Anti-brainrot aktion: A guide to Digital minimalism for the brokes, queers, disabled, and everyone else.

Disclaimer: Everything in this guide is amendable. I am not your God I am not a cop and I do not give a fuck what you do long-term in your own personal life as long as you are not hurting other people. Do not bean soup me. Also read the entire post before you come at me with some sort of oh I guess I can't do it because of (X). I am one regular degular schmegular girl from the Bronx with a big ass cat, not ya mom. I do have a background in User Experience design and research, professionally tho.

So if you haven't heard, the hot new thing is "Digital minimalism" a term popularized by Cal Newport's book by the same name. This is a broader trend (see digital detoxes, the hot new craze from the time before) as everyone gets inundated with absolute AI slop by the same people who constantly talk about 1984 and brave New world but apparently think it doesn't apply to them.

Digital minimalism is essentially a philosophical movement that focuses on controlling your technology, not having it control you.

There's a whole lot of philosophy and practices around this, anti-platforms, anti-social media, the free open source software movement, blah blah blah you get the gist.

But digital minimalism doesn't have to be any of that and it can also be all of that. It's up to you. Maybe you do keep Facebook or Whatsapp because it's the only way that you can talk to your cousins in your home country. Maybe you make a personal website. Maybe you have a smartwatch because it's functionally a medical monitoring device but you have the location features off and pings from texts off.

It's defining what does a good technology relationship mean to you.

How can you have a relationship with technology that is not inherently exploitative or feels bad?

How can technology help you achieve the things that you want without taking away from your life?

You will never have a perfect life but you can definitely almost always improve it, and that's what we aim for here, improvement, not perfection.

So let's get this show on the road.

Ground rules for yourself

Leave guilt behind it will not help you - a lot of y'all come from (often but not always religious) backgrounds that abuse guilt as a mechanism for adherence and have adjacent mental illnesses that lend themselves to black/white thinking. You will inevitably mess up promises that you made to yourself. You will have a day where you reinstall that social media app and scroll for 3 hours. Instead of just feeling bad, take a deep breath, think about why you did that (were you anxious? Bored?) and then uninstall while you think of a plan of how to avoid it, or consider doing a compromise. (Example: instead of completely deleting Instagram, Instate an app timer with 15 minutes. Tell your friend that they can text you that funny meme instead.) Black and white thinking creates binging and purging behavior - especially if you have something like ED or OCD

Nobody is watching you except you - meaning that the only person that you're truly liable to is maybe your family if you live with them, definitely the government sometimes bc of taxes, and really at the end of the day only really you. It's okay to decide that certain things are important to you even if other people are abandoning them, literally nobody cares and if they do they're probably a loser. People on social media are usually just ranting cuz they're annoyed.

Google is free even if it's a little shit rn - everything that you want to do there is likely someone who has done the thing that you wanted, don't be afraid to ask questions, reach out to communities, and look for solutions to your problems nobody is going to save you. Ask your communities, for help, for support. Nobody is an island.

You are not "fixing" yourself, you're making your environment more supportive for you. - Cut out that self-flagellation, the goal of this is to support you. Re-orienting your view of your own behavior and environment to be one where you're taking charge of things and not a victim of circumstance can introduce a better mindset that will make you more likely to keep up with habits.

Doing the digital minimalism thing

It's that damn phone.

If you this far it's likely because you feel like you're addicted to social media, or just your phone in general. The reason for this is simple: phone shiny, phone necessary to engage with modern Life.

You might use your phone as your wallet You might use your phone as your bus pass you might use your phone as your map. You have your bank app here. You have your news app here. It's all in here. You're addicted to gambling, you spent too much on gacha games.

Now often the answer posited on how to fix this is to take out The individual parts of your phone that you're using to return the phone to a state of single usage device.

This is one way to do it but I do believe that it is ineffective and also creates a transference effect of dopamine redirection to consumerism. This is how you end up with $200 3DS' in 2025, $400 ipod classics, and a big old pile of unread books as the new hot item in your YouTube recommendations as acolytes state that it saved their life and got them laid or something.

Now I want to say that none of this is necessarily bad if you have the money and you really want to do it but it's worth asking yourself if you are simply just buying things for the dopamine hit, and if you're broke saying that you can't do digital minimalism because you don't have the money to.

Remaking your phone/computer in your (ideal) image

You are the god of your own device. Meaning that if you want to you can make things behave, although it may take some beatings. You don't have to go as in depth as replacing the entire operating system or anything like that but there's definitely tweaks that you can do right now.

App notifications audit - just go through and chuck shit

Right now you can go into the notification settings and turn off a bunch of dumb bullshit because typically notifications are what gets you to look at your phone and get sucked in, so just either uninstall or severely limit the notifications of every app that isn't important. You can always adjust things later.

Your phone already has digital minimalism settings built in

On Android is this called "digital wellness" and on iPhone it's called "screentime" this is where you can limit apps and set overall limits. On Android you can even have set bedtimes where things auto turn on too.

Redo your home screen

Typically we fall into a routine with our phones, so the redesigning your home page to be less likely to lead you down the path of making you open a problematic app or social media can sometimes be fixed by moving them out of where you're used to them being. Remove gestures/icons that are close to the side of the screen near your thumb on the dominant hand to encourage different behavior and replace them with apps you might want to open instead.

Easy no-cost or low-cost swaps for getting yourself off social media and addicting apps

The baby notebook:

Big fan of this one, just carry around a little notebook with you and doodle in it. Better yet, every time you have a witty idea or quip you would've normally posted on socmed write it down instead. Do this as often as you have impulse. Bonus points if you decorate it. I have 2, a smaller one and a bigger one that's far more in depth with sections but still fits in my purse.

Phone emulators:

I see you gachaheads out there and candy crushers, I want you to save money please. Put the money in anything else besides the hearts, in-game currency, or PNGs of waifus and husbandos. There's three decades of games you can play on your phone that are free. You can even get a little stylus and pretend you have a 3DS. I do that shit all the time.

Playing a story based game or even just a mini game game collection can give you a lot of the same dopamine hit on the shitter or waiting for the bus without pushing you into spending money on predatory companies.

You can even get like a little phone holder that resembles a game pad for pretty cheap that isn't the OUTRAGEOUS prices a lot of secondhand consoles are going for.

Music player: flac/mp3 app

I can't believe I even have to say this but like guys you know you can just download music right, directly on to your phone. You don't have to pay Spotify or Apple music. You don't have to buy an entire iPod for it. You don't have to use iTunes. Spotify doesn't have to have this grip on you, remember the sacred texts, seek deep within your soul. The YouTube rippers also still exist.

Just a rule of thumb: flac files sound better than mp3s

I use this random app I found and it even lets me fix the background which is nice.

And Malice Mizer isn't even on Spotify so I'm already doing better! You can also edit the stuff I am just lazy sometimes.

Forums as replacement for traditional social media platforms - This one is one that's going to be a little bit controversial but a lot of people who are addicted to social media are simply lonely. Online connection is not a bad thing and I think it's kind of fucked up to demonize that need since some people are genuinely isolated for various reasons, but consider that the notifications and likes systems are often not built for your benefit but instead for keeping you trapped on the platform and the short post limits encourage miscommunication sometimes. Consider moving to slower moving communities like forums unattached to larger platforms around your special interests where folks are encouraged to leave more in-depth, longer replies, and topics are allowed to stay green faster than a group chat/discord server. You are likely to come to a balance of limiting of social media time (maybe to a smaller array of platforms) while still having this craving for scrolling and reading others opinions - forums aren't built with infinite scroll like socmed platforms, they do actually end so you can't scroll forever and you're not automatically getting replies. It can act as a suboxone for social media.

RSS feeds:

RSS is essentially a way to follow a specific website or profile on a platform without having to sign up for anything, it went out of Vogue for a bit but is starting to come back now that everyone is sick of being terrorized by white billionaires with bad haircuts and worse politics. There's quite a few RSS apps out there for many platforms! I use readwise, which is a paid service but there's a bunch of others that are free like this one. Tumblr, twitter, bluesky, hell leaflet the place you're on right now also does (if you wanna sub or whatever owo)

Books & reading (will talk about the library in a second):

Ain't no shame in reading it up, whether it's dragon smut or the classics or superhero comics, just satiate your scroll need by scrolling through someone that's not the torture Nexus of social media. The kobo and Kindle apps are free, you don't need the specific devices to use them and you can purchase books directly from them without the need for a device. If you still want to get your fandom fix, I'd much rather you read Destiel Omegaverse porn or cute Beserk coffeeshop AUs on AO3 than argue in comments sections.

Volunteering:

Even if you live in small community there is a ton of opportunities to volunteer and it is a great way to meet people, or you can just plant trees, idc. For a while I just did clerical work in my local library when I was unemployed. If leaving your house is not your jam and trust me I've been there, consider other ways to volunteer like contributing to open source code, organizing online events for things you're passionate about. Point is, they weren't entirely wrong about idle hands being the devil's work.

Learn something, anything:

The dopamine you're getting from refreshing the skinnerbox of social media could be related to your fear about wanting to get validation, and I'm not a therapist, but that is best by developing internal validation systems. Here's a list of like, every free structured course from a college on the entire internet. It's like 40k of them. On everything from personal finance, to the korean language, to programming, to biblical academic studies. You do not need to go back to University to access a lot of high quality information and instruction.

You are not completely and totally bound to youtube, there are alternatives!

Make something, anything:

Start an actual blog, learn how to draw, make bread, the WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER. Making something is also a huge anecdote to getting lost in the rabbitholes, and if you're burnt out as a social media creative, sometimes switching mediums is a great way to break out of artist block.

About public libraries: your secret weapon

I can already hear the whining people are about to unleash in my section: 'MY public library ISN'T GOOD. I live in bumfuck, shit country nowhereland where the library is a cardboard box filled with Donald Trump art of the deal books and a tarnished copy of the bell curve.'

I'm going to tell you how to get around that and look, if not, there's always piracy. But at least try the things I'm going to tell you. Granted, some things might be US specific here, but I've lived in a LOT of states.

If you have for, whatever reason, limited access to a public library, consider the following first:

Some libraries actually offer out of state access for free or an annual fee that is less than what would cost for sub to netflix. My home library system is on that list, and they slap so.

Also you can just! ask if you have a friend. Apps like libby let you have multiple library system cards on your library account, which for me is great. If you can share netflix passwords, you can share library cards.

So with all that being said:

1. please please please read the website for your library

I cannot tell you how many times I have gone through the website for a library system and found a free version of something I had been paying for but better 💀

LinkedIn certifications, language learning apps, craft classes (literally there is a library specific version of skillshare essentially), 3D printers, business counseling, tax prep, yoga classes, video games, a seed library, sewing machines, free museum passes, the NYPL has an entire private recording collection of all pro shots on Broadway that you can only see in person Because we're cool like that 💀

However a lot of library systems have very poor websites, some of them look nice but do not fully encapsulate all of the things a library system has to offer so you have to try to dig around. You can also just ask, but typically really going through and combing over their entire website will give you an idea. They also sometimes, because the clientele tends to be older will print out flyers but not update their websites.

2. TALKING ABOUT SOME OF MY FAVORITES DIGITAL LIBRARY SOURCES but again, check with your library:

Kanopy - Movies n shit

Like if Netflix had a sexier cousin with a PhD most libraries in America use this as a service that has documentaries, foreign films, and lots of more modern award winning stuff! It's pretty cool.

Hoopla - COMICS AND MANGA

Hoopla is that bitch, and is really underrated! It has a little bit of everything, more akin to a streaming service the service has movies, tv, magazines, comics, and manga. I'll be honest, in most libraries the manga selection is iffy (though getting better) BUT the comics section is fucking great. And there's no waitlist, just a limit for how much you can look at per month which is great! Unfortunately it's all trapped to the app (unlike Libby) but is great if you're looking for something to read on your phone or tablet.

Libby - the OG bitch

Like Hoopla, definitely the more popular of the two libby is used pretty much by every major library in the US and Europe. It works a little bit differently than Hoopla in that it treats digital assets like a set of a per license copies that can have waitlists, but you can borrow as many as your card allows. Which is cool. The Libby app will often also let you know about adjacent services your library offers

Mango - Unsloppified Duolingo but free

Yeah they even got duolingo but good ;w;

And so anyways, that's just a very very non-exhaustive list of some services a library card can offer you.

And look I get that I go by fucking torrent-empress on the internet, but even a lot of these resources are not on the internet - especially stuff like classes (even the pre-recorded ones) so it's still worth checking out regardless!

3. Inter-institution exchange is a thing:

If you live in a rural area in a much larger state and do need an item or access to something that is not part of your institution, often as a tax-payer of that state you can get access to the libraries of local universities and city libraries within the state. It's a weird and little known fact, and every state does it slightly differently but its true. You have to find out through their website or asking a librarian but you can often get access to adjacent institutions that are funded with public money, even private ones sometimes!

4. Don't be a victim make some damn noise if you want something or start your own (but check if it's already been done)

I always say to people in my life when they are upset about something they haven't communicated "closed mouths don't get fed". Meaning that needs have to be articulated before they can be answered, I am often asked how I know about stuff, how I am so aware of the resources everywhere and here's the long and short of it: I ask, I make noise, I seek out people. The worst they can say is no, but more often even if they say no, it's a "no but you can go (here)" which leads me to find out about more things. Request things anyways, I've put in requests for libraries or books and later they were added (sometimes after I've moved but still lol)

Without getting too into the trauma, I been there, sleeping on the floor, hating my life, Bed (or floor) rotting because of depression, or a migraine flair-up, or my body shutting down out of fear. And that all sucks ass, but sometimes you gotta just consider that nobody's coming to save you.

The billionaires running these apps certainly aren't. But even 5 minutes less that you're spending rotting your brain is 5 minutes that you've taken back from silicon valley's brain drain machine. And hey, if a million people give up 5 minutes over months, years, that's a loooooot of revenue

Conclusion

As I said before in the beginning, black and white thinking is bad, none of this is to make you feel guilty! And there's no real right way to do Digital Minimalism, it's about doing what feels right for you. I hope this can be a jumping off point in finding a better balance with technology that I made in response to what I felt were large gaps in digital minimalism content that felt overly white, upper-middle class, able-bodied, and promoting a green-washed/Health-washed consumerism. Basically, rich people shit.

Hope it helps! Don't tell me if it doesn't!