#AtoZChallenge : Online
I’m back after a tiring day at work and while I wait for dinner to be prepared, I pick up my cellphone and I go to have a check on my online life. I begin by checking for social media updates!
I scroll through the endless pictures on Instagram, double tapping the ones that I like. There are pictures of beautiful travel destinations, yummy food and amazing books and quotes – so now you have an idea of the kind of accounts that I follow 😛 And yes, there are pictures of people to.
Once I’m done with that, I open Facebook. I catch up on different updates- Â most of which are on the likes of going abroad for higher studies or you know just a vacation, or getting a new and better job, starting up and being famous, or being famous for various reasons and yes the most important and recently most frequent of the lot- getting engaged and getting married. Oh and also having kids!
And then Facebook keeps asking me to write something. But what do I have to share? Haven’t been out of the city for over a year except going home and going to my grandma’s house for Christmas. Going abroad for a vacation or for studies is just not happening for me. I write rant/type nonsense everyday but that isn’t making me famous in anyway. There is still time for me to go down the engaged/married road. So what do I write about?
Then there are stories! Stories everywhere! People attend such awesome events, eat awesome food, buy awesome things, in short – everyone is doing something awesome! And I’m living the same life everyday! Sad life eh?
I go back to my gallery and check for any nice picture that I may have. But I think if there is anything worth being shared, is already shared. My profile picture seems ages old. I make a note to myself – I need to get a cool picture clicked for my profile picture! So while I’m in the process of looking for pictures worth sharing on my phone, I chance upon one from my time in my grandma’s house. It is a picture of the sunset. I add some cool picture, pour in some philosophical thoughts and then post it. Someday, may be someday my posts will go viral! But for now no likes yet!
While I’m patiently waiting for those likes and comments to pour in, I scroll through my feed. I’m greeted by more pictures of food, desserts to be precise! The tasteless food that I’m being served hasn’t filled my stomach, my taste buds need something better. I must order dessert. I open the app and order some sundae. Online It is so easy right?
And I’ve more time to spend before the dessert arrives, I open some e-commerce apps. I need some new clothes to make me look and feel better. Going through these social media updates everyday is depressing. I need something to cheer me up! I scroll through a lot of clothes and I end up confused. There is a lot of amazing clothes to choose from! I finally decide on buying a new top, a new pair of jeans, a lovely floral print dress, a new pair of shoes and when I was checking out, I realize that there is an offer for grabs if I shop for Rs. 200 more. Oh those dangling earrings will go well with a lot of my clothes- so yes, there you go my shopping is complete. There is a little bit of guilt while making the payment, but that goes away when I get the message that my order will be delivered in 2 days! Yay!
Oh then I realize, I received a parcel today. I’d ordered a few books online which were there in my to be read list. I open them and arrange them nicely and click a picture. Then you know the drill – upload, filters, description filled with hashtags and then post! More comments and likes awaited!
My sundae arrives. I go to youtube and click on the latest episode of the web  series that I’m following. Oh and yeah more pictures of the sundae in my story- on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp.
FOMO?
LOL! What is that? I’ve got a kewl lyf too bruh! Enjoy!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE6iAjEv9dQ&w=600&h=360 ]
I’m participating in the A to Z Challenge and all through April I’ll be writing about the Life and Times of a Twenty something! What are you best memories or expectations from your twenties? Let me know in the comments.
I sincerely hope you don’t regret all this time you spend online.
Following on from John, I know I look back at times and wonder what the heck I was doing. Turning off the laptop at night just starts the cycle of re-checking social media via the mobile!
Godyears.net
I think we could all identify with your post, Reema. I have friends who get professional photo shoots done for ‘profile pics to be uploaded on SM’:)))
I loved reading this:)
Reema, I almost live an online life and am heavily dependent on everything online.
Haha, this is so me. I sometimes have Twitter open on my laptop and my mobile at the same time, and I wonder, “What am I even doing?”
Hehehe, so true, we are all alike.. I often do the same and then crib over my time mismanagement..
In my twenties I spent time with friends and family. Thank goodness there was no social media then. Social media has made people anti social – one of the downsides of technology.
Suzy at Someday Somewhere – Open Doors
I can understand totally Reema, but I make sure I have offline time and online time fixed. Its just that with internet on phones it becomes difficult, but still it is important to remain a bit aloof
Launching SIM Organics This April
*Menaka Bharathi *
*SimpleIndianMom*
I enjoyed reading your post Reema as I can completely relate to it. We all are addicted to social media and I am sure most of us suffer from FOMO.
I am a Facebook and email addict so could relate to your post. I spend way too much time online doing my writing and photography and interacting with my many friends around the world. I do love it but often wonder if it’s bad for me. I need to break away and go back to the real world now and then. As you wrote, we do get caught up in all the posts from other people and wonder what they’re up to and feel we have to post interesting stuff that they will like. As much as I enjoy it, there is a down side to it all and sometimes that makes me sad.
Haha! Been there and done that until recently. I try to reduce my time online, especially Facebook. So much negativity in twitter as well. All I do is ‘heart’ those beautiful pictures in Instagram 😛
Thailand Travel Stories at Kohl Eyed Me
26 Indian Dishes at Something’s Cooking
You need rehab! 😛
Maybe you need to set a time to stop. “I will check until 8:00 then stop.” That way you can satisfy your need to be updated, but will not become a slave to it.
p.s. Everyone has a story. What is boring to you will be interesting to someone else. I am learning so much about life in other cultures through the AtoZChallenge.
Its “to be or not to be” crisis! Enjoyed reading your post.
There was a stone age before. And then there is this digital, high techy techy, online age! The boons and banes of it. We all go through. Totally relate to your post. Enjoyed reading it and nodding my head along,
Oooops! I read it again! — Re-visiting books that we love!
Regards,
Pikakshi
Readers of the Night
I was so addicted to instagram and obsessed with getting followers. I still am but a lot less now. Life on social media can be quite intimidating sometimes, that’s why I follow mostly humor and fitness accounts. Else I would be having some serious personality crisis
Hehe 😀 I do these drills too when I am too low. Those people who post yummy, droolworthy food pics on FB, Instagram, including you, I hate you people during that brief amount of time I have to scroll down that image. Ah, the temptation. Too hard to resist!