Hello. Thank you for sharing this. :) I found the essay really thoughtful, especially because it doesn’t romanticize “going offline” as some simple individual choice. I like how you framed it as something structural as well—how offline spaces, leisure, and even boredom used to be more naturally available before everything became mediated through screens and platforms.
I also relate a lot to the difficulty of actually disconnecting. Sometimes I realize I’m not even actively enjoying being online, yet being offline still feels strangely unsettling. Your writing captured that ambivalence very well.
Hi! Thank you for writing that. It's part of what I'm trying to highlight with the series. When it comes to our relationship with tech, oftentimes it gets framed as an individual issue. So, when we find ourselves having difficulties managing our digital habits, there's still so much shame around it, to the point of us not knowing who to talk about it with or how to talk about it, for that matter. I appreciate you sharing what your experience has been like. I, too, find it difficult to entirely disconnect (as evidenced by my replying to this on a Sunday morning!) 😄
I'd also like to say that I have Esther to thank for that framing. Her dissertation explores that ambivalence in so much more depth than this one article could, and, in fact, is a big reason why that issue gets highlighted to begin with.
Thank you for another great piece! Evidently the piece also resonates because I'm yet another screen-addicted internet roamer! But the section on leisure infrastructure is definitely a food for thought. With the waves of neo-liberal privatisation that is happening and how leisure is another political tool, I learned lots from your perspective in highlighting the structural barriers in going offline. And what a reminder too, that lots of things that we take for granted is ultimately a result of someone, somewhere, fighting for it. Looking forward for the next articles!
Thank you for reading! I’m happy the writing resonated. Curious to know what digital-related topics you’re following these days. Maybe I can explore them for future editions!
One topic that came to mind is the rise of prediction markets! I'm half amazed & scared just by how popular it's getting and how its permeating the digital discourse in the US. Would love to see your take on that someday.
Totally relate to feeling lost when I'm not in physical proximity to my phone. It's something I'm trying to practise, having my phone away from me in a different room for extended amounts of time. But it's funny how disorientating it can feel, and how I find myself reaching for it when it's not there unconsciously. Rather scary. But I feel determined to release myself from the codependent relationship I seem to have found myself in with my phone and social media. Thank you for sharing on this topic. I am also looking to write more to this offline movement, especially on our new page, MOSAIC, if you want to check it out :)
Hello. Thank you for sharing this. :) I found the essay really thoughtful, especially because it doesn’t romanticize “going offline” as some simple individual choice. I like how you framed it as something structural as well—how offline spaces, leisure, and even boredom used to be more naturally available before everything became mediated through screens and platforms.
I also relate a lot to the difficulty of actually disconnecting. Sometimes I realize I’m not even actively enjoying being online, yet being offline still feels strangely unsettling. Your writing captured that ambivalence very well.
Hi! Thank you for writing that. It's part of what I'm trying to highlight with the series. When it comes to our relationship with tech, oftentimes it gets framed as an individual issue. So, when we find ourselves having difficulties managing our digital habits, there's still so much shame around it, to the point of us not knowing who to talk about it with or how to talk about it, for that matter. I appreciate you sharing what your experience has been like. I, too, find it difficult to entirely disconnect (as evidenced by my replying to this on a Sunday morning!) 😄
I'd also like to say that I have Esther to thank for that framing. Her dissertation explores that ambivalence in so much more depth than this one article could, and, in fact, is a big reason why that issue gets highlighted to begin with.
Thank you for another great piece! Evidently the piece also resonates because I'm yet another screen-addicted internet roamer! But the section on leisure infrastructure is definitely a food for thought. With the waves of neo-liberal privatisation that is happening and how leisure is another political tool, I learned lots from your perspective in highlighting the structural barriers in going offline. And what a reminder too, that lots of things that we take for granted is ultimately a result of someone, somewhere, fighting for it. Looking forward for the next articles!
Thank you for reading! I’m happy the writing resonated. Curious to know what digital-related topics you’re following these days. Maybe I can explore them for future editions!
One topic that came to mind is the rise of prediction markets! I'm half amazed & scared just by how popular it's getting and how its permeating the digital discourse in the US. Would love to see your take on that someday.
Totally relate to feeling lost when I'm not in physical proximity to my phone. It's something I'm trying to practise, having my phone away from me in a different room for extended amounts of time. But it's funny how disorientating it can feel, and how I find myself reaching for it when it's not there unconsciously. Rather scary. But I feel determined to release myself from the codependent relationship I seem to have found myself in with my phone and social media. Thank you for sharing on this topic. I am also looking to write more to this offline movement, especially on our new page, MOSAIC, if you want to check it out :)