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

I used to think my screen was a mirror.

Every notification ping felt like a knock on my apartment door—someone, somewhere, checking if I’m still here. But the algorithm doesn’t care if you’re real. It only cares about dwell time.

I grew up in Brooklyn watching my mother teach Jamaican folk tales by candlelight while my father coded midnight debug sessions. We never spoke of loneliness—we called it ‘system optimization.’

Today, I see it everywhere: the silent scroll through TikTok feeds where your joy is measured in engagement rates. The ‘like’ is not affection—it’s a metric. The DM is not connection—it’s a loop.

Here’s what the numbers don’t tell you:

1. Your last live stream? It didn’t end because you were tired—it ended because your attention span was exhausted by an AI that optimized for retention.

2. Your ‘follow’ count rose—but your silence grew louder.

3. You joined five communities—but none knew your name.

I used to believe the platform would save me.

It didn’t.

The RNG is fair—but your soul isn’t random.

Try this:

• Turn off auto-play after three consecutive scrolls.
• Delete one app that asks for permission to feel seen.
• Write a letter—to yourself—before posting it.

You don’t need more likes. You need one moment where someone remembers your name—not your handle.