There is still hope.

At the end of 2025, I sat on the subway doom scrolling, bubbling over with anxiety and on the verge of a panic attack at the state of the world. I put my phone down and without realising it, I had picked it up 10 seconds later and resumed my addiction. This is without a doubt, an addiction. The fact that there are apps to lock us out of social media apps, because we can't seem to function without our fix of daily comparison and/or overwhelming news cycles.

It was in that moment of sheer panic and complete despair for the state of the world, I decided to delete all social media apps from my phone and I have not looked back. In fact, I have not missed it one bit. Now I'm free from the burden of highlight reels, I am able to comprehend just how much of a toxic web the social media world is. How much it is rotting our brains, and disconnecting us from the world around us. Everywhere I go, I notice people aren't able to walk down the street without scrolling on instagram, or be in a social group activity without phones in hand and heads down. We cannot seem to function without the safety blanket of our phones in hand, like a pacifier when discomfort arrives, we can numb out with a quick fix of social media scrolling.

Now I no longer rely on social media to distract me from my own thoughts and discomfort, I find myself being open to the world once more. Sometimes it's confronting living in NYC, there is a lot that goes on in this city and very often, it is easier to just zone out. But just as social media is training our brains to see everything that's potentially "bad" in the world, I have been far more open to see the beauty that still exists all around us.

I was on the subway and as I didn't have my head buried in my phone I witnessed so much beauty in our shared humanity. It started with one passenger letting another know that his backpack was wide open and after that encounter they start chatting for the duration of the train ride. Then, an elderly couple got on, there weren't many seats available, but the way we all got up and rearranged so they could sit together was so heartwarming, which resulted in more conversations amongst the passengers. These may seem small and trivial interactions, but when you're amongst people that seem numb to the world, it feels warm and fuzzy to see people interacting in such a way. It truly was such a joyful carriage to be on that day.

Recently, while I was walking my dog, Frankie, I saw an elderly man with a walking stick stop and look at something on the footpath. I noticed it was an injured bird, I observe as he awkwardly bends down, navigating his ageing body, to pick the bird up in his hands, and as he does so he has a lovely conversation with the injured bird, letting it know that he will place it in a tree and that he hopes that's ok. This beautiful man had acknowledged the sacredness in all living beings and had gone out of his way to protect this little creature. My heart completely melted!

There have been so many other beautiful moments I've witnessed, not to mention the onset of spring, the blooming of flowers and the trees coming back to life, it's almost as though without my mind being numbed by my phone, my eyes are able to see the world in technicolour once more.

I share this not to gloat or to tell everyone to get off social media, but perhaps, to lift your eyes away from your screens more often and reconnect with the beauty that still exists in our shared humanity. There is so much to witness. Good people exist, community is all around and life can feel ecstatic if you truly connect and become present.