Digital Minimalism 3: Screen Time Is Just A Number!

As I started to take control of my phone usage and screen usage in general, I resorted to reducing the number of hours I use my phone in a day. I got as low as 28 minutes in a day! But the process of digital minimalism as popularized by Cal Newport is a lot more…

Apple Music on Android still sucks, Here’s how to deal with it

Even after all these years, Apple Music on Android still sucks. So much so, that it frustrates the hell out of me. I have used alternatives like Spotify but I still prefer Apple for the larger library and the app interface which focuses on album recommendations and curated playlists. I have developed ways to overcome…

5 things to do in 5 minutes (instead of social media)

Any form of short content (like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube) is so popular (and can be addictive) because we either don’t have much time to consume long form content (like books, movies, albums) or we believe we don’t have enough time to consume them. I often find myself wanting to look at my phone in the…

How I Learnt to Love Music Again (Ft. My Android iPod)

As the noises from the street died away and the world around me fell asleep, I would lay in bed, often past my bedtime, with one or both earbuds, listening to good music with eyes closed. Music has been a big part of my life since the time I was a middle schooler. It was…

Digital Minimalism #2: Single Use Devices

Consider, for a minute, all the daily-use tools that your smartphone has replaced: alarm clocks, digital cameras, music players, game consoles, wrist watches, even pocket notebooks among other things. Heck, in the absence of more powerful devices, most of us can work and study on our phones quite well too. The all-powerful smartphone has replaced…

Review: Strong Girl Do Bong Soon

Like the other K-drama I watched and reviewed, I started watching this one with the same motive – to supplement my Korean language studies with light entertainment. As it so happens, the entertainment was just superb. I expected a fun romantic comedy and it delivered perfectly. I watched the hour-long episodes in two or three…

Digital Minimalism #1: Social Media

Ever since the smartphone age peaked with powerful devices coupled with fast internet; we have all admitted to the problems that came along with them. All sorts of addictions fueled our lives and we strove to find respite from them. A brilliant philosophy resonated with me which has been discussed for a few years now….

Review: I’m Not A Robot

For a long time, I refused to consider giving a chance to Korean series. I’m not averse to watching shows in foreign languages; I don’t have a problem with watching subbed content if it is good. In fact, I prefer it over the dubs because I feel it loses a lot of the charm of…

Make Your Smartphone Dumb

Most of us already understand the perils of smartphone addiction: the biggest time hog and attention hog of our life. This is the intention of the makers- they want us to use it more and more. It really makes me wonder about the whole digital minimalism/ digital detox rage. Does limiting tech usage boost personal…

Twice, Onces and K-pop

Some time in 2018 as I was browsing YouTube, I came across a playlist called ‘popular music in Asia’. The thumbnail was attractive: beautiful girls in bright colourful outfits so I clicked on it (naturally). I did watch a couple more videos in that playlist but none of them stayed on my mind like the…