This site is designed to help people who want to change how they use their devices. Take the diagnostic to see what in particular needs to change, then get connected to tools that can help. One such tool: your AI coding agent! Paste one of the prompts and co-build a solution yourself.
My Take
In my research on digital minimalist apps, devices and services, I ran into a basic contradiction. These are consumer goods, aimed at making their seller profitable. They are a market solution, follow market logic, and thus cannot escape the traps that come with it. Profit incentive motivates attention extractive practices, data privacy violations, and other direct and indirect costs to users in the digital minimalism market as much as any other.
The problem here is capitalism. As we wait for that thing to get figured out, the best option for individuals is to regulate their relationship with tech themselves. The Neo-Luddite who wants to stay informed with social media but doesn’t want to fall victim to its practices might subscribe to a digital detox app—or, they could code it up themselves. That means no paying, no possibility of perverse incentives, and a solution tailored to their exact use.
That’s the future I’m dreaming up; one where software is created by individuals for themselves and serves their goals, not anyone else’s.
