When the iOS App Store first opened its doors, I was one of the first customers. For years, coworkers would query me about the latest and greatest app. They’d come to me with the solution that they were trying to achieve, and I’d help them find the best app for the job. I was a true technophile.

So much has changed over the past eight years. I embraced many of the consumer technologies that have emerged, only now to regret implementing them at all. Privacy is now my biggest concern, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m now a technoskeptic.

Technology is not all bad, but it must be tested. It’s usefulness evaluated against the drawbacks. The more I use my phone, the less I connect with the world and the people within it. The more free services I use, the more technology companies track and profile me.

I’m retreating from technology, one step at a time. I believe that there are a few legitimate ways in which it can help me. Navigation, food tracking, blogging, and even my three year running habit of daily journaling. But for the many niche applications, where I could easily go analog, I’m going to move in that direction.

I’m tired of the tracking and the ads. I’m tired of the daily pleasures I’m missing while glued to a rectangle. I’m ready to return to a healthier balance in my life.

Tags: Community Productivity