I’m Coming to the Cottage (Not *That* Cottage)

Social Media Detoxes + Retreating to Live Under a Rock

Once in college, I had a communications class where the professor challenged us students to go a week without using the internet, with the  exception of completing + submitting assignments. We could call people, but no texting or FaceTime. If we preferred, we could type our notes, a “journal” of sorts, or we could write them out by hand. 

I chose to write them by hand + as a fairly introverted bookworm, honestly, I didn’t have much trouble. I could still call my mom + see my friends in real life. Maybe I lost a Snapchat streak or two, but I was at the point where it stopped being *a thing* anyway (one guy in my writing class even wrote an essay called “Losing Streak” about how pointless + disingenuous such streaks had become). Also, yes, I am Gen Z, clearly. 

I actually had so little trouble staying off my phone that I worried my professor would think I was just straight-up lying to her. So, I included in my reflection that I thought the reason I struggled less than others (probably) was that my family had a lake house with no internet connection. 

While I’m sure spending time at the lake house helped, I also think I was at a time in my life where I was craving isolation from the online world as well. Most college students are glued to their phones, constantly checking texts + social media notifications. I’m not saying I wasn’t either – just that I wasn’t constantly.

Especially now, I can look back + acknowledge that I was not having the best time. I had a roommate who was driving me up the wall + a strong urge to run back to my room at my parents’ house + transfer to online school instead. 

I graduated from high school at the start of peak Covid times. I finished my high school classes online + started my college career online too. In fact, I spent the first whole year of college in my (aforementioned) bedroom logging on to Zoom for class. I won’t say I thought online class was better, because for many it was much worse, but it was definitely a big shift to go from not seeing any classmates beyond a little box on my computer screen to living with someone (my first time sharing a room since I can remember) + being surrounded by students who – no offense – were *crazy* + wanted to make up for lost time. 

I’m not a big party person. I don’t really love crowds. I basically spent the whole “no internet” week in my room, reading + avoiding talking to anyone. That was pretty much my typical week, actually. I just had a ready-made excuse this time instead of having to feign exhaustion or lie about having “sooo much work” that I couldn’t go out. 

Now, I’ve made it to the other side. I was able to snag a single the next year (campus provided housing, but off of main campus, the perfect amount of distance from everyone else) + then graduated. Yay!

After graduation, I went home for a while to find a job + now here I am. I work in social media + marketing, but I don’t spend my whole life plugged in. Sure, I scroll on Instagram reels sometimes, but I deleted TikTok, + honestly, YouTube is my platform of choice. Perhaps the year + a half spent locked in my house with only the internet to keep me company allowed me to get the urge to scroll out of my system. Most of my nights consist of watching a show (or YouTube), reading, + bed. Literally, that’s it. The *most* wild child alive, ladies + gentlemen. 

Of course, there’s the occasional deviation from this schedule, but it’s typically so I can see my friends in real life – not so I can talk to + look at strangers online. I actually think I have a fairly good grasp on how social media impacts my life. I know that even if I’m not on it all that much, it still does. After all, I spent my middle school years binging YouTube, scrolling on Instagram, + watching videos on Musical.ly + Vine. Of course social media still impacts me – I spent my socially formative years on it. It doesn’t consume my life, though. I don’t care if my Instagram post gets 2 likes or 200.

Thinking back on Walden + the Transcendentalists, the older I get + the more time I spend online, the more I understand Thoreau + Emerson. Talk about things that would put people in a coma – the performative, parasocial validation-seeking posts on social media would certainly cause Emerson to have a complete breakdown. 

A social media detox may not be the right path for everyone, though. A recent study found that the impacts of a social media detox differ greatly from person to person. For me, I really think it’s all about moderation + remembering that social media is never a true depiction of reality. The week-long detox was an experience I still find myself thinking back on though (clearly) + don’t think I’d mind trying again so long as I had some friends by my side. 

Basically, what I’m saying is, I would be down to go live in a cottage in the woods with no social media – if not entirely no internet – at least for a little bit. Maybe I’d want to bring some stuff with me instead of making everything like Thoreau, but the principle is similar. Unplugging, connecting more with nature. Call it Walden, glamping style. So, will you come to my cottage this summer?*

*No hockey players or Bridgertons included in this offer.