Just got a note in my work inbox: There's a spread of Chick-fil-A in the break room, courtesy of the franchise that just opened its doors next to our district admin building.
I cannot eat Chick-fil-A. I have celiac disease, and those sandwiches are megaton gluten bombs that can and will turn my intestines into a smoking wasteland, complete with a several hundred percent increase in cancer risks.
At the same time, I'm reading (again) about all the risks Windows 11 imposes for people who just want their computers to do computer stuff for them. And I'm thinking:
Lots of people I encounter think I live in a world of terrible inconvenience. They believe I must suffer daily. They cannot imagine living as I do.
This is true of the celiac disease: "You can't have bread? or pasta? or donuts? or cookies? I would JUST DIE if I couldn't have pasta!"
It's true of my cell phone: "You don't have Android OR iOS? You can't get MMS messages? I would JUST DIE if I couldn't send dog gifs to my entire family at once!"
It's true of my lack of broadband at home: "You don't have Internet at home? Like at all? I would JUST DIE if I couldn't binge watch Game of Squidthrones!"
It's true of social media - actually, no; everyone I meet is jealous of me for being free of it. Anyway.
I don't feel inconvenienced, though. I feel liberated.
Not eating the Chick-fil-A means I don't put a lot of meaningless calories and their associated preservatives down my body, which means I don't risk getting hooked (on food specifically engineered to get you hooked). I don't know what I'm missing and I don't care.
Not running Android or iOS means I don't get dancing puppy gifs from the group chat - on SMS. I do get them on Signal, where no one can get a warrant for them. Family who aren't on Signal can't send me gifs, and I'm glad they can't. I do know what I'm missing, and I don't care.
Not having broadband at home means nobody can hack into anything in my house unless they have physical access to the device. It also means my devices can't tattle on me to their billionaire masters. They can spy all they want, but they can't tell anyone what they see. Ever. I'm not missing anything, and I love it.
In each case, I don't need "willpower" to "fight temptation." I don't have to wage a constant battle to "do the right thing," to protect my health or my privacy or my peace and quiet. It's done for me. It's default. I waste zero energy on thinking about whether I'm going to eat the sandwich or dealing with phone notifications or trying to get my devices not to spy on me. Instead, I get to do EVERYTHING ELSE.
Someone else can eat my sandwich.
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