If your screen went black right now, what would you do? This article vanishes, and you are left to stare at your own reflection. It’s just for one day, but that becomes two, and then that becomes three, and then it’s a week. What would you do? What would you do if your screen went black now? It’s a scary thought. Our immediate ability to find out what is going on, to contact our loved ones, lies upon these screens. And this is something I’ve been asking myself recently: Who am I without my phone? What do I do that’s not on my phone? If the online world went dark, what would happen to our offline lives?

Going analogue. It’s a bit of a trend at the moment. Go write in your journal, or go on a walk, or read a book. I suppose it’s unsurprising that a generation raised by the internet is finally stopping to think about why we use it. It seems the internet likes to tell us to read more; BookTok loves it, influencers recommend it, but do we actually do it? It’s so easy. A book can be found in the library, on your bookshelf, in a charity shop. Books are almost limitless. Whatever topic, whatever story, someone has written that for you. Someone has taken the time to sit down and write about something that they feel passionate about. What’s even more fantastic is that you have found that. You, and that respective author, can go on that journey together.

I suppose we’re always reading; reading comments and captions, but (not to be a snob) I think this might be quite a low quality read. If you find yourself wanting to scroll, then I suggest Substack. It’s a way to find out people’s opinions, to look at different ideas to yours. Find yourself absorbed in new opinions. I’m not suggesting to only use Substack as I’m not sure that would do you much better than TikTok. But, if it is used rightly, it can be an easy way to discover something new. It’s good to be curious, isn’t it?

Don’t limit yourself – this app won’t change your life, and it won’t make you smart. I’m not sure reading will make you smart, but it can make you smarter. The University of Cambridge says that children who read for pleasure do better on cognitive tests and have better mental health. So, if you want to get smarter, it might be worth giving it a go. But, more importantly, reading can give you so much enjoyment. Isn’t that what we are searching for on the internet: enjoyment? Don’t we want something to entertain us? A good book can do just that; you can find yourself in different worlds, understanding ideas that you’ve not understood before.

When we think of moments of relaxation, we think of reading by the pool on a sunny day. Relaxation is not spending three hours scrolling on our phones. If our screens went black, and social media had disappeared, it might be good for us to sit with a book to distract ourselves from what the hell just happened.

Image Credit: Grace Barnett