On Not Disappearing
Ghost in the Machine: Notes on Digital Existence—an essay
YESTERDAY morning, I was seized by an overwhelming urge to delete my entire online life and escape (with
) to an obscure little village (most likely somewhere in Spain or the south of France) to live an analog life. The realisation struck me—I had maintained a public online presence for 17 years. Weariness had crept in, and if I'm being honest, perhaps even a hint of boredom with it all. But upon further reflection, maybe boredom doesn't quite capture it. It’s more like a sense of ennui. After all, I had signed up for a free Blogger account in 2007—the same year Apple unveiled the iPhone—just to give you a sense of how long ago it was. I was still obsessed with my Blackberry at the time. In internet years, nearly a lifetime has passed.