Why You're Better Off, Logging Off
What would we do without the internet?
Most of our generation has been brought up with access to the world wide web- from being cut off from Stardoll when somebody used the house phone, to coming home from school and logging on to MSN to chat to our pals using a series of dodgy gifs. I don't think there's anybody under the age of 25 who can imagine life without Google.
But could it do us some good to cut ourselves off for a while?
This is something I have questioned for some time now, and have somewhat accidentally found my personal answer to. And that answer, is yes.
Although the internet has a whole host of benefits, like everything else in life it has it's downfalls and these negatives stretch so much further than the widely reported opportunity to compare ourselves to one another that social media offers. From stealing entire hours out of our day to day lives to robbing high street shops of their custom by offering cheaper competitors (or even just higher online demand), we have become so reliant on the internet that it's hard to imagine how anybody ever survived without it.
Going home for a few weeks this summer has taught me (or rather, reminded me of) quite a lot of things. One of the most significant being this prevalence of social media and use of the internet as I was once again stripped of regular and reliable wifi access. It wasn't until I was flung into a routine of spending almost every hour of every day with my family that I realised just how caught up I had become with being on my phone at all times while living down at uni. I stopped noticing that I hadn't taken my phone out of my bag after six hours to even just check the time, I took for granted that the battery wasn't dying, and it didn't even occur to me to go and turn my data on in the off chance that I'd missed a cool Instagram post by one of my friends. In short, I realised it didn't matter.
Now I'm not trying to claim that we'd all be better off without such technology, in fact in many ways it's the exact opposite, but I think the question comes down to how we allow ourselves to interact with it. Since being reunited with the world of wifi and having a bit of time to reflect (my lecturers would be proud x), here is a short list of why I believe we are better off, logging off:
1. PRESENCE
I think most of us can agree that not letting your phone rule your day can make an enormous difference. This idea of being more present has come up in conversation with a couple of my friends with different contexts, but the bare bones of it are the same: enjoy the moment while you are in it. You do not need to photograph your food whenever you eat out or sit and scroll aimlessly down Twitter when your family are doing the dishes. Being able to make the most of the time you have with the people you are with is unparalleled to your desire to prove to yourself and others that you are leading a fulfilled life.* It does you good to notice things around you that you'd have otherwise missed with a phone in your hand, whether it be the view from a car window or a funny story or your loved one's little quirks. As the saying goes- you may not remember exactly what somebody said to you (or what all you did somewhere), but you'll always remember how they made you feel. Now that's something you can't get from being online.
2. IGNORANCE CAN BE BLISS
A classic case of "what you don't know can't hurt you". So Karen went on a four week tour of America? Lovely. Daniel has just moved in with his girlfriend? Good for him. You've just demolished a tub of Ben and Jerry's since it's on offer after a 10 hour shift and you're getting ready to do the same tomorrow? Treat yo'self. Literally, what does it matter? Why torture yourself with what other people are up to and wondering why your life "isn't as good" as theirs when you can use that time to instead enjoy your own life and big tub of well earned ice cream?
I took some time away from Instagram in particular while I was at home, and boy, did it make a difference. For some reason there's something about that app in particular that I personally have begun to really struggle with. Whether it is down to having beautiful people, places and things shoved into your face or just the general ease with which you can refresh and be confronted with hundreds of new posts by people having fun, being on Instagram made me feel uneasy. So I stopped, and I genuinely did not miss it. I think this point stands solely for social media, as being up to date and clued in with current events is enormously important. But I think that's where the digital line should be drawn. Spend more time focussing on making your own life what you want it to be. Treat your camera roll as your own personal Instagram and stop wondering who's going to care- the world doesn't have to see it for you to know that you're content.
3. BENEFITS AND REWARDS
At the touch of a button we can find the answer to any question we have and although this is an incredible invention, I think that it's stolen a lot of the small joys we get out of life. There's no need to stew over the chronological order of the James Bond actors, or the name of the band who released your favourite one hit wonder. Where's the gratification in that?! Something as simple as sitting one afternoon with my family arguing over the Spiderman and Thor actors really made me realise this, as my aunt banned us all from using the tablet until we knew who she was talking about. And honestly? One of my favourite things is having something we'd forgotten come back to us and be surrounded by the chorus of, "YES!", "that's it!" and "well done!" from my whole family (FYI, we have now cleared up the difference between Tom Holland and Tom Hiddleston). A little bit of time and brain power really didn't hurt anyone, and I reckon it's a small, but important, thing to exercise every now and again.
Despite these things, of course I'm not going to entirely wipe the social media corner of the internet from my life. Being at home this time round has really helped me to eliminate my usual FOMO** and general apprehension of being lonely and replace them with feelings of contentment and satisfaction. Surely having the sense to stay away from something you know is bad for you is not all that daft, no matter what form it takes? We all know what happened to Eve when she succumbed to the snake...
I'd say that there is something utterly therapeutic about being cut off from social media, eliminating the mindless habit of scrolling and tapping away at whatever device is nearest to hand. And I flipping love it. It's amazing how easily you can occupy an entire day, and I think you'd be surprised just how quickly you forget ever wanting to check your phone. So give it a go and who knows what you'll notice and enjoy beyond the screen.
Vicky x
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