David Murdock Column: On breaking good habits

As I’ve noted many, many times – almost as if it were some sort of habit – I’m an habitual man.  Doing roughly the same thing at the same time every day is one thing, but I’ll board some train of thought, for example, and stay there until the end of the line. Then, as if I loved the ride that much, I’ll do it again.

Then, every once in a while, I’ll realize into what kind of pattern I’ve fallen.  That sort of thought hit me the other day concerning one of my other favorite topics – how technology has changed our lives … and not always for the better.

Overall, I like tech. I have a difficult time convincing people of that idea because somewhere back years ago, I got the reputation of being “techno-phobic.” I’m not at all. What I am is someone who doesn’t see the reason in switching to new tech if the old tech works. I will never be someone who stands in line for the newest cell phone model, for example.

Or, so I thought. Take a basic bit of “tech” for modern cell phones: text messaging. Yes, I use the text messaging feature on my cell phone … but I dislike it to the point of near hatred. Why? I have no idea. All I know is that every time the notification “bing” sounds, I flinch. Most of the time, it’s nothing. My friends know how much I dislike texting and spare me unless it’s something that's appropriate for it, like a quick question or something of that nature. They also know that I will call them if a “text stream” goes on for more than a little while. Talking is so much more efficient.

However, a lot of people are going back to “flip phones” that lack many features of modern cell phones. Flip phones usually do have text messaging, but it’s more difficult to use.

It’s that convenience factor at work. A few days ago, I bought a book for my Kindle e-reader, a book that I already owned in a physical format. However, the electronic version was inexpensive, and I find it easier to read a Kindle sometimes. Then I realized exactly how many books I own both in electronic and physical formats. That’s nuts.

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Then, the other thing about my Kindle – at some point a few months ago, I noticed that it tracked reading statistics like whether or not the Kindle was “used” on a particular day. I say “used” for a reason. Once I noticed this feature, I can’t “miss” a day. I have an enormous “streak” going on my Kindle “reading insights.”

Insights! The only “insight” here is that I sometimes thumb back and forth for 10 or so pages to “score” a day so that I keep my streak alive. That’s not reading; it’s obsession.

That’s how we ruin reading for people. It is.

So, I want to rebel. Almost every day, I think to myself, “I won’t read the Kindle today. I’ll break that streak.” Then I do break that streak … by adding another day to my record. I’m caught between really not wanting to read and really wanting to read.

And I like to read! Imagine if someone didn’t like to read.

I keep whispering to myself that I’m going to break free of these habits.  However, reading is a good habit, and it simply feels wrong.

Maybe I should just turn off the statistics collection feature on my Kindle. I’m sure that there’s a way to do it.

Here’s the thing, though, breaking habits is a tough thing to do. There’s a new habit in my life that I’m probably going to have to break before I break these good habits. And that is YouTube.

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If you ever look up a video clip on YouTube, the algorithm notes it and suggests more of the same next time.  So, if you hear about an extraordinary double play in a baseball game somewhere up North and look it up on YouTube, YouTube remembers. I don’t know how many hours I’ve lost lately watching clips of extraordinary MLB plays.

And clips from movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That spread quickly – last night I watched publicity interviews with the casts of the Avengers movies for an hour. Publicity interviews for movies that were released years ago! Those interviews are hilarious, by the way.

And … well, you name it. I’ve re-watched just about every lightsaber duel in the Star Wars series the past few weeks.  So much that I sort of have a ranking in my head of “worst to best.”

Now, here’s the love for YouTube. People make videos themselves and post them … and they’re really good. There are some amateur filmmakers out there who are truly talented at rendering special effects. And amateur musicians who would otherwise be unheard. And amateurs of all kinds whose work would otherwise be unappreciated.

The only problem with this electronic world of ours is that it takes a lot of time for it to be convenient. I’ve seen some wonderful amateur films on YouTube, like I said, but I’ve also seen a lot of not-so-wonderful ones to get to the good ones.

That’s why I limit my good habits. Sometimes, one simply has to rest.

David Murdock is an English instructor at Gadsden State Community College. He can be contacted at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are his own.   

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: David Murdock on technology and the value of breaking good habits