Meath Woman's Diary: Maybe we don't miss 2016, maybe we miss being offline

Recently, I was scrolling on TikTok and Instagram and noticed a relatively new but very common pattern in my algorithm. Every person who appeared on my For You Page or Explore Page was sat on front of the camera, with a microphone, talking about some very minor topic and dissecting it with detail.

I have obviously trained my social media to show me content like this, and it makes sense. I love a deep dive video that I can stick on when I’m cooking, showering or cleaning. I enjoy hearing someone else’s opinion making something unique out of a seemingly mundane topic. On the other hand, this new trend got me thinking about monetisation, and how we live with thousands of other people's thoughts and lives in our pockets.

Gen-Z are truly the monetised generation. Every hobby, interest or thought we have, we are compelled to turn it into income. While this might say something about the state of the economy and the fact that none of us can afford a house, I think it also says something about how social media has completely destroyed our dopamine receptors.

I catch myself going to a dance class, playing the guitar, writing an article or enjoying a trip or a holiday and thinking: “How can I document this and put it out into the world? How can I gain traction from this and create some form of income or currency from it?”, wether that be physical money or social currency, these days everything is about ‘climbing the ladder’.

Since I noticed this, I have actively tried to stop myself from thinking these thoughts and to try and just enjoy the moment as it is. While I think it is fantastic to create a life for yourself out of what you enjoy doing, the constant fight to compete with the next person creatively is quite frankly exhausting.

The feeling of failing because you didn't get enough likes on a oversaturated social media platform isn’t real - when you’re trying and enjoying something, you are far from failing.

While art can be made to be shared, it is also okay to take a step back from the internet rat race and relax. The 2016 nostalgia trend is rife online at the moment, and while I can admit that ten years ago felt almost magical in comparison to present day, the only aspect I think that it is down to is the fact that we weren’t so all-consumed by other people's lives online yet.

We didn’t have as much access to other people’s lives as we do now, and the only real influencers were celebrities. Their lives were unattainable, and no one felt left behind. Not every moment had to be filmed or made into content.

One of my major regrets in my three months of travelling at the beginning of this year was not leaving my phone down more. Yes, I will have dozens of photographs and videos to look back on, but to truly be in the moment, you can’t be thinking about what you are going to upload later on.

I might remember the moment by looking at a photograph, but not because I was truly 'there'. I think it is worth asking yourself - Is there really such a thing as a 'day off' when your phone is in your pocket?

Maybe we are actually nostalgic for creating just for enjoyment and simply 'being'.