My Year of Tech and Relaxation by August Lamm

An essay about one woman's attempt to promote her anti-tech message, only to get sucked deeper into a world of tech hell...

Self-portrait in Mirror, August Lamm. I used to go to the mall to use the internet. Until a few months ago, I would leave my apartment after dinner, carry my laptop five minutes down the road to the Kingsland Shopping Center, and squat on the dirty linoleum floor outside Costa Coffee, one hand balancing my laptop on my knees, the other hand typing out email replies letter by letter. Passersby would yell comments at me as I squatted; I looked ridiculous. Internet access was a humiliation ritual. If it lasted longer than it needed to, it might inflict physical and psychological damage. But…

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