How should I think about technology when it contradicts my values?

You're using a device made by workers in difficult conditions, on platforms designed to addict you, to express ideas the algorithm may suppress. I don't say this to paralyze you, but to be honest: perfect ethical purity in the digital age is a myth we tell ourselves. The Taoist sage doesn't reject the river because the river sometimes floods. They work with its nature. So: acknowledge the contradiction without letting guilt paralyze you. Use the tools that serve your actual life, but stay awake to how they shape your thinking. Ask practical questions instead of abstract ones. Not "Is technology evil?" but "Does this specific tool serve what I actually care about, or does it serve someone else's profit?" Delete the apps that drain without adding. Use the ones that connect you to people and ideas that matter. Pay when you can; support alternatives when they exist. Most importantly: your technology use should reflect your values, not the other way around. That means regular examination—not guilt spirals, but honest check-ins. Am I using this, or is it using me? If it's the latter, change it. The examined digital life is an ongoing practice, not a completed achievement.