Why does modern life often feel like the seven circles of digital hell? | Margaret Sullivan
Tech irritations are the definition of ‘first-world problems’, yet I yearn to fish from the banks of my own Walden Pond
In many ways, I love living in the digital age. As someone who grew up in the analog world (my first journalism job, as a college intern, involved a manual typewriter and carbon paper), I am still delighted to be able to find out, within 10 seconds, whether a particular movie star is still alive or to share my latest column with the entire world through a social media post.
But the downside of digital life is driving me batty – so much so that I sometimes consider trying to go off the grid altogether to seek a less frustrating existence. I have a fantasy of this simple life that I describe as Full Bore Thoreau. It involves listening to birdsong and reading Russian novels while occasionally using a landline to maintain contact with other humans.
Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture
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