Introduction to the Overload of the Digital World

Notification after notification after notification.

Our attention: constantly being demanded by screens, devices, and social media.

Technology’s exponential growth and development over the last 30 years has resulted in one of history’s most ironic juxtapositions. What has the ability to connect the farthest of people — over the deepest seas and highest mountains, has undoubtedly conditioned them to forget about this wonderful nature in between.

As a result, digitization with a purpose to connect has actually disconnected us from one another, and our natural surroundings.

So what happens when we step away from it all?

Silence and nature have now become antidotes to counterbalance this digital overwhelm.

Why is that so?

The Simple Luxury of Disconnecting

Paddling out to the surf as the sun rises, feeling the grains of sand in between your toes on an empty beach, and gazing at a star-filled night sky whilst telling stories by the flickering light of a bonfire.

How did that make you feel?

I could make a guess and say there was maybe a feeling of longing, a spark of excitement, and a touch of melancholy.

This is because we are revisiting what it is to be rooted and close to nature — what it means to be human. Unfortunately, what was once our default setting has now become a rare luxury. To connect to a moment in time with the absence of Wi-Fi and technology offers us a break from the rush of modern-day society — an experience that we have somehow found ourselves craving.

The ability to free our bodies and minds from the clutter and noise of “modern living” is now a valuable form of joy and pleasure.

What’s baffling is that we may now need to be able to access and afford modern forms of luxury in order to obtain this experience — this experience to get away from it all.

Paying for Peace: The Cost of Off-Grid Escapes

Surf retreats, camping trips, and no-tech experiences have surged in the last decade as people seek out moments of peace; moments like the one I described above. Slow and quiet escapes from a fast and noisy life.

And the irony continues to flow throughout this piece as humans now pay for simplicity in a world that offers endless access to overabundance.

Modern-day entertainment is our living world translated through the human touch. And so when tech is stripped down to its inspiration and purpose, only nature and people remain.

This begs the question: Why do we pay for something that is essentially the basic building blocks of life and entertainment itself?

Entertainment as Dessert: Reimagining Joy

Modern entertainment comes served as a sugary dessert — often overindulgent, overdone, and overly available. Whilst the ‘basic’ forms of entertainment such as sand castle building, storytelling, and riding waves have become the gourmet treats of life. Simple yet deeply satisfying.

It’s like paying for grandma’s apple crumble at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.

Indulging in that homemade desert, much like being silent with nature, is an experience that leaves our souls replenished and our minds clear as they allow us to connect to the simple pleasures of life, and reminds us of the little magic slices of what it means to be human. The satisfaction of synchronizing with something pure, raw, wild, or unpredictable cannot be duplicated in the overwhelming options of digital entertainment.

Nature is the ultimate provider of entertainment and joy. And though modern-day technology aims to achieve the same, the fact that it is curated to be addictive and pushed onto us by algorithms strips it of authenticity — An element that does not fail to be served by the natural environment.

Conclusion: The Call of Simplicity

So, if peace and serenity are what we truly seek, why have we created a world that provides us with a non-stop feed of the opposite?

Why have we not created a world where we can be satisfied day to day?

If we pay to feel the rhythm of the waves, to feast our eyes on an unfiltered sky, and to find peace through embracing silence, why is this not the reality that we live in?

- Kayli Wouters

What’s your reality?