The Excitement of Missing Out

I’ve been on and off social media for years. Suddenly one day I am fed up, overstimulated, information overload, I can’t take it anymore. I start deleting apps frantically, and instantly feel a weight off my shoulders. But I always feel something pulling me again after a couple of months off, and I end up needed a bath or a shower lasting 1 hour as if i was washing off the dirt of the online world.

The first couple of weeks off the information overload drug, I can feel the ‘viral sounds’ slowly leave my brain. I can hear myself again! I can hear my thoughts clearly. slowly reclaiming my autonomy as an individual human being and not part of the internet network. 3 weeks off, I feel clarity in the air. 4 weeks. suddenly I don’t understand the language my colleagues at work speak, or my friend’s references to online jokes.

‘Have you heard about…’

‘No’

i’m not going to lie, I feel powerful as my lips form this simple 2 letters word. ‘No’. A sense of superiority almost. As if I was a monk that has reached the highest form of clarity, nirvana. While everyone around me is behaving like zombies consumed by capitalism. i am too comfortable saying ‘No’, to plans I don’t want to do, to people I am not comfortable with. I missed out. and I am okay with that.

Then the pull of social media calls again, i tell myself i am now in control, but i know i am lying.

This morning I scrolled on social media for an hour in bed (i know.. but i am only human!). I don’t remember anything that i saw, i can’t recall my thoughts during one whole hour of my life, could i have missed out on this and reclaimed that time? Yes. why are we so terrified of not being connected to the world (at all times)? why do we feel we need to understand every single joke or niche reference? it is not natural to know this much, to be in the midst of this data influx.

is being offline the new luxury that only rich people can afford?

If you run a small business, chances are you can’t afford to be offline. If you’re trying to build a career on social media because it offers a better work-life balance than the traditional 9-to-5, or if you’re an artist hoping to share your craft, the pressure to stay connected is real. Sometimes it feels like if you’re not online, you can’t “make it” (whatever that even means). In today’s world, if it isn’t posted, does it even exist?

But here’s the thing: you don’t have to abandon social media completely to experience the joy of missing out. You just need to recognize when enough is enough (and that’s something I’m still figuring out myself.)

I crave being chronically offline. I want to be blissfully unaware of viral videos, to feel lost when people drop online references, and to shrug when I don’t understand the latest meme. Because honestly who cares? Life happens beyond the screen, and I want to be present for that. i also think the coolest and chicest people I have ever met, are not even online, they fully live in the real world.

Yes, I’ll dip in and out of social media on my own terms. I’ll set boundaries that protect my peace like keeping notifications permanently silenced, deleting apps for several days each week, and curating what I consume so it aligns with my interests instead of drowning in an endless, uncontrolled stream of content.

Social media should serve me, not the other way around. I want to engage with purpose, not out of habit. I want my time online to feel intentional, not compulsive. Because when I choose what enters my mind, I choose the quality of my life. Which nowadays feels like a luxury not everyone has access to.

Forget chasing designer clothes, the newest heels, or the latest luxury bags. The ultimate status symbol today is the freedom of not needing to be online. True luxury is owning your time, owning your thoughts, and protecting your peace of mind.

In a world that constantly demands your attention, disconnecting is the rarest privilege. It’s the ability to step away from the noise and reclaim the quiet. No algorithm, no trend, no viral moment can compete with the richness of being fully present.

I deleted TikTok again (for a couple of days), I can hear myself again. But i know i’ll be back and my thoughts will be clouded again.