Well, hi there, and welcome back. My name is Stephanie Safarian, and you're listening to Episode

589 of Sustainable Minimalists. This is a listener-supported show about intentional and

eco-friendly minimalist living. And on today's show, we are traveling back in time to the late

90s, early 2000s, when the internet was awesome. Yes, the

entered, there was a time for my younger listeners who may not have grown up in the early

days of the internet. I did. And the internet at its inception was amazing. But then something happened. And what happened was

shareholder capitalism got its little pause into this budding technology. And over the years,

we've really seen technology worsen. It used to be that you searched for, you know,

whatever you were searching for. And you got whatever you were searching for, and you got

whatever you were searching for. You didn't have to filter through dozens of sponsored posts

and sponsored search results and influencers pretending they're not trying to influence you

by giving you affiliate links. The internet

used to be a tool. And it used to be a lot of fun as well. But yes, something changed.

Fast forward to 2026. Perhaps if you're like me, you're feeling as though the incessant connection,

the incessant having the internet and all its wonders accessible to you at all times, perhaps that has turned a corner. Perhaps it is

no longer adding to life, but perhaps it's detracting from our days. And so that's what we're

talking about today. My guest is Emily Feldposh, and she wrote a new book

after searching for support with overwhelm in this digital age and coming up with nothing. Her book is

called The Unfollow Effect, Intentional Living in a Digital Age, and it explores what adults of my era who grew up before smartphones have

quietly lost. And it also discussed what we want to preserve for ourselves and for our children

in the next generation. What can we take from the pre-internet time and how can we preserve it

in this digital age for our children.

...