With the expansion of social media, society has become addicted to comparison and perfection: “She’s on vacation in Europe,” “They just bought a house together,” “She’s a nice girl, but I follow prettier ones.” It never ends.

Everyone peeks at the highlights of each other’s lives and attaches the glorious pictures to an identity. More often than not, it’s inaccurate and unhealthy to assume that it’s real. This is a point in history where relationships have become transactional, and feelings are slowly being suppressed. 

It is not a personal fault to be jumping from one app to the next for a dopamine rush. After all, there are attention engineers, behavioral scientists and designers and user experience specialists employed to guarantee society’s addiction to devices. What matters more is identifying this addiction and making a conscious effort to improve. Creativity and boredom. That is what must be implemented more frequently in a world of overstimulation.

Don’t think of this as scolding. It’s a gentle reminder that there’s a world to explore beyond technology. Society is being held back from a life worth living. Imagine all of the fantastic achievements that could be made by having control over this fixation. Spending time with loved ones, exercising, traveling, having a successful career — the options are endless. They all start with being more in tune to the real world and not the artificial one. 

As Tom Brady famously said, “To be successful at anything, the truth is, you don’t have to be special. You just have to be what most people aren’t: consistent, determined and willing to work for it.”

How does this translate to ending a dependency on technology? It means taking tiny steps toward a substantial goal and staying consistent. Replacing scrolling with another task is a great place to start. Learn how to play an instrument, read a book, journal or learn how to cook something new. And when engaging in any activities, take time to cherish that experience. Attention spans have shortened drastically and it’s important to savor these moments.

According to a 2024 GlobalWebIndex study, 80% of Gen Z reported strong feelings of loneliness, contributing to the ‘loneliness epidemic’. These results scored significantly higher than all other generations in the study, which is absolutely abysmal. Find hobbies which stimulate brain activity and invite friends to join. Go out to dinner or host. Meet new people through close friends.

Connection is essential!

Here is your new best friend: silence. The world needs more of it. How often do you find yourself listening to music or a podcast? I’m willing to bet it’s more often than you think. The next time you’re doing your morning routine, taking a walk, cooking or cleaning, do it without the noise. Pay attention to only the sounds surrounding you and not what you decide to click.

I highly encourage this not only to regain a sense of peace, but also because outstanding ideas emerge when ruminating in your thoughts.

Thinking critically and building emotional intelligence is significantly easier without the brain rot. The million-dollar idea could be discovered simply because you are beginning to understand the world better. Let that be a possibility for you. Give yourself that chance.

And as your parents say, “PUT THE PHONE DOWN!”