internet fatigue
One day I was looking at a post on Instagram and in the comments someone wrote, “In the old days the internet was a way to escape reality, nowadays reality is a way to escape the internet.” I think no one has ever better described how I currently feel about the internet.
It's hard to explain, but while it's good to have access to information at any time and to be able to communicate with people, it's also exhausting. The worst part is that, even though I feel tired of it, I can't detach myself from my cell phone.
I don't like it when I'm watching videos before bed and I know I have to sleep, but I just can't. When I don't feel like talking to someone on WhatsApp and I get that nagging feeling of not being able to go on the app so they don't see I'm online. I know you can set up those privacy settings and all that, but even so, you're left with this bad feeling of ignoring someone. I also don't like how people have lost their common sense in social media comments.
I know that that the internet and social media make things in our lives easier in ways that would be very difficult to live without, but I'm talking about the negative side, which sometimes even outweighs the positive.
I've been trying to distance myself from the online world and live more in reality. It's not easy, but it's so good when we finally manage to feel connected to the real world. It's like we travel back in time, where that feeling of needing to race against time doesn't exist.
I once took on the challenge of going a month without social media. It was the first time I'd ever tried it. In the first few days, I felt like something was missing. I kept pacing back and forth, looking for something to distract myself because I couldn't be alone with my thoughts. I couldn't be silent. It gave me anxiety, but as the days went by, I got more and more used to it. I started to like how I felt when I was offline. I was leaving my phone at home every time I went out. I only took it with me if I had to go somewhere by myself and I knew I would need it for something important, but I left it off when I didn't really need it.
I started paying attention to a lot of things I hadn't paid attention to before. There's an Italian restaurant I like to go to. I've been there many times, but the day I went during my time without social media was the first time I saw a window with a wonderful view of the city. Right at the sunset time, I looked out the window and felt such a good feeling. I felt like I was truly present in the moment.
I started to find pleasure in the little things of everyday life. Just breathing in the wind and the smell of the rain made me feel so good. Lying down to sleep at night and feeling that desire to wake up the next morning and relive those sensations again was a nice feeling. Things started to make sense.
After the challenge ended, I gradually returned to my old routine, and then everything went back to how it was, but I'm still trying.