4 months on a ship with no wifi
At 22 years old I lived on a ship for 4 months with limited wifi. To most people my age, that sounds like a nightmare. For most of the 4 months, I was limited to 6 minutes of wifi a day. As a content creator, this was something completely out of the ordinary to me as I usually spend most of my day using social media . Therefore, not having access to it….was different.
However, I was ready to embark on this adventure and was excited about the prospect of disconnecting to connect with others. Social media has a massive impact on our lives and I was excited to see what life is like without it. The results of this “experiment” of having 500, 20 somethings, on a boat, without connection, in 2023, was interesting. We played cards instead of scrolling through TikTok. We played Ping-Pong instead of playing games on our phones. You actually looked into somebody’s eyes while having a conversation instead of looking up at somebody whose head was looking down at a screen. The connections between individuals felt deeper and more substantial because there was no disruption by technology.
We also did not have the ability to deep stalk somebody on social media before and without being able to hide yourself behind a screen, what people saw is what they got. Social media does an excellent job on having an impact on how we see ourselves and others. Without edits, filters or the ability to choose what people saw of you, it was more genuine and authentic. There’s been so many times where I meet people in person and go “oh wow they didn’t look like that on social media ‘’ or “oh I didn’t expect them to sound like that or act like that”. That is a powerful thing. We create these false identities of people based upon their social media profiles without sometimes even meeting them in real life.
As time went on, I started to realize how incredible life was without our phones. The days seemed longer and the conversations were more intimate. However, the moment we had access to wifi, BOOM, I went on my phone. It is so natural for us to check our phones, scroll through our feeds and click on notifications. Despite disconnecting for a majority of the 4 months, for me, nothing really changed. However, I did realize that my phone usage is more so me being a creator than a consumer. I think part of this is because social media and my phone is a job. It’s not just something I do to kill time. It’s something I do/use to stay up to date on trends and posts. I therefore believe I have a healthy relationship with social media.
However, for normal users, I believe that in order to build, maintain and sustain a healthy relationship with one’s phone, there needs to be boundaries. You need to have the willpower to put your phone down, not use it when you’re with others and not be totally consumed by it.
How easy is it to open the TikTok app for 5 minutes and then next thing you know it’s been 45 minutes? That is something in the Social Dilemma that really resonates with my mobile experience. An abundance of times I have felt drawn in by my phone.
However, I am also aware, as a content creator, of the benefits of social media. I use my phone because it’s a source of income and a way to communicate with my mom. Social media is not Social media without these platforms, therefore they’re necessary to my career path. However, there are times I just wish that nobody had it because If I stop using it, then I’m not growing and making money but if nobody was using it, nobody would have to face that issue. My phone has also given me the ability to stay in touch with my mom and whenever I see a notification from my mom I am immediately drawn in to check my phone.
All in all, Social Networking is a powerful thing with many benefits and disadvantages. Finding a healthy way to have it be a part of your life, as it is here to stay, is very important. Below is a photo describing the ways in which one can manage this relationship!
