Is it tough to live without Facebook?

The current political unrest, curfew, and internet blackout have taken people back to analogue days. In particular, consecutive internet blackouts have coerced people to leave virtual life and enter actual life.

Over the past decade, there has been a significant rise in the technology accessible to and utilized by people of all ages. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world, confined to its houses, became more dependent on the Internet.

Everything depended on technology for work, entertainment, or leisure. We now inhabit a digital era, and children are immersed in a world filled with technology and the Internet.

Consequently, today's youngsters are less physically active than previous generations, as devices like computers, smartphones, and televisions promote a sedentary lifestyle.  
We have come to a point where we believe the Internet is everything. Whether significant or not, we must constantly update ourselves with the virtual world. We barely realize how much time we waste, how much energy we lose, and how we develop immense health negativities when plunged into the World Wide Web.

Sizan Ahmed, a private service holder, passed these curfew days reading books. "I don't remember when I finished reading a book thoroughly, but I did it now. I finished reading a 500-word novel. Also, after ages, I have read 2-3 newspapers entirely by hand. I'm happy getting back to my book-reading hobby."

Syeda Tasnim loves to cook new recipes. YouTube was her only reliable source, but now. No matter how she cooked the recipe before, she again used to play it for safety. "Amid this internet blackout, I realized I kept going with the cooking videos unnecessarily. I found myself capable enough to cook with my cooking instinct now. Rather, playing the videos took much more time."

Children are addicted to digital technology, and it can hardly be stopped. Due to their academic needs and assignments, internet usage is a must. Even playing mobile games in their leisure has become their favourite pastime.

Now, amid these circumstances, they are seen leaning over, reading books, doing arts and painting, and playing with neighbours on the rooftop or in the garage.

Rasel Zaman, a private banker, is a father of two. "My school-going daughter is now bored without a phone in hand. She is seen reading books to cut off her boredom, and both parents are so happy. My younger notorious son, who is more addicted to virtual life and plays games on the phone, is now playing more with neighbouring kids. He has also developed an interest in gardening with his mother."

There are so many things to do to keep your phone idle. Different studies have found that people have a minimal attention span, which is minimized due to using mobile phones and watching social media content.

Learn more by reading books, journals, and newspapers in hand, not pdf. Taking a book in hand, reading it with total concentration, with a dim lamp beside or in the dusk, will make you content.

Invest your time in gardening. The green leafy plants, budding flowers, and the smell of wetlands will satisfy your heart. When did you last take the crayons in hand if you are a painter?

Digital art is good, but nothing beats handmade paintings. Do some sketching, watercolour or oil painting, and keep yourself busy doing something that naturally comes from within.

You must have written dairy daily in childhood; do you do it now? If not, why not start today? Do not open the notes or any dairy apps. Instead, purchase a fancy notebook and pen and start your journal now!

Even chatting with your family, siblings, or friends over coffee in hand on the rooftop or balcony is more enchanting than chatting over Messenger or WhatsApp.

We almost forgot to play Ludo, Monopoly, and Carom with our cousins, but we have found peace in playing these on the phone. So, once again, go to the shops to purchase childhood games and play with your loved ones.

Keep yourself updated with information from the Internet, but try to do things yourself, using your ideas and taking full advantage of your hands, legs, and brain.

Virtual life is not everything; actual life is. Invest more into it. And remember, it's easy to live without Facebook; you have already lived it. Once again, could you read my article?

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