Say no to being Chronically Online

Technology as a kid

As I'm sure most of you can guess, I am a Gen-Z. I was born towards the end of 2003, so the Internet has always existed throughout the time that I've been alive. However, the Internet wasn't a huge aspect of my early childhood.

Until I was about 9 or 10 years old, I didn't have my own computer (had to use the family one) and smartphones were not mainstream. I had a few game consoles, but my mum was very strict about me not playing "violent" games like Call of Duty, and there's only so much Mario Kart and Wii Sports you can play in one sitting before you'd eventually get bored.

Even when I was old enough to have my own computer and phone, they weren't like what we have today (my first computer was a netbook and my first phone was just a cheap dumb phone from the supermarket).

Then vs Now

Although young me found this annoying, looking back I'm very grateful for this because of the memories I made in real life that today's kids may not get to experience. Even when I did use technology, my experiences were almost always positive (e.g., splitscreen multiplayer with family and friends irl). If anything, limited access to technology sparked my enthusiasm for how it works instead of just using it for the sake of consumption.

Fast forward to today and things are very different where kids as young as four spend hours every single day in front of an iPad. It's easy to poke fun at these Gen Alpha kids, but the reality is quite sad and primarily a consequence of bad parenting. Though even us adults use it compulsively despite the consequences and the fact a lot of us don't even enjoy it.

Weird Internet Culture

As a teen, I used to be chronically online. I was a compulsive gamer, Reddit degenerate, consumed too much YouTube, neglected my irl friendships for artificial ones on Discord, and compulsively watched the Hub. I would unironically quote memes and use terms like "based" and "pog" in real life. I assumed it was normal, but to the best of my knowledge, nobody talks like that in real life.

I could blame something like the pandemic or big tech, but that's not the sensible & mature thing to do. Ultimately, it's my own fault because I had the free will to resist that temptation, but chose not to because I wanted that stimulation. Looking back, I realise I could've just stopped if I really wanted to.

"Oh but I only consume my hecking imageboards!", that's just as bad as using normie stuff like Instagram. In some sense, I'd argue it's even worse.

We're hooked on negativity

There's a reason why the media focuses on negative headlines - good press does not sell and people are easier to manipulate when they're angry. Perhaps this explains why people online align so strongly with certain ideologies and make it their personality. This perhaps explains why they resort to name-calling and insulting rather than civil disagreement because a critique of their beliefs is seen as an attack on them as a person.

Again, I feel this is a side effect of people being chronically online (since you're exposed to the vocal minority). In person, I find people aren't as polarised, but this might be a cultural difference between the US and my own country. The two main political parties in my country (Conservative and Labour) have a lot more in common than the Republicans and Democrats across the pond.

Of course, there are real problems in the world (e.g., war, climate change, poverty), but unless you live in a place like Afghanistan or North Korea (which you probably don't considering you're reading this), the chances are you have a fairly normal life.

What should we do?

Although I've spoken quite negatively here, I do not hate the Internet and it can be very useful, but it should primarily be a tool. You should never compromise your sleep, relationships, work, health (both physical and mental), or hobbies because of it.

As an example, there's a well-known Christian Minecraft YouTuber who shuts down his server on Sunday to encourage people to go to Church.

Maybe join a club, maybe pick up a new hobby like swimming or painting, or even just arrange to meet up with your friends. If you keep yourself busy, the Internet won't even be on your mind.

If you can find a way to do something without the Internet or Technology, do it. I still use pen and paper for a lot of things (the pinnacle of old man technology ;)