On Monday October 4 2021 around 11:40 A.M Eastern time a global internet outage took place. Social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp all went down leaving users not only confused about what happened but scrambling for others things to do. Many people headed over to competitor platforms such as TikTok and Twitter while others decided to log off and let it be. The outage lasted every bit of about 6 hours or so and during this time a social tide had turned. There was a lot of chatter around the globe about the outage. There were people who had wondered whether or not they forgot someone’s birthday and there were some influencers and advertisers who rely on the platforms that were in the dark about what to do next. But the screams weren’t very loud about it and there didn’t seem to be much panic.
What we witnessed that day were many people taking advantage of the downtime to reflect on how we connect and whether or not we actually need Facebook and Instagram as much as we think after all. The energy around the globe began to gradually shift throughout the day. There was a cheerfulness that reappeared in the digital space we hadn’t experienced in a long time. People were a lot happier. The energy was different. It was almost as if there were a reconciliation of some sort taking place. For nearly seven hours that day, people found a different life. They put their phones down for a brief period to explore time with nature, environment, friends, family and went back to some good old-fashioned book reading. Everyone got to enjoy every single moment to ourselves and each other without uploading, tagging and swiping. Business owners even utilized other ways to connect with their customers.
By the early evening, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were up and running again. While it’s been said that routine maintenance is to blame for the outage, what we got to experience that day was a test of our personal will.
For the first time in a while we were able to enjoy a bit of the golden era of the internet without being bombarded with selfies, rotating ads, political rhetoric, fact-checkers, breaking news, FOMO and COVID-mania. We realized that without the constant reinforcement of a culture where we are told we should care about what’s going on in everybody else’s lives, we can coexist peacefully and still connect to one another. That our true validation comes from our internal experience and the mindfulness of what it means to be present not from arguing our feelings with abstract profiles all day. This made it clear that despite the presence of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and a bevy of other platforms, nothing can ever fully replace natural human connection. It showed that our heavy reliance on social media platforms as a means to connect is merely just an option rather than a necessity. It was the jolt awakening we needed to show us that social media controls about as much success over our lives as we choose to give it.
That says a lot whether we want it to or not.
