What do you really need to consume to survive? Throw away the trappings of technology!

We all know we need oxygen, food and water to survive. We have all experienced the effects of eating the wrong food, too much food or too much alcohol.

We have an awareness that consuming too much of the wrong things does not make us feel good.

But are you aware of other things you ‘consume’ and their positive or negative effect on you?

I moved in to a new flat a few weeks ago and have not got the internet connected. And in all honesty, I probably won’t. I don’t need it. I have it all day at work. If I really need to access something, there is wifi in every café and pub in a five minute vicinity. Neither do I have a smart phone. When I am socialising with friends or family, I want to be with THEM, not checking up on what everyone ELSE is doing. I need my phone to text and call and make direct contact with one person at a time.

In my previous house, I did not have a television for 14 months, and whilst I admit I have tuned in again now, I observe the transmissions with different eyes; I notice how everything is geared towards Western capitalism and encouraging us to consume. I also avoid the news reports.

There is an argument we need to be informed about what is happening in the world – why? I like to be informed about what is happening in my own world right now. I experienced the horrific murder of a friend in 2012. This was on the front cover of newspapers, on the radio, on the news, so I started to turn it off and haven’t really tuned back in since. We consume other peoples' misfortune as a form of entertainment.

Here are a list of things to consider. Why not remove one or two of them for a while and reintroduce them? See them in a new light and consider the impact on you?

Are the following things really as necessary to you as food, water, air and light for your daily survival?

1. Facebook

2. Idle gossip

3. Backstabbing and bitching

4. Constantly checking your phone

5. Constantly checking the time

6. News reports

7. Discussions about politics

8. Celebrity ‘news’

9. Comparison and one-up-man-ship

10. Shopping

11. Branded Clothing