Off Grid

I have this friend who is completely and utterly offline. She has absolutely zero presence on the internets - nothing, nada, nil- and I think she's a better person for it. She doesn't get caught up in it all, you know? Any photos that she takes are strictly for her eyes only, well, you get it, she's just not interested. I find myself being envious of that innocence. I'm currently having a break from Facebook as yet again it was all just starting to get a bit too much. I even, and I'm ashamed to admit this, threw my phone across the living room one day in total rage/helplessness over the stupidity of something that was going on. You don't need to hear the whys or wherefores, just have the knowledge that I threw my phone in a paddy. Like I was 3 or something. The shame. Total and utter shame.

This online world that we live in now is a really long, pointy, and sharp double edged sword. On the one hand I want to be totally cool about posting something and not care if it gets likes or comments, and on the other I'm looking at my phone and waiting for pings or alerts. I don't like this side of myself and it's why I take a break every now and then. I've done it once before and it was like taking a deep cleansing breath. When I went places I was just there, not thinking about taking a photo for this and doing a sneaky check-in, every moment was just lived, without any record of it happening other than in my head, my memories. It was a good place to be and a little part of me felt like I let myself down when I got caught back up in it all.

I think of all the social medias, Facebook is definitely the worst - the most frustrating place to be. The constant changes that they make seem to mean that you end up seeing more of what you don't want to see and less of what might be interesting or funny or happy. And even when you unfollow someone or a page, somehow there is a way that it will show up again. So much frustration! There also doesn't seem to be a great deal of checking oneself before something goes out - foul swearing, vile comments, spouting of bile, it is deeply unattractive and I often find myself shocked by it.

I don't know about the future of all this social media that isn't really social, and that's a discussion that probably needs a whole research paper and not a tiddly blog post. Suffice it to say, me and Facebook are on a break. Maybe one day I will pluck up the courage and go entirely off grid just like my friend. Perhaps I should try it for a period of time and just see how I get along. What's the worst that could happen? Total ignorance and bliss away from all the nonsense? Or radio silence as everyone lives their amazing online lives? Now there's an intriguing thought...