A couple in 2019 is just disposable love. We love each other, we use each other, we wear each other out, and then we toss each other aside once we get tired of one another. The immediacy of the world we live in has a lot to do with it. Everything is disposable—just two clicks and a swipe. You get tired of being so close to the same person day after day—the one you see from every angle, including their less-than-glamorous sides.
What do we do in the meantime? We open our cell and shut ourselves away in this world of infinite possibilities. We have access to life more cool other people who are more cool who we flash Dream vacations, dream bodies, their glamorous outings, their haute cuisine—so visually perfect that you don't even want to eat it!
It’s definitely true that when I compare my phone screen to my reality, I feel like I’m missing out on my life. I look at my list of boring to-dos: it’s a far cry from the thrill of backpack in Indonesia! My curiosity piqued, I keep scrolling through the 2.0 profiles of strangers with their fake breasts or beards trendy from the Plateau, looking for something fun to do. The more I scroll, the more irritated I get. Even that isn't enough anymore to satisfy my need for escape and intensity.
I watch the photos scroll by, lingering on them—more and more. With the filters, the angles, the fake smiles, the truth hits me: it’s all interned. It’s right then, as I look away from my screen, that I realize I’m actually losing the present moment. So I shut off my phone with its world of illusions and go start my load of dark laundry.