Craving a Life Beyond the Screen
Lately, something has been really strong for me, the pull away from social media. More and more, I find myself craving the simplicity of the 90s days without constant pings and scrolling, when phones were just for calls, and connection was something that happened face-to-face.
I notice this same theme showing up with my clients, too. We are sicker than ever, yet somehow more isolated than ever. The irony is that we’ve never been so “connected” online, yet so many of us feel alone, anxious, or burnt out.
Think about it there’s less of an inclination now to reach out to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while, because you already know what they’re up to from their posts. The natural check-ins, the phone calls, the spontaneous visits… they’re slipping away. Weekly catch-ups with friends are often replaced by exhaustion, social anxiety, or simply the lack of energy that comes from running on empty.
I don’t know if this shift is just part of getting older, or if it’s a symptom of living in a world that demands us to be “on” all the time. Maybe it’s both. Either way, the cost is clear: less community, less real connection, and fewer moments of true presence.
We don’t know our neighbours anymore. We don’t gather as often in each other’s homes. We’re more likely to send a quick like or emoji than to sit down and ask, “How are you, really?”
And I can’t help but wonder if this constant state of being overstimulated, of living half in the digital world, is part of why we’re seeing so much anxiety, stress, and disconnection in our health and our hearts.
Maybe the medicine isn’t another app, another podcast, or another scroll. Maybe it’s going back…back to slowing down, back to real conversations, back to looking each other in the eye. Back to being human, together.
Maybe the solution isn’t so complicated after all. Maybe it looks like putting down the smartphone more often… or even going back to something simple, like a good old Nokia 3310. No apps, no endless scroll, just the basics. Calls, texts, and space to actually live.
I’m not saying we all need to ditch technology completely, it has its place, but I do think there’s something powerful in consciously choosing less. Less distraction, less noise, less comparison. And in that space, there’s more room for connection, presence, and joy in the small things.
What if we started calling a friend instead of liking their post? What if we knocked on a neighbour’s door instead of messaging them? What if we gave ourselves permission to be unreachable for a few hours each day?
Because when we step back from the constant “on” mode, we get to reclaim our energy, our nervous systems, and our capacity for the kind of connection that truly nourishes us.
