The internet doesn’t care that you’re aware. It only cares that you’re present.

Hi, my name is Zay. My addiction to social media began 30 years ago when my family got a new computer and we connected that f*cker to America Online for the very first time. From that point on, I was hooked on the fact that I could communicate with people across the country and the world. Back then, the internet felt pure…even if my elders then thought that everyone on the internet was a lunatic waiting to kidnap me or kill me or some other twisted Lifetime movie plot.

After living a childhood free of digital tech, I came of age and evolved as an adult just as social media was birthed in the form of AOL Chatrooms and Yahoo Messenger. It was a glorious time of innocent fun and lustful ambitions. In some ways, I feel my generation is responsible for what the internet has become — which is a toxic ass digital black hole of misinformation and downright human fuckery. Whereas there was a point when the internet made the world smaller and easier for us to connect with people different than ourselves, that time is pretty much gone…or overshadowed by the fact that the internet is now an infinite fight for your attention — no matter the cost.

Sure. There is still plenty of good out there in cyberspace. I get my chuckles and creative buttons pushed by truly interesting content. But lots of that…