections to information, people, places and things through the virtual digital spaces.
Metaverse is broadly defined as shared immersive experience, and a blending of physical and digital spaces. It is imagined to be a self-referencing universe beyond the physical universe. The key components of Metaverse are based on the innovations within Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Blockchain, Cloud computing, Edge computing, 5G internet.
Web 3.0 and Metaverse will surely make things far more different, and complex, from how they stand today.
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It’s the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world.
Digital minimalism is not about throwing away your digital devices, or uninstalling the social media apps, or learning a better way to clear out your email inbox. It’s about consciously focusing your digital life around your values, so you can feel good about the apps and tools you use on a daily basis. “It’s like decluttering a house. You don’t just randomly throw out stuff. You take everything out and then see what you need. You clear everything out, and build it back up from scratch,” Cal says.
While there are practical steps to help reduce time spent on our screens, developing a digital minimalist mindset isn’t easy. With big social media companies competing for our attention with addictive techniques, it has become very difficult for us to be intentional with our time.
Cal discusses the concept of digital minimalism and how we all need to spend time doing, ‘high quality leisure activities’.
Cal says “High-quality leisure is a really big upgrade over low-quality digital streams”. Cal gives some brilliant tips on decluttering your digital world through this thought-provoking conversation.
In his book, Cal provides a tool which refers a 30-day plan to introduce minimalist lifestyle. Following are some steps towards this:
1: Define your core values
With a deeper understanding of your values, you’ll be judging the role of digital tools that you will be using.
2: For the next 30 days, use only the technology you truly need
With a little self-analysis you should be able to pin down what can stay and what needs to go. Limit your usage to only what you need to maintain your personal life and professional success.
3: Engage in High-quality leisure
When Cal tested the digital declutter with 1600 volunteers, many of them went back to the activities they used to enjoy – from reading, to knitting, to sports, to creating arts. “A lot of people were surprised to discover how much digital technology had pushed analog activities out. They were really excited to rediscover how much they enjoyed going to the library and coming home with a stack of books,”
4: Re-introduce the tools you let back in, only the absolutely necessary ones
You’re allowed to revive some optional technologies back into your life provided the below tests are passed. Ask yourself these 2 questions:
Does this technology directly support something that I deeply value?
Is this technology set up in the best way to support this value?
5: Actively ignore the rest
With your list of allowed tools and apps, clear operating procedures, and high-quality activities to fill your time, you shouldn’t be too stressed about keeping up with Facebook or checking the news every 30 minutes.
Cal says: “The fact that [a piece of technology] offers some value is irrelevant – the digital minimalist deploys technology to serve the things they find most important in their life, and is happy missing out on everything else.”
Some final thoughts
There are several concerns on Metaverse. Dr David Reid, a Professor of AI and Spatial Computing at Liverpool Hope University, believes while the Metaverse may potentially bring some exciting possibilities to humankind, it runs the risk of drastically deepening the existing problems with social media and internet, such as data privacy concerns and cyberbullying.
Recent surveys conducted with designers working in the VR field show that, many of them forgot to take breaks and losing track of place and time.
A New York based designer told his productivity is soaring but his health is suffering. “I would take the headset off and it was kind of jarring. It was just a bit like a slap in the face, being back in reality”. His blood test result showed Low on Vitamin D, and it is suspected to be because he was spending too much time indoors without getting exposed to the sun.
I am far from being a minimalist – physical or digital. But I love the mindset. You only have what you need, strip everything down to its essential quality and achieve simplicity.
As we are drawing more close towards the new version of internet, we need to be more intentional about our technology use, now more than ever. For many, Digital minimalism has been hard to practice even in the pre-Metaverse era. But being a Digital minimalist is an ongoing process. Digital minimalism is not rejecting any technology, rather it is consciously accepting the same, and being mindful about it. Practicing Digital minimalism might help in literally buying back years of your life.