And I quit social media

*Here lies another piece of creative writeup, penned in December for a college competetion. 

A little parasite living in our bodies, sucking up the nutrition and blood, and I can't control it. Or like a cigarette, whose smoke, when inhaled deeply, penetrates the lungs and gives exhilaration. Yes, the smoke is harming you and the ones around you, but you can't stop it. This is how I was. Neck-deep in a world full of content, making me feel discontented, the world of flashy pictures and selfies and vivid landscapes existing just within the seven inches of the screen in my hand. It was my dopamine, but the one which made me a maniac. This necessity of mine, my drug, was social media, the bridge to the world of loneliness. The thing that made me antisocial. And this has been my life for many long years, made shorter by my endless scrolling habit.

So, a few days ago, there has been a raging fire-like gossip. Maya told me about this. A scientist was successful in creating a portal taking you to the land of the past, enabling you to live in the stories you grew up listening to. This got me curious, so I contacted the scientist, which I was able to do after a whole month of desperate search. And I requested him to let me try the portal, as there was a requirement for human trials, and I was pretty bored with my life too. So, we scheduled a meetup, and the next thing I knew, I was on my way to Geneva.

It was a very long day, and finally, the moment arrived. Dr. Radhakrishnan, the man who made it possible, was standing in front of me. Being a biochemist myself, I wasn't able to understand the hardcore quantum physics he started talking about, but I was very curious as we visited the portal. He made it very clear not to touch anything. But I, being the impatient one, was so fascinated by that big red button that I went and touched it, without realizing that I was standing on a big 'X'.

Now, all I remember or saw last was Dr. Radhakrishnan shouting no with his mouth wide open, and every pixel of reality around me turned into grains, shiny, vivid, and bright. And just like the puzzle pieces arranged together, they all associate again, just as they dissociated, to form a beautiful world around me, lavish green, vibrant. But hey, where was I? I was very confused, scared, excited, and a bit sad. My veins carry the feeling of regret. So, I moved forward as it all stabilized, and I looked around me. There were these old houses, endless green farms, plowed by bullocks, everyone wearing khadi and Nehru topi. And voila, I understood, I was transported to old India in 1965. So, this is how I ended up in a strange place in the past, and I quit social media, my soul-sucker, my drug, my dopamine.

Seeing the new world where I couldn't understand many things became very intimidating, but that was the world where my people still used to come together for family dinners and eat meals without worrying about that perfect shot of the dish to post. That was the world where there were no filters, but the faces of women shined brighter than ever when they saw their husbands return home; That was the world of love, hope, contentment, joy, and togetherness.

So, my task was then to find myself a 'Roti-Kapada-Makaan,' as I mumbled to myself. I went around and tried talking to a man dressed like everyone was, having a big white mustache. I asked him about how he lived his life and how his every day passed, and this gave me a brief idea of how my life would turn to be in that new world without my phone to scroll.

He went, "Nothing extraordinary, but I wake up at four, go to work at the school where I teach, come back, read, sleep, meet new people to share my ideas, and we sleep and repeat."

Oh okay, that was a bit boring, I told myself, but then again, look at me now!

Now, in 1960s India, I am living a life free of social media, away from my loved ones, where I teach high school students biology. My every day is a challenge as I present the students with the then-contemporary inventions and watch their eyes glimmer. I teach them, find contentment in their eyes, and in the evening, I meet fellow scientists and teachers to share ideas. It is so vibrant that it gives me a new reason to wake up every day. While going back home in the evening, I no longer scroll but sing along with my students as we follow the trail in between the green lush field with yellow flowers of mustard. I relearned here to appreciate the beautiful landscapes around me, to connect with people without texting them, relearned to laugh my heart out, live and grow young every single day.

Yes, I feel like I want to go back sometimes, but this world is just so contenting in itself that I can't help but fall in love with the joy of existence without the virtual world that we created.

Social media has its boons, but it is enabled for us only when used in moderation, and here, in its absence too, I am contented, happy, and thriving. Communication would've been so much easier, but the quality of the talks I have here leaves me with no regrets.

So, this is how I came out of my addiction as I quit social media after teleporting to an unknown land in the past where I, a 30-year-old, built my career again and learned to live anew.