Do We Still Exist If We Are Not Online?

A look at what life could mean if we are not active on social media.

In today’s world where social media has gained such popularity among people of all ages, online presence has become the primary tool for communication and engagement with family, friends, and followers. People can get their “social fix” online by staying connected for extended periods and with people they may have never seen again otherwise. However, by doing so, they lose the opportunity to interact with one another physically. So what happens if someone decides to no longer be as active online while everyone else is busy on social media? Do you end up forgotten?

Personally, I am not too active on social media except for the occasional family photos and a few other things of interest to me. In comparison, I have seen how much some people can share and it made me reflect on what our online presence means and I decided to try a little experiment.

I removed my birthdate from all platforms, and when my birthday came about, it felt very quiet as my phone wasn’t buzzing all day like it would in the past years, with messages from people near and far, some whom I regularly interact with, and some whom I haven’t spoken to in years, possibly decades. This time, I received only a handful of messages from people who chose to remember, as opposed to hundreds of people who may have felt obliged to wish me because of an online trigger. While it was quiet, it felt all the more genuine and special to me.

Now with my birth date removed, my posts getting fewer and fewer, and by not joining the masses on Snapchat or Instastories, does that mean I no longer exist in the online sphere and does that make me also lose my connection with the real world?

Not being able to connect with people who are only interested in your online presence might not be a big deal, but does this also affect real-life events such as career opportunities for example? Recruiters these days also take to social media, not only LinkedIn, but other platforms to “research” their candidate pool and find out more about them. This is just one example among many others of how our online presence matters.

And yes, it is good to stay connected with friends, family, and acquaintances, but I believe it’s also important to recognize that what you share should add some value as well. There should be a balance in what we share and do online. Do we really need to share and know every detail of what one is doing and eating? It may not be easy to detach from social media completely – but it is important to do so every once in a while, so that you get to experience a life that is purely for yourself and not one where you are concerned about capturing every moment only to share it with others.