Are You Really 'Online'? 5 Signals That Reveal Your Digital Disconnection

I grew up in a Brooklyn apartment where my mother taught me Jamaican proverbs at the kitchen table, and my father coded midnight algorithms on his old Mac. We didn’t have social media—we had silence. Now, I design systems that track your attention like a casino dealer tracking wins: every like is a bet, every DM an empty promise.

I used to think engagement was truth. But platforms now measure your soul in pixels. The ‘Festival’ isn’t fireworks—it’s a live stream where you’re alone with a screen, scrolling past 3 AM while your phone buzzes with notifications no one sent.

Here’s what I learned: You don’t need more followers. You need to be seen—truly seen—before the algorithm decides you’re irrelevant. The data doesn’t lie; it just ignores you.

I’ve watched creators burn out chasing trends: five consecutive posts that got zero replies became their tombstone. Not because they failed—but because the system was designed to make them feel invisible.

The real gamble isn’t in betting on ‘庄’ or ‘闲’. It’s in choosing whether to keep showing up—even when no one’s watching. Your worth isn’t measured in clicks—it’s measured in breaths held during quiet mornings.

Try this: Pause the feed after three silent hours. Turn off notifications for two days. Write something only you would read aloud at 2 AM—and see if anyone still remembers you were here.