Cult of less: digital minimalists on the rise

funnybird

The rise and rise of tech gadgets means most of us have more "stuff" than ever before, but these very gadgets are allowing a new breed of digital minimalists to get rid of most of what they own.

Kelly Sutton, a 23-year-old from New York who works as a software engineer at video site blip.tv, set up CultofLess.com and used it to sell most of his worldly possessions.

He is part of a new lifestyle trend that has seen tech-savvy youngsters ditch their CDs, DVDs, books and photos for digital versions, and eliminate all trinkets and furniture they don't need.

He said in a phone interview his aim was to "eliminate the stress of owning too much stuff". The idea was sparked after he travelled abroad last year and left some possessions with friends; he soon realised he didn't need any of them.

"All of my music is 100 per cent digital, I don't have any CDs (I just have an iTunes library), I don't have any DVDs (I just rent movies on occasion from iTunes or stream them using Netflix) and I own a Kindle so now I can just read whatever book I want on the device," said Sutton.

"I sold my car, my bike, a bunch of clothing, a few knick knacks and trinkets that I wasn't using and that were just sitting in a box, some film equipment..."

Now, Sutton can fit everything he owns into two small 50cm x 50cm x 50cm boxes and two small suitcases.

An iPad, Kindle and MacBook Pro laptop provides for all of his entertainment needs. Any TV shows he can't get online, such as sports events, he watches at the pub.

Isn't it redundant to have both a Kindle and an iPad? "A lot of people who have used both devices generally agree that it's difficult to do reading for a long time on an iPad ... the Kindle is much better in a variety of lighting conditions and for extended reading sessions," he said.

Given that many people derive self-worth from the amount of stuff they own, did Sutton feel empty after getting rid of his possessions? "Not particularly ... I'm making the conscious decision to try to not be defined by that as much," he said.

In fact, the change in lifestyle has allowed Sutton to travel far more - in the past year or so he's taken trips around the US and Europe.

"The less you own, the less you have weighing you down and the less that's stressing you so I couldn't be happier and more mobile now."

Sutton is far from an outlier, with drops in sales of physical media and books indicative of the move to a digital culture.

The BBC reported that Chris Yurista, a DJ from Washinton DC, had sold his apartment and most of his gear and replaced it with a single backpack of necessities.

The 27-year-old travel agent is now living on friends' couches and has digitised almost every aspect of his life.

"I don't feel a void living the way I'm living because I've figured out a way to use digital technology to my advantage," Yurista told the BBC.

Source: smh.com.au by  Asher Moses August 18, 2010 - 11:17AM

funnybird

bloody exams - we do it to use it...

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原帖由 funnybird 于 19-8-2010 09:43 发表

                               
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bloody exams - we do it to use it...

We are not studying, we are just using it.