Tools have been with humankind since the beginning of time. We have developed our civilization with tools. We’ve used them for eons, we’ve invented new tools when the old ones weren’t enough. Innovation and invention are part of our history, sometimes bright, sometimes very dark, but it has always been us who have used the tools we have developed.

But something has changed.

Something has changed and I can’t judge for what reason. We’re developing tools, especially digital tools for the fact of developing them without any real reason to do so. The natural consequence of such thing is that we have become addicted to our tools.

We don’t use tools anymore, they use us. In the past, tools needed us to exist, to be valuable. Now we need tools to… well, we can still exist without our tools, but we depend on them in so many ways that I think it’s safe to say that without them we would have a problem with everyday existence.

There were many areas of everyday life where I couldn’t imagine living without digital or physical tools, there were so many of them that it scared me. It was the beginning of my journey towards decluttering and minimalism. Minimalism is a worn and dusty word and I’m aware of that, but it’s still my approach to life. However, I am increasingly inclined to use rationalism instead of minimalism. But im drifting away from the main message of this post. My main message here is that it’s not about the tools, it never was about the tools and it never will be.

Does it even matter whatever social media network or a chat app we use to communicate with friends? Does it even matter where we store our notes, is it this or that app or cartoon box full of paper notebooks? Of course, later can have a nostalgic value, but in the end what matters is the knowledge, the wisdom, the history they contain. It’s the same with the chat app, it doesn’t matter which one we use, it matters with who we communicate. What matters is a friend on the other side of the planet who is dear to us and who we love honestly and deeply.

There’s an ongoing discussion about how some platforms are turning into horrible places or even ceasing to exist. People are wondering what to do, where to move to, how to save them. Does it really matter? I mean, is the platform really the center of attention here? I was naive to think people are. And I deny to believe otherwise. Well, I see the reality, I observe it every day, I don’t refuse to admit how it looks, I don’t deny what big techs try to make us think. I simply deny believing them.

It’s not about tools, it never was and it never will be.

The center of attention, is human. The center of attention is us, our friends, our emotions, our wisdom, our skills, our creations, our work (not labour, work), our imagination, our thoughts. Our soul.

Technology platforms, drills, chairs, furniture, pens, applications – none of them have a soul. People do. And people can put their soul into whatever they do, whatever they create with whatever tools they use.

The only social media platform I use is Mastodon, where great folks are and great community exists, but if one day Mastodon will disappear, I will move on like nothing really happened. Because I know me and my friends, we can still communicate, we can still talk with each other on daily basis, we can share our lives and experiences and we will be together, because our friendship does not depend on the whim of this or that platform, this or that programmer or the president. Our friendship depends on our will and our effort, our friendship depends on us.

My journal is a set of text files, so I’m not afraid of this or that app developer abandoning their creation, I’m not afraid about being locked out from years of my memories, and I’m not afraid someone who I depend is no longer aligned with my values. The tool doesn’t matter, my thoughts do. My tasks, and my notes, my drawings and my photos, my desk and my chair, every tool I use, can be replaced and can be abandoned in a moment. Every digital tool I use must or have the possibility to export everything, or contain data that isn’t critical for me. Every physical tool I use must be replaceable by the tool from another manufacturer or preferably by one or more tools of another type. Many things can be unscrewed with a regular knife, even if the dedicated tool is simply more convenient.

Again, some tools are more convenient than others, some are more specialized than others, and that’s fine as long as I use those tools in the way I choose. The problem starts when the tool tells me how to use it. The problem also arises when, after months or years of using the tool, it displays a message saying that it’s no longer supported and that I need a new tool to continue my work, or even to have access to my previous work. This rarely happens with a screwdriver, but quite often with digital tools. We have all seen many free tools that have stopped being free.

The tool is just the tool. It can be nicer, better or more comfortable, it can be easier to use, it can be better at this or that task. But in the end it doesn’t matter, the tool doesn’t matter, it’s what we do with the tool that matters. We can and should make the best use of our tools, but we mustn’t allow them to use us and make us dependent on them.