Slow living

Slow living is a mindset and a social movement that encourages people to make choices intentionally and to avoid living at a constant fast pace. The slow living movement promotes a focus more on enjoyment and less on speed or efficiency.

The development of new technology has fundamentally changed the way people live in many parts of the world, with new tools affecting how people communicate, where they work, what they eat, and what they know. Technology has also changed the pace at which people work and live. Slow living is a response to the fast pace of modern life and the ubiquity of technology. Slow living is when people prioritize making intentional choices and connecting with other people and deprioritize efficiency, speed, and technology. Technology has encouraged people to time their activities and continually strive to increase efficiency and productivity. However, the slow living movement argues that only focusing on speed and efficiency can be harmful to individuals and society.

Origins

The slow living movement traces its origins back to the Slow Food movement, which began in Italy in the 1980s. Italy experienced a great deal of political turmoil in the second half of the twentieth century, and technology changed the pace of life there as it had in many other parts of the world. In the mid-1980s, the fast-food corporation McDonald’s had plans to build one of its restaurants in Rome near the Piazza di Spagna. Some Italians were shocked that the fast-food company would build in such a historic area, and many believed that the restaurant’s presence would mar the area. An activist named Carlo Petrini protested against the restaurant being built. In his protests, Petrini remarked that Italy’s culture was one of slow food. He used the phrase in English to contrast the idea of slow food to the idea of McDonald’s fast food.

Petrini’s protest was popular in Italy and other parts of the world where food’s cultivation, preparation, and consumption were changing because of technology and because of cultural shifts that prioritized speed, efficiency, and productivity over tradition and quality. The movement became so popular that the International Slow Food movement held its first meeting in France in 1989. Even as the Slow Food movement became more widely known and embraced in some circles, new technology continued to influence food production and consumption. For example, during the 1990s, genetically modified (GM) food crops became more prominent. The Slow Food movement opposed GMs and other changes to the way people produced and ate food. In the early 2000s, people started Slow Food movement chapters in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. The group’s stated goals were to “prevent the disappearance of local food cultures and traditions, counteract the rise of fast life and combat people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat.” Members of the group believed that people’s food choices affect their lives and the rest of the world.

The Slow Food movement places emphasis on people improving their own lives and society as a whole by making particular choices about their food; the movement encourages people to eat locally produced food and to know and communicate with the people who produce their food.

People’s embrace of slow food inspired many to re-examine other parts of life and society that had been changed by technology and cultural expectations. The Slow City movement began in Italy in the late 1990s, inspired by the Slow Food movement. This movement focused on walking, rather than using automobiles, for transportation in cities, and inviting interactions among people in towns and cities. The movement also promoted local goods and food, helping to improve local economies and create community connections.

At the time the Slow City movement began, people began using terms such as “slow travel” and “slow living” to describe people prioritizing enjoyment and connection over efficiency, speed, and technology. In 2004, the Canadian journalist Carl Honoré wrote the book In Praise of Slowness. The book tracked various “slow” movements that began around the world and encouraged people to embrace them. Honoré became known as the godfather of the slow movement.

Overview

The Slow Living movement is extremely broad, and it can include any of the specific “slow” movements that have developed since the 1980s. In general, people who embrace slow living believe that technology and a hyperfocus on speed and efficiency often come at the cost of people’s health, their enjoyment, and environmental sustainability. Slow food, slow cities, slow technology, slow design, and slow tourism are all aspects of slow living.

One popular aspect of slow living is making intentional choices about one’s use of technology. Changes in technology are often seen as one of the main drivers of the “fast” culture of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Mobile technology became ubiquitous in many parts of the world in the early twenty-first century, and the Data Reportal estimated in 2024 that Americans interacted with screens (e.g., mobile phones, computers, televisions) for an average of over seven hours a day. Many people interested in slow living believe that reducing time spent using technology, specifically smartphones, is an important part of slow living. Slow living advocates point out that the social media companies and other technology companies engineer their products to be addictive, as people using them for longer periods generates more revenue through increased advertising sales. Furthermore, slow living advocates point out that technology has caused many individuals to be constantly connected to their jobs, which they argue is bad for individuals, families, and societies.

Some people interested in slow living address the negative effects of technology by taking part in a so-called digital detox, which is a limited time (usually a number of days) during which they avoid using digital devices and screens. Advocates of the practice believe that taking a break from digital devices can help people change bad habits they have with digital devices. Many people interested in slow living also make long-term changes to their use of technology. For example, some people may remove gaming systems or televisions from their homes. Some people remove social media profiles and applications from their devices. As with many slow-living concepts, slow tech can mean different things to different people.

Slow design and slow consumption are also aspects of the slow living movement. Slow design focuses on creating products and spaces that are sustainable and high quality. It generally means using as many local materials as possible and paying fair wages to people who produce goods. Slow fashion is related to slow design, and it encourages clothing producers to choose sustainably produced materials, treat fashion workers fairly, and produce durable, long-lasting clothing. These principles are the opposite of the principles of fast fashion, which became the trend in the world’s clothing industry in the early twenty-first century. Another concept related to slow design is minimalism, which is a design, style, or lifestyle that includes the fewest elements possible. Decluttering and downsizing are often associated with a minimalist lifestyle. Slow food and slow tourism, which is a movement that encourages travelers to be aware of the ecological and social impact of their traveling, are also related to slow design and slow consumption.

Scientific research seems to support the benefits of slow living for individuals and societies. Some aspects of the slow living movement, such as the preference for walking or biking over driving a car, encourage people to get more physical exercise, which is beneficial for individual health. Scientific research has also indicated that, for some people, reducing social media consumption can improve mental health. Studies have also shown that people who try to multitask are often less efficient and productive than people who focus on one task at a time. Furthermore, studies have found that people who commonly try to multitask perform poorly on memory tests.

Slow living’s prioritization of experiences over technology use can also help society at large. People who deprioritize digital technology and other consumer goods purchase fewer products and make less waste. Slow living, particularly the Slow Food movement, encourages people to purchase locally produced goods. This can be beneficial to local economies and to the environment, as local products may create less pollution because they do not need to be transported long distances.

Although people involved in the slow movement believe that making changes in many aspects of one’s life can be helpful, many members of the movement also believe that technology and efficiency are important and useful when used properly. For example, many groups involved in slow movements, such as the Slow Food movement, have websites. Carl Honoré said that slow living does not require people to do everything slowly. Instead, it encourages people to do things at the “right speed.” Honoré and other slow living advocates often state that people can benefit from the slow movement by analyzing their habits and choices and making intentional decisions rather than making decisions based on what is popular or what is most efficient.

Bibliography

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