First off, I'm sure you've noticed, but Simplicity Over Sweat has become Signal Over Static.

I am going to focus almost entirely on digital minimalism and intentional tech use.

And I really wanted to keep the SOS, so I brainstormed, and Signal Over Static fits what I'm trying to go for.

I think tech is cool, but a lot of it is bullshit that wastes your time and mental bandwidth.

So here we are.

Secondly, I saw Toy Story 5.

And whaddya know? They're basically on my side.

Now, if you don't know, this movie tackles the question of where tablets and mobile devices fit into a kid's life when toys exist.

Because, as we know, mobile devices (and to a lesser extent, video games) have replaced toys for the most part.

Since this is a big movie from a big company, I figured it would take a lukewarm stance like, "Oh, yeah, tablets are not great if you use them too much, and moderation is good, and they're not so bad.

Just let the tablets babysit your kids only sometimes, and you'll be okay."

Now, the movie, since it's made by a big corporation, did not really go into how big tech companies hijack your psychology to heavily encourage you to waste time.

But they did go pretty hard regardless.

Many scenes showed children and people in dark rooms staring at tablets despite being in the same space together.

They all looked like junkies, and this was especially weird to look at because I see this shit in real life.

Now, I'm a person who has a unique phone.

My phone is ePaper, so you won't catch me scrolling on that thing.

When I'm on the train or waiting in line somewhere in public, I get to observe people more.

What I normally see is people breaking their necks, looking down at their phones almost all the time.

While they're walking across the street, while they're driving, while they're next to their friends and family.

It's very fucking weird, and this movie showed that many times.

And spoilers, but ultimately, the movie's message came down to: tech is a tool.

You just have to use it properly.

That's a pretty basic take, but one I agree with.

Instead of using tech as a replacement for a friend, an incredible distraction, or a cyberbullying weapon, you can use it to take pictures of memories you want to store.

You can use the GPS to meet up with your friends and communicate when you're going to have some social interactions.

There's a way to use tech that will make you happier.

So that's good.

Again, they didn't touch on the big companies using dirty tactics to waste your time, but Disney is a big company, so they're not going to rat on themselves now, are they?

But I really do appreciate how bleak they made modern tech use look because, as an observer, it does really look that bleak, I promise.

Seriously, next time you ride a train or a bus, keep your phone in your pocket, look up for at least 3 minutes, and you'll see everyone is entranced by that fucking rectangle.

It's not lookin’ good.

Anyway, thanks for reading.

P.S. If you were only here to read about fitness and weight loss, you might as well unsubscribe now because I don't give a fuck about telling people to count their calories for the 9,000th time.

But if you're a tech worker who's surrounded by tech all day but feels like throwing your phone out the fucking window sometimes, stick around.

I, too, am a tech worker, but I do not feel nearly as overwhelmed as I used to.

I'll share with you things I've done and observations I've had that have made daily tech use much more tolerable.

Till next time,

Kevin Tejada