|
|
|
|
|
|
by theboywho
4633 days ago
|
|
|
It's funny how people who say they are minimalists start listing the things they don't have in the "physical" life arguing they are not needed. But then, they have an iCloud account, a twitter, facebook, flickr, instagram, reddit, gmail, you name it account. How about a minimalist virtual life too, where all you have is an email account? an e-minimalist? I think a minimalist life should be more about "using" less (and accomplishing more) than about plain raw "owning" less. |
|
|
I think it is useful to recognize that "stuff" is a system, and as a user, the system of "stuff" requires some maintenance, is at risk of failure (by theft, loss or damage), though despite the drawbacks does provide benefits that make life better. My water filter makes water taste better; my sweet chair is very comfortable. My car drives me to the beach to surf regularly. Some stuff requires greater scrutiny -- the high maintenance demanded by the car in terms of time and money indicates that I would be wise to carefully consider if the benefits outweigh the costs.
Technology systems can be measured similarly -- do the costs (time, money, cognitive load, opportunity cost, presently and in the future), outweigh the benefits. Making that measurement is difficult, and our minds are not exactly rational actors when it comes to deciding to adopt technology -- we are easily swayed by social factors, and it is hard to measure the future cognitive load and opportunity cost of a technology system. Being an "e-minimalist" could be a useful heuristic.
Since benefits of "stuff" and systems can vary subjectively, I think minimalism (as a philosophy or hobby) is a subset of a larger identity question from the individual -- "what is my relationship to the systems at play in my life?" Attempting to optimize that relationship usually leads to more happiness than ignoring the question.
For some people, minimalism for "stuff" is a solid optimization. E-minimalism makes lots of sense, too.