“Should we just delete everything?”
The Roman Forum
This question came into my line of site when I was riding a bus in Florence, packed like a sardine, looking out the window. My first instinct was to take a photo of it, but I quickly realized that was against the whole point. Someone had painted a mural of a black phone, with a simple red trashcan in the bottom right corner, with the words “SHOULD WE JUST DELETE EVERYTHING?” hovering above it.
I have been carrying this heavy question with myself since seeing it, and it fills my brain with many thoughts; what’s the point of tainting all these precious moments with our phones, sending snapchats, live streaming, posting stories? Why don’t we just live in the moment? Why do we need social media to document our lives? Are we really more connected with each other through social media, or is it dividing us? Is this just about social media, or about hoarding media? Do I really need 33,000 photos on my phone?
Refraining from using my phone in Italy was the best thing I could do for myself and my anxiety. I journaled about my trip on the (many) trains instead of scrolling through Pinterest, I used my shiny new Fujifilm to take the majority of photos and videos instead of my crappier iPhone camera, I sought connections with new folks I met by asking for life advice instead of asking for their Instagram handle. More on that soon.
Here are some photos to recap:
Ferrari simulator selfie inside the Enzo Ferrari museum in Modena (totally fangirled over the Leclerc and Sainz pictures… We miss you Carlos </3)
Visiting the pasta shop from Master of None, one of Jimmy’s favorite shows, in Modena
Taking selfies in a blooming field in a beautiful botanical garden in Florence
Climbing to the top of the duomo in Florence (yep, all 463 steps) for a gorgeous pink sunset
Road-tripping through Tuscany and visiting San Gimignano, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Wandering through the streets of Siena and stumbling across this incredible view of the city
Visiting the Colosseum, a total bucket-list item
Relaxing in our beautiful hostel in Zagarolo, outside Rome
Our stay at our hostel in Zagarolo was especially sweet. Our hosts were so kind, the other guests were so much fun, and we all bonded over our shared love of animals, as the hostel was, naturally, on a farm. 2 donkeys, 4 goats, 16 (yes, SIXTEEN) cats, and 2 dogs. On our last day there, after strapping up our work boots to feed the donkeys and goats (and clean their sh!t), the hosts took everyone staying there out on an adventure. We went to get breakfast where I had the best goddamn croissant of my life (and I don’t even like croissants), to a farmer’s market where we met a vegan dude who made delicious nutritional, sustainable, and slave labor-free chocolate, and then on a impromptu walking tour of Zagarolo. This was hands-down the best day of our trip. The people, the location, the vibes, everything was IMMACULATE. Pictures below, all from the same jam-packed day!
In short: I had insanely delicious food, including gelato that I can’t stop daydreaming about, got a lot of steps in — ~20,000 a day, give or take, bought a bunch of fridge magnets and keychains, and was truly living a blissful fairy tale as I got to forget about the stresses of work and day-to-day life.
These photos take me back to that trip — every day there felt infinitely long, as I was constantly in a state of awe at everything and seeing new sights and eating new foods and meeting new people every day. No two days were the same. If I deleted everything, I feel like I’d delete those memories from my brain, too.
But, I do believe there are some things we truly just should stay away from. The endless scrolling, status updates, posts. Unless you’re making a living from social media, I don’t see a point to perfecting your feed to impress your friends/enemies/crushes/whatever. I think humanity would be better off seeking connection in more primitive ways than the internet, but alas, our smartphones have us in a chokehold.
An example of connection-seeking that I love: I went on this trip with an empty journal, with the first page titled “What advice would you give your younger self?”. Jimmy and I asked strangers we befriended to fill in as little or as much as they’d like with their thoughts, and every person we asked excitedly wrote their two cents. It was a needed reminder that we are all much more similar than we think, when it feels like everyone in the world is butting heads. The advice I got in that journal is advice I will carry with myself for a long time.
I’m back in Maryland now, back using social media like I never stopped. I’m looking at IG every day (on my laptop because I don’t have the app… which somehow feels worse), constantly refreshing my screen time timer on Snapchat, watching YouTube tutorials for things I will never do, not to mention reading theories on Reddit and biting my nails waiting for the new episode of White Lotus to come out. But I don’t blame myself for that one…
I want to delete everything. I really do. I’m not even worried about the FOMO. On the surface, it seems like our lives are so interconnected with social media, that a piece of me would almost feel missing if I just deleted all my accounts and I wouldn’t be able to keep in touch with friends. But I know that’s not true! Those that matter can contact me in other ways — and I know I am whole, with or without my phone, with or without these toxic platforms. Deleting everything would be so liberating. No more urges to scroll on YouTube Shorts, no more boredom that results in posting on my Snap story, no more IG on my laptop when my brain is fried.
But… this isn’t a quick fix. When you’re addicted to your phone like we all are, you will use every excuse to just keep it open, opening and closing random apps on end. Erasing social media won’t entirely solve this issue. However, I know that whenever I’m distracted in my environment, I don’t feel these urges. I know this means I need to fill my days with more adventure, with more people, with more doing instead of sitting and waiting for the world. Living my days at home with the same awe that I carried with myself in Italy. Or at least, trying to.
What are your thoughts? Should we really just delete everything? Is it that simple?
Baci e arrivederci,
