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Leaving social media is like leaving a toxic relationship you thought you couldn’t live without
As you are well aware of by now, plenty of people stay in miserable relationships but nobody wants to leave a happy marriage— And people who are content with social media don’t read time spent offline. You are here because you’re unhappy over there, and although there’s a part of you that wants to leave,… Continue reading
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How to connect without internet connection
The problem is you, it’s always been you. Social media just exploits that, your inability to love the Other. The avatars are not real, only a mere representation of what’s real, and it’s easy to tolerate their presence, their absence. Easy to love, easy to hate; with a tap, a click, a comment. Reality requires… Continue reading
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Mornings spent offline
Some evenings, filled with terror from witnessing another day— time— passing me by nonchalantly, and unwilling to escape my emotional discomfort with Netfixes and digital pacifiers, I turn to my morning journals. Each page is carefully handwritten and stamped, and I begrudgingly flip through the pages until I stumble upon a date, a word, a… Continue reading
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Getting offline is the easy part
“Wherever you go, there you are,” he used to warn me. This was after he gave up the pleading and we both settled for defiance; somewhere between disdain and indifference. I was inconsolable. These walls, I would scream, come alive each morning and raise their voices at me to mock me, to ask how come… Continue reading
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How to live without social media
“So, no Instagram, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Snapchat, no Tik Tok…” I know he believes me when I say I’m not on social media, it’s just that he wants to make sure I didn’t forget to mention the Instagram account I kept for art inspo or the Facebook one I kept to stay in… Continue reading
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Offline dating is a fool’s errand
“Whagwan, sweetie!” It’s a Friday night, I’m downtown walking to catch the streetcar while fumbling with the Hoopla app on my phone to find a song that has randomly started playing in my head: Welcome to Heartbreak. Hoopla is of no use; I can’t find the dirty version and the clean version usually makes me unreasonably… Continue reading
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The horror of direct experience
I once knew of grown men that had no say over their lives, complacent and trapped in the misery of their own making. It horrified me endlessly but I would listen carefully as they tried to justify their predicament: “You must understand,” they would plead with themselves, “she’s the boss!” and we would all laugh… Continue reading
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The internet is a numbing agent
When we both said I’m done and the judge signed off on the papers, they said I should anticipate seven stages of grief: Shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and acceptance. “In no particular order,” they emphasized. It was supposed to make one feel better: You will feel like shit, no doubt, but don’t worry… Continue reading
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Scroll-free evenings
Evening starts when you’re done all your tasks for the day. It’s that lull in-between dinner and sleep; too tired for anything productive, too wired for sleep so you fill it with the internet. Scroll, scroll, scroll. Because you’re scrolling, because of the blue light, rage, and information overload, you are even more wired. Sleep… Continue reading
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My attention is reserved for important things
Attention is a hot commodity in the new economy: The new economy doesn’t want your money— Just your attention. Mark Zuckerberg wants your attention. Elon Musk wants your attention. And even that person you went to high school with 13 years ago but rarely spoke with wants your attention. Everyone is dying to get your… Continue reading
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time spent offline 