3 posts published by Mehret Biruk during November 2022| time spent offline
2 posts published by Mehret Biruk during September 2020| time spent offline
3 posts published by Mehret Biruk during April 2024| time spent offline
I love it here. No, not here here but this little life of mine that the world said was impossible. Impossible to disconnect, impossible to unplug, impossible to spend time offline. And do what? Too…| time spent offline
This past weekend, I get a text from a friend asking to send her a picture of myself. I jokingly reply, “you got a man for me?” and I send her a photo anyway. It’s a selfie anothe…| time spent offline
It surprises me how much I know. Maybe it’s years of scrounging the Internet for answers. Maybe it was that Media Literacy course I paid way too much money for: In fact, I’m still making paym…| time spent offline
On a more practical and less preachy note, I wanted to share a list of tips, tools, and tricks I have used in the past and still use to unplug, disconnect, and spend more time offline. It is by no …| time spent offline
4 posts published by Mehret Biruk during March 2023| time spent offline
Bundle up and gather around, I got a two-word horror story to tell: It snowed. It’s not that I hate winter. It’s just that I hate four hours of daylight and deadly icy sidewalks, and of course, the…| time spent offline
As is with most things in life, spending time offline just takes getting used to. And I know a thing or two about getting used to. Getting used to a new country, a new language, a new city, a new l…| time spent offline
Life is not rocket science; it really doesn’t take a genius. By a rough estimation based solely on my own lived experience and precise feminine intuition, you can solve about 72 to 82 per cent of your current life problems by going offline. Just Walk Away From The Screen. Close Your Eyes. No social media, […]| time spent offline
time spent offline isn’t for everyone. In fact, it is for a very select few; with a large appetite for life. It takes a large appetite to decide to go against the grain, the status quo, what they say is just life now, ya know, and say, NO, THANK YOU. It takes a large, large, […]| time spent offline
“So,” she says with anticipation and a playful smile. I’m so used to this question, exacerbated, I respond on autopilot: It is so hard to meet men! “What?!” She says incredulously as she looks around, “But men are everywhere?!” It’s a beautiful summer evening. We’re seated on a patio in the bustling St. Lawerence Market […]| time spent offline
Growing up was easy. By 15, I bury the child, declare independence— to no one in particular, and I split. I ran for thirteen years: In circles, up and down, back and forth; sideways. There were the men, the drugs, the alcohol, of course. And when I got scared of the chaos, the vultures, there […]| time spent offline
When I was in high school, I used to get sent to the principle’s office regularly for wearing inappropriate clothes; Shorts and skirts that made the male teachers uncomfortable, the women seethe— Just kidding! but otherwise I was a good, fairly smart, and engaged student in one of the worst high schools in the city […]| time spent offline
It’s funny the things you can get used to. I used to wake up to Twitter, the avatars shouting their grievances at me first thing in the morning; Open my eyes, reach under, beside, on top of the pillow until I felt it: Hard, flat, cool— Tap, tap, tap, tap; slide, slide; tap. For years, […]| time spent offline
Let’s try this thing again. And the thing about time spent offline is that you know what to do, you just don’t do it, or you don’t do it enough, or you do it for a bit but then you inevitably find yourself back in the rabbit hole of bottomless Instagram reels and clever Reddit […]| time spent offline
Every U.S. election cycle, even as a Canadian, I am utterly delighted to not be on social media. One reason I quit the news, amongst many other reasons, is that I hate being blatantly lied to. In fact, I respect clever lies; I work with teenagers and I am delighted by their ingenious lies to […]| time spent offline
I turn 30 this month. With age, I have become less volatile, more sentimental. “The dots connect looking back,” he tells me over our drinks, blabbering to amuse ourselves; he’s quoting Steve …| time spent offline
(Sorry, social media followers don’t count.) Accept failure. I’m browsing at my favourite shop with my best friend. “Girl, look at you!” I look up beaming. Compliments from …| time spent offline
2022 beat my ass. I aged ten years in two weeks, what did you accomplish? Getting offline won’t save you from yourself, that’s lesson one. Nothing will save your from yourself, except m…| time spent offline
When we demonize our smartphones, we are using them as a scapegoat for the real issue: real life is complex, difficult and challenging, and we want to escape.| time spent offline
In 1997, Michael H. Goldhaber penned in Wired magazine, “the currency of the New Economy won’t be money, but attention,” proposing “a radical theory of value.” [1] The article was…| time spent offline
Some evenings, filled with terror from witnessing another day— time— passing me by nonchalantly, and unwilling to escape my emotional discomfort with Netfixes and digital pacifiers, I turn to my mo…| time spent offline
Recently before bed, I grabbed my laptop to watch something until I could fall asleep and in the midst of the British version of The Office playing (the only version available on Kanopy) it dawned …| time spent offline
The benefits of reading are countless and impressive. Reading involves several of our brain functions, including visual and auditory processes, phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension. …| time spent offline
2024 Unplugged & Unmedicated (No correlation) Is time spent offline for you? ♡ cuffing season ♡ The Wo(Man) in the Mirror Let’s get personal! You; Sitting With Yourself Let’s get phys…| time spent offline
I write this post with delight. The day is still young— 10:18am on a Saturday to be exact. I sit at one of the computers at the public library and write these words. Before this, I have already had…| time spent offline
Nothing fun happens on the internet, so I learn little by little, I get used to getting used to. I get used to spending weekday evenings out and about because the alternative isn’t a social m…| time spent offline
I made this list for anyone who is also bored and tired of the average things to do offline lists cluttering Google. I know who writes those lists: Just between you and I, *whispers,* ChatGPT. *Shu…| time spent offline
I am on the Internet. In fact, I write this blog post and publish it online to share with whoever may read it because of the Internet. My work, an absolute dream come true, also requires me to be o…| time spent offline
Why stop at the wolves? And I’m just thinking out loud, last minute musings, late night rants, cursing the internet— no, not this internet— for changing so fast, so quick, so suddenly; abando…| time spent offline
I recently bought an analog alarm clock in a desperate attempt to fix my sleep schedule. “Did it wake you up?” I asked innocently; “It woke the neighbors up,” he responded. …| time spent offline
The real challenge is always showing up in the world in a way that aligns with what we desire for our living. If you want to live in community, it will take deliberate practice and effort. There wo…| time spent offline
Things fall apart. “I am so happy I’m not on social media!” I practically yell it out. We are at our usual spot drinking and chatting. I’m venting; I cannot believe my luck. In August I left …| time spent offline
Understanding digital tools don’t cause our digital addiction is one thing. The attention economy is a whole other beast. There is not enough willpower in the world to avoid the constant inst…| time spent offline
“Whagwan, sweetie!” It’s a Friday night, I’m downtown walking to catch the streetcar while fumbling with the Hoopla app on my phone to find a song that has randomly started playing in m…| time spent offline
Attention is a hot commodity in the new economy: The new economy doesn’t want your money— Just your attention. Mark Zuckerberg wants your attention. Elon Musk wants your attention. And even t…| time spent offline
All my dreams came true this year. I even met someone offline. I loved hearing him tell the story: “We were at a comedy show and there is this woman heckling from the sides.” I smile coyly. I am th…| time spent offline
All addiction is escapism. The first time I hear you can smoke inside the casino Downtown Detroit, I can’t believe my ears. “You’re lying,” I say to him in disbelief. HeR…| time spent offline
“I wouldn’t stand there if I were you,” I’m waiting for the streetcar with my AirPods blasting Drake. I pull one of them out instinctively; the music pauses and I step off t…| time spent offline
“Babe, what’s the passcode?” I ask coyly. I’m prepared for war if I don’t get what I want: The passcode I asked him to set to turn my smartphone into a dumb phone, and…| time spent offline
Get in loser, we’re going offline! time spent offline, the Substack newsletter, turns three today! 🎉 Since talk is cheap, and all writing really is is just blah, blah, blah, blah, blah— trust…| time spent offline
As someone who has spent the better part of the past six years without social media, I can make bold claims like most of us would be better off if social media didn’t exist: Socially, psychological…| time spent offline