Welcome back from that shocking betrayal. They told us the internet would stick around. In fact, they flat-out promised.
Then, when we least expected it, they jabbed a knife in our backs and gave it a sharp twist. Some of you practically died during that relatively short four-day stay in the digital desert.
Even now, some of you are barely conscious because the social media blackout has persisted. The internet is of absolutely no use to you if you can’t spend a few hours mindlessly scrolling on TikTok, which is a little embarrassing.
Think about it for a second. Many of you grew up without the internet. You spent the first 18 or so years of your life without a social media account, and you were perfectly fine. And yet, here you are, struggling to maintain your sanity after four measly days without an online connection.
That should lead you to one drastic conclusion, a recommendation that would benefit us all. Extend the internet blackout. In a few hours, government will restore access to social media. Ignore that development.
The four-day internet blackout was essentially a forced digital detox, and if you are yet to experience the benefits, consider extending the detox by a few more weeks. The internet is addictive because it triggers dopamine, the so-called ‘feel-good’ chemical.
However, just like every other addictive substance, you eventually develop a tolerance. Suddenly, 20 minutes of YouTube is not enough. You have to increase your exposure to digital content to get the same buzz.
Excessive consumption of digital content can lead to numerous side effects, such as increased stress, decreased productivity, and an overall lack of fulfilment with your life. Analyze yourself.
Did you sail effortlessly through those four days, or did your mental health suffer? Do you remember feeling generally unhappy, or weirdly bored? You couldn’t find the motivation to work, even though you had every tool you required at your disposal.
Movies became surprisingly cumbersome to watch, and even when you watched them, you couldn’t stop reaching for your phone. I know people who nearly drowned under the weight of everything they thought they were missing out on.
They could not stop talking about the YouTube videos their favourite creators had released in the days since the blackout started, the online conversations that kept passing them by, or the social media updates they badly wanted to provide to their adoring followers abroad.
If you felt like your life had essentially stopped because of the blackout, you need this detox. A complete digital blackout is not an option. Start small. Make a plan that explains when you can use the internet and for how long.
Then, you can make a deliberate effort to follow your schedule. Start by turning off non-essential notifications. The second step is to install a program that deactivates the internet at 9pm.
Limiting screen time and online stimulation before going to bed will improve your sleep. If the temptation to reach for your phone while in bed is too strong for you to resist, keep the phone in a different room.
The objective is to sidestep irrelevant and unhealthy stimulation. Find other alternatives. That can include listening to the radio (which many of you have not done in years) and talking to other people.
Set aside specific periods of the day to check your email, WhatsApp, YouTube, etc. Feel free to doomscroll on social media, and to watch as many cat videos as you like, so long as you remember to stop once that period you have set aside for the internet elapses.
Better yet, instead of committing long stretches of your day to internet use, check your phone for a few minutes every half hour. The goal is to gradually cut back on your internet usage until you have complete control over your digital consumption habits.
Don’t forget to download apps that can track your internet habits. You don’t have to maintain this experiment indefinitely. Give it four more weeks. Then you can stop and assess the results.
Do you feel mentally and emotionally healthier? Depending on your observations, you can adjust the digital detox accordingly.
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