The day I left college for summer vacation was extremely bittersweet. I was so excited to get home, spend all summer with my family, friends and dog, and not have to worry about exams or papers. But leaving college meant saying goodbye to my friends AND my WiFi for three months. My days of binge-watching "Grey's Anatomy" and endlessly scrolling through Twitter had come to a screeching halt.
Home, for me, is five miles outside of the closest town, which is another thirty miles from the closest city. Getting fast WiFi to our house has always been an issue, so rather than suffering from a painfully slow Internet connection, we chose to go without WiFi at all.
Leaving college and returning to a life without WiFi took a lot of adjustment. I didn’t realize how much time I spent scrolling through social media and watching Netflix while I was at school. The number of hours that suddenly appeared in my Internet-free schedule was not only surprising, but also rather alarming. I soon realized, though, that I had time for actual, legitimate activities, such as spending time with friends face-to-face rather than reading their tweets. Instead of watching eight episodes of Scandal in one sitting, I was able to finish an entire book in one day. Giving up late night Netflix sessions had my sleep schedule shouting its praises. I was amazed at how much I was accomplishing with my newfound time.
However, the more I thought about it, the more appalled I became. I had spent so much time staring at a screen, and for what? There was no beneficial gain from all of my WiFi usage, so why was it that I, and everyone around me, was so addicted? How was it possible that we had forgotten how to live without updating the world about our most recent activity, meal, or thought?
Losing my ability to constantly Snapchat pictures of my surroundings, tweet my most recent thought, or watch Netflix at my leisure made me realize something. We are so focused on making our lives look appealing to others on social media that we are forgetting to live in the present and enjoy what is happening around us. We, as a society, have forgotten that life is not about how many “likes” your picture receives, but rather how much you like the picture of your life.
Life without a constant social media connection this summer has been refreshing. This summer without WiFi has reminded me how much I love doing activities that don’t involve the Internet. And while I’ll gladly reconnect once I move back into school, I’ll also remember that life is so much greater when you put down the screen, shut the laptop, and truly go out and live.
