Aadrita Chatterji

We reach for our phones even before we fully wake up, if only to check the time.

Our ancestors used to wake with the sun and go to bed at night, following the traditional circadian rhythm. Thanks to modern life and its conveniences, we sleep late, wake up to the sound of the alarm, skip breakfast and lunch, and type out reports for the hundredth time on our computers. We stay awake on our devices half the night, either doomscrolling, binge-watching the latest series or even choosing what to wear for our birthday next week. In this case, we speak less to people and type more on our devices.

Let’s Be Honest, Personalised Devices Are Convenient

Unless we’re living under a rock, which we aren’t, our devices know more about us. They know the kind of movies we enjoy watching, the particular cafés we visit and what our symptoms mean, all curated into a part we call ‘search history’. We have ‘autocorrect’ systems on our phones that save what we usually say, and they finish our sentences before we even collect our thoughts. These devices don’t simply record our day; they recreate our daily patterns, lives and personalities with each digital footprint fed into their systems.

One of the best things about the 21^st century is that we receive hyper-personalised recommendations on our devices because they know us so well. For example, social media runs on algorithms; it will show you exactly what you want to see or hear. They curate our data, automate what is repetitive and ordinary, and turn it into smart systems that know us better than those we sit down to have dinner with. Though it sounds fun and convenient, let us not forget that we permitted them to access our lives, one permission at a time.

Our Privacy And Mental Health Are At Risk

There is a reason why many people still stick to analogue phones, the ones we can only make phone calls with. Given the extreme data use and exchange in our 21st-century lives, our information percolates across multiple devices with no record of who is viewing and handling data. Most of us are ordinary citizens with no connection to the world’s bigger questions, yet our privacy somehow is traded away for everyday convenience. It all seems simple at first, but how do the technology and data conglomerates actually use our data behind technical and legal jargon?

Added to the privacy risk is the question: do we honestly always need such hyper-personalised recommendations? Whether it is our social media, search engines or applications, they don’t promote spontaneous discovery. The writer herself used to receive notifications about ‘here’s what she would like’ all day until she turned off application notifications on her devices, which would constantly tempt her to buy skincare, one of her weak points. Our constant dependence on devices has socially isolated us from the community, pushing people to make artificial intelligence their unpaid therapists.

Is There A Way To Partially Personalise Our Devices?

Honestly, there is no right answer to this question. After all, our devices undoubtedly make our lives easier and more comfortable. Location-sharing makes us feel safer, Wi-Fi connects us to our loved ones, and fingerprint locks secure our devices. There are a thousand other examples, including saving your files and folders on your phones, tablets and computers. Privacy policies, unsubscribe buttons and cookie banners do exist, but are they truly advanced infrastructure that guard against data theft, privacy issues and unclear consent laws?

The writer believes in partial device personalisation, though she isn’t qualified enough to put this as a concrete solution. She needs the GPS, autocorrect and the recommendations, but she doesn’t want every platform she uses to sell her products and services. Perhaps switching off our Wi-Fi and microphones when not in use helps. Perhaps building offline communities helps. Perhaps keeping ourselves digitally anonymous helps. It is why she refuses to post pictures of herself on her website, to keep herself digitally protected.

However, if we want to completely un-digitalise ourselves, the first answer would be to stay away from our devices – our primary connection to data. Unless we are Master Shifu from Kung Fu Panda, that is impossible. Let us build a parallel life that does not want personalised recommendations, does not need location-sharing and the internet and does not depend on social media for company. For that, we first need to imagine a world where people finally look up from their devices and smile at their neighbours.

Living offline is difficult, but it brings an inner peace incomparable to digital convenience. If we master that, our privacy, our sense of discovery and our community will genuinely surprise us.