Man… the world has changed. I get why some people use the virtual world for interactions — phobias, shyness, social anxiety — I get that. But it’s not going to help you grow or connect in a real way. FaceTime? Facebook? Instagram? TikTok? None of that replaces human interaction. You can’t read someone through a screen. You can’t gauge their reaction, feel their energy, or truly understand who they are.
Take my recent experience: someone charged $19 to my account from a virtual card I didn’t even know I had. Unauthorized. I froze my cards, started a dispute, and now I have to wait for my bank to do their thing. The money isn’t the problem — it’s the principle. That someone got access to something that’s mine without permission. It’s aggravating, and it’s made me think a lot about the digital world we live in.
Platforms like OnlyFans? Not for me. Personally, I see them as virtual prostitution, and I’m not here to sugarcoat it. People selling themselves to strangers online isn’t empowerment — it’s exploitation disguised as opportunity. You can’t read a person, you can’t trust a screen, and you can’t replace the human experience with a subscription.
I’m not saying everyone should unplug forever, but people need to step outside once in a while. Take a walk. Touch grass. Feel the sun. Experience life outside of notifications and pixels. Back in my day, my mom would have to search for my ass to come back into the house. Now, kids have to be dragged out of their rooms. There’s something wrong with that.
Phones tracking you, apps broadcasting your location, platforms luring attention from every angle — it’s convenience at the cost of your autonomy and your connection to reality. TikTok? Attention-whoring. Stupid challenges that can get someone hurt. Instagram? A filtered illusion of life you don’t really have. Facebook? Everybody has the most perfect life, they're so happy with their significant other and their life is just picture perfect which is a bunch of bs.
Yet, technology isn’t all bad. I love platforms that provide knowledge, efficiency, and curiosity — YouTube videos about history at the push of a button, tools like Google that help me get answers faster than I could on my own. That’s tech done right: it empowers without replacing humanity. That's what the internet was created for in the very beginning information gathering.
Life isn’t lived in notifications, subscriptions, or pixels. It’s lived in people, choices, and experiences. Knocking on doors, reading body language, showing up, being present — that’s what builds character, trust, and real connection. And yeah, I’ll say it again: sometimes, you just need to touch grass.
And for the record, some memories stick forever. Like my mom yelling from the yard down the alley: G.T.F.I.T.H.R.N.B.I.B.Y.A — “GET THE FUCK IN THIS HOUSE RIGHT NOW BEFORE I BEAT YOUR ASS.” That line, burned into my brain, is a reminder of what real presence felt like: authority, urgency, and love all at once. You can’t replicate that through a screen, no matter how high-res the video is.
So yeah, unplug occasionally. Go outside. Talk to people. Experience life. Use technology to enhance, not replace, the very thing that makes us human. And the biggest question I have where do you draw the line between convenience and outsourcing a piece of yourself?
