A life outside apps!

Living beyond data & analytics.

Feb 12, 2026

Hi, this is Namrata. I write travelogues, tales of craftsmanship, and jargon-free anecdotes about the environment and slow living. These stories are very much a part of my personal journey through my creative, and professional pursuits.

Speaking of professional pursuits, I’m currently working in a part-time communication role with a team creating a tech tool for a sustainable solution! But in my personal life, I don’t want to download any more apps! In fact I’m in a phase of removing anything unnecessary or extra. (Still contemplating which one I should keep: Swiggy or Zomato?)

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I do enjoy seeing my year-end Spotify wrap! The top 5 songs will always have at least one badass female vocal like “Set Fire To The Rain” by Adele and consecutively for the last couple of years, Pritam has sneaked in to be my Top Artiste - funnily enough - like for many unaware Indians! But of late I feel a bit rebellious against data! And maybe if I am in the same mood till the year-end I might not deliberately check out my Spotify wrap the coming year. It’s a silly rebellion but I don’t want an app to define my personality through my data and give a name to it - after all I might be listening to breakup songs written by women just to appreciate the fact that commonly women-written heartbreak songs are so much better. Have you heard the beautiful lyrics of “Maana ke hum yaar nahi” by Kausar Munir?

Anyways, my point is that I’m done with analytics! I don’t dislike analytics, but not every life activity needs to be recorded as data. One can listen to music, watch movies, read books, do gardening, and travel without calculations, or weekly/monthly/yearly goals. And, also one can really exercise and stay fit without the same records.

Recently, I was reading a newsletter by Sarah of Escape to the Bookshop. She wrote:

“I’ve been using Goodreads for sixteen years, and (according to Goodreads) 1200 books. And mostly, it’s been great. Or at least it was for the first few years. But lately I’ve been feeling a little disenchanted. Goodreads wants to quantify your reading life. Goodreads wants you to make a yearly goal.”

Reading this (although I was thinking of joining the platform this year) I decided not to because these were the exact reasons why I never joined Goodreads till now. I’m sure it’s an amazing platform for readers but just not for someone like me who has never really read a book review. Just personal recommendations are good enough for me and I have loved and enjoyed reading since childhood like a hobby without any goals. So, nope, not joining any books-related app this year. I was also contemplating joining a movies app but will better stay out of it. (But I know - never say never!)

Last year I wrote a piece called ‘Seeking Connection in the Age of Information’. It was about social media platforms always promising us connection and instead bombarding us with unsolicited advice and information which is making more and more people be on the verge of leaving these platforms. Add on sloppy AI-generated content to make things worse and we now have the much talked about Analog 2026 Trend. It is basically about people adopting a more intentional lifestyle with human interactions and offline experiences and getting off social media due to the fatigue caused by addictive content and doomscrolling.

But I don’t like trends although I do know its relevance. Trends are fickle and dicey. If there is a real cultural shift happening where people adopt slower lifestyles with healthy hobbies, meaningful experiences and adopt habits that let one go offline, without the need of performance and documentation, it will be awesome. But skipping smartphones and hoarding “retro” stuff just because the world is calling it cool, will be kind of silly because that is again just consumer brands selling us new stuff - that might be highly useless soon - if “going analog” dies as a trend.

So, by not joining new apps, I’m not “going Analog”. I’m simply continuing to stay away from digitalizing all aspects of my life and wherever possible.

I would love to know if apps, analytics and data excites you or overwhelms you?

I am not too evolved to be leaving all apps and platforms and I also don’t believe in throwing away smart-gadgets and tech-related benefits but there is a life beyond it. Undocumented and unrecorded memories are also “real” and some things can truly be captured only through eyes and the mind.

I’m not sure how to end this newsletter, so I’m sharing this beautiful scene from The Namesake, where Ashoke (played by the amazing Irrfan) regrets leaving his camera behind but goes ahead to tell his son Gogol to “remember it always” in his mind.

I am Namrata Gohain, a designer-turned-storyteller, writer, and content producer. I document stories on responsible travel, crafts, cuisine, slow living, and my creative journey. I have worked extensively in the Indian artisanal craft sector as the founder of a sustainable craft label and collaborated with mindful brands and social impact-driven initiatives for over a decade.