How to Use Technology WITHOUT the Addiction (iPod Week 4)

I used an iPod for a month and changed my life. This is the 4th and final part of the series, and you'll want to make sure and watch til the end

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► Complimentary Interview Channel - @DiggingTheTalks

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[QualityCandor]

23-year-old zoomer here: this series has been such an inspiration to me. Been kinda blessed to have not gotten sucked into the whirlpool of modern algorithms and content farms like a lot of people (both older and younger than me), but I do still occasionally get stuck in that doomscrolling cycle. While I work remotely and a lot of my gigs involve regularly interfacing with the web, this series has shown how I can keep that at arms-length and clear up my mind for better focus. All praises, bro, keep at it.

[darrinmcelroy]

This is why I still buy CDs. I like knowing it is on my shelf and never going anywhere.

[tehroflzcrisp]

the Frankenstein iPod segment of this video was the most wholesome thing I've watched this month. Thank You.

[ThisDoesNotCompute]

pleasant surprise seeing you found my video, happy that your iPod upgrade was a success!

[mowkikowski]

I think my takeaway from all of this is asking what you want from your technology. That's such a thoughtful first step to all of this. It's something I do with big things like relationships and jobs, but never thought to do with the devices I spend hours a day with. Thank you for this series.

[IVUSER]

19:17 The fact that it transitioned from the car alarm/noise into actual music so seamlessly is what I call flawless editing

[karlarosas]

I grew tired of Spotify because I felt like nothing sounded right, it began to feel like a chore to listen to music and I was growing tired of my own library as well, but didnt want to spend time hoping the algorithm showed me something good, so I got the idea of listening to all the albums of every artist that I have at least one song of in my liked songs playlist just to listen to new music and actually dig into the artists and listen to more than just the singles, so thats my experiment and then your channel popped up and it validated what I was feeling, thanks for this series, it was really insightful, I also bought the Filterworld book and ive been enjoying it, Imma check Digital Minimalism as well!

[garciagrcia]

Tech isn't the problem, it's companies capitalizing our attention, is what I concluded from this video. Cheers dude! This reached me at the perfect moment.

[realmusicmedia]

This has been an amazing series, I’ve honestly really looked forward to these episodes coming out every week. Can’t wait to watch this one now!

One of the best things that my algorithm has shown me.

[struthless]

Amazing series and concept, but damn just wanna praise the aesthetic!

[iwriteyourstuff]

Bro! This series has been the topic of conversation with my friends for like, two weeks now. Your reaction when your iPod lit up post mod straight up brought me to tears. This was such an epic introspection on living fully in a life dominated by distraction. Thank you, now I need to do some thinking myself. Phenomenal work!

[davidoreilly]

Said it on your last video, but this series has legit inspired me make changes in my life with social media and just life in general. And I’m honestly a happier person as a result.
Thank you Brandon

[AndieTheBasedGod]

i'm so glad the algorithm showed me your channel because this series has solidified my reasoning for getting an ipod in an effort to be more intentional abt my music listening/collection. even seeing you mod your ipod at the end kinda gave the confidence to mod my ipod once i finally buy one.

[snewginz]

This series of videos has made me somewhat emotional, and I have no idea why. Born in the early 80s and grew up in the 90s, this is exactly the thing I've been wanting to do for the last few years but always come back, I've thankfully stayed off Facebook, for about 6 years now, and the only social media I use is Instagram and YouTube, but even that feels like too much. It's genuinely so refreshing to see that I'm not the only person that wants to go back to a simpler, less self aggrandizing way of life. This has been an incredible series of videos, I tip my hat to you, my man. I think you have tapped into something that is becoming more and more needed by more and more people. Well done, truly excellent.

[crookedfootlofi]

First pieces of content I’ve consumed without saying “I’ll finish it later”.

BRB, removing myself from the algorithms.

[swaggatore]

19 yo boy from italy ive been thinking so much about disconnecting, ive been doing so for two years i guess, social networks really made me anxious. as a passionate music lover i liked so much using a device, bought an ipod and joined dumbphone reddit. best choice of my life. the fact i reached this world only by myself and my consciousness makes me proud, as i feel im starting to live again. im working to settle my life to really enjoy small and easy moments of everyday life, as well as bad days and news. no phone distractions, as my father said: IT IS ONLY A TOOL. hope this quote i always underrated brings yall some inspiration to bring your lives back.
peace

ps. digging the greats, i found your channel randomly as i love to hear stories and documentaries about artists and music, as i was in school listening and learning; your transition process brings me so much joy

[gabrielmosoiu]

17 year old zoomer here: Researching how to dumb-ify my phone currently as that's the ONE thing I've never tried in terms of giving up technology addiction. Thanks dude. The series has been a blast. Gonna be hopefully picking up a buddy's dead iPod and flash-modding it to unbundle music as my step 1. Cheers and best of luck to you in your endeavours in keeping your life free of the homologations of modern life. God bless, and
much love from the kid.
-G

[EggTamago]

I think the way I entered the smartphone era was strongly informed by what I was doing before. I bought music on CDs/Cassettes, transitioned to buying albums as CDs/downloads, highly valued building and curating my own library throughout the process... and just kept doing that. First it was really just my first one or two iPhones "becoming" my latest iPod (loading my own content onto it), then when Apple Music launched, I treated it much the same way - I don't use it as a streaming service akin to some algorithmic radio barfing stuff at me - I just kept building and curating my library, just with a different source. It's been suggested that I have the benefit of those prior experiences to fall back on, so I didn't really need to use an iPod full time again to figure this out. But, I can definitely see why doing a bit of a reset on this stuff would be beneficial for some.

All the other stuff - I'm all for the intentional model. Instead of jumping on new trends or features, or trying to avoid FOMO, just asking "does actually improve my life?" is all it takes. For myself, I can say I like bits of Instagram, and use it for a few minutes per day. I don't really like Facebook or X, so I rarely open them when I have an explicit reason to. TikTok does nothing for me, so I don't bother with it at all. My phone is more or less a tool I actively enjoy using to connect me with my interests and people I care about (and stay organized). Any apps or features that don't serve that purpose... I can just not use them, knowing explicitly why I don't need to.

[nickthaskater]

Don't be so quick to ditch the separate camera. Having the separate tool creates an intentionality that not only serves to keep you in those special moments, but makes capturing those special moments all the better.

[mitchelldries]

yes dude! watching yer face light up when rebooting yer ipod was practically the best scene of this whole series. i really hope other people catch on to this! i have three ipods i recently upgraded the same way. a video and two 6th gen classics. why? because it's MY music and i want it ANYTIME i want it ANYWHERE. i travel quite a bit and get lost in the woods so i don't always have any reception where i want to listen best. for now, i keep an older mac laptop with actual itunes still on it to make organizing and playlists easy, after all, they are just aiff or mp3 files.

now go get yer life back!