Technology
Tool or Tyrant?
When technology first arrived it was a time saver and a help. Photocopiers, word processors and the first mobile phones all added to productivity.
Since the smart phone was introduced, that which was a benefit has become a burden.
The Goal
To reclaim control over our lives. Put technology back in its proper place — as a bonus not a focus. Remove these fatal conveniences from our daily lives.
The aim is not to reject progress but to restore balance: by stripping away the manipulations, surveillance, waste, and reduce costs.
Phone Addiction
Smartphones are designed to keep people hooked, with scrolling feeds, autoplay videos and constant notifications creating anxiety and lower productivity.
Further they breakdown human relationships and our natural need for human interaction. Using phones when dining out or in gyms is also self-absorbed, entitled and rude.
Surveillance Everywhere
Phones, smart TVs, cars, payment cards, biometrics, workplace monitoring, surveillance in public spaces (CCTV, facial recognition and number plate readers), data mining and other tools, constantly track where people go, what they see, do, say, buy, think and earn.
Constant upgrades primarily designed to serve the company, add extra steps reducing productivity and increases ways to capture data. Newly added, age verification (UK), and coming to a place near you soon, ID cards and digital currency.
The result... widespread privacy loss, self-censorship, anxiety, lack of trust, and insecurity.
Zombification (dehumanising)
Supposed conveniences such as GPS, constant phone notifications, autocorrect, control of the narrative (groupthink), all add to a fatal loss of autonomy, denying our human nature.
The result... shallow thinking, poorer literacy and reduced problem solving (critical thinking).
Collective purchase power
Stop Feeding the Beast: Use Boycotts / "Buycotts"
Example of Implementation
Until these corporations give us what we demand, we withhold our money. Start small: we buy no new hardware for a week. If they ignore us, make it a month. Keep going until they feel it. No one dies from waiting a month to upgrade a smart phone. A little patience today can mean real power tomorrow.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Apple made $124.3 billion in the last quarter of 2024. If just 20% of customers held back, that’s nearly $25 billion lost. Mega-companies are greedy. It is never enough, but they notice when the money stops flowing.
Break the Phone Habit
Set limits by turning off unnecessary notifications, deleting addictive apps, and keeping phones away from meals, meetings and the bedroom. Break habits by replacing scrolling with reading, walking or conversation, and by delaying the urge to check. Reclaim time by starting and ending the day without screens, using a watch or alarm clock instead, and tracking hours lost each week.
Minimise Surveillance
Protecting yourself means making deliberate choices: use privacy tools and local storage, say no to unnecessary permissions, encrypt everything, audit settings regularly, rely less on GPS and digital crutches, strengthen your own skills, and stay wary of surveillance-laden platforms like WhatsApp.