🌫️ On daydreaming (and the things that took its place)
Yesterday, I wrote a note about how daydreaming used to be a superpower — back in the early internet era, when everything crawled along at kilobytes per second.
I could swear that the internet helped fuel our imagination and dreams rather than crippled them.
Daydreaming ☁️
It was frowned upon in school, of course.
“Pay attention.”
“Stop staring into space.”
THEY always wanted to kill that aspect of our humanity, didn't they?
And THEY did. (or WE did?)
It feels like daydreaming barely exists anymore.
Not because it’s forbidden — but because there’s no room left for it.
Just constant stimulation. Constant scrolling. Constant brain rot.
I don’t want to be that adult who says “back in our day”…
but I guess this is a phase everyone eventually enters.
🌳 The Dream Cult (Elementary School Edition)
Because back in my elementary days, my friends and I started a dream cult.
We’d roam the campus giving offerings to Talisay trees, convinced they’d grant us supernatural powers in return. We believed this fully.
We’d sneak into the library and nap together, certain we could meet in the astral plane and unravel the hidden mysteries of our school.
Sometimes we’d run treasure hunts between the shelves, hoping to find a magical book — or a map that would lead us somewhere wondrous.
(kinda sad that we're adults now with more resources than we ever did but with less gusto for finding the magic that we once sought)
❓ So… Can We Bring It Back?
Our internet died for two days recently — and now it’s back.
Along with our collective brain-rotting illnesses. 😅
But during those two days, it didn’t disappear completely.
It hovered in that strange liminal bandwidth:
400 kbps to 1 Mbps.
Just slow enough that reels wouldn’t load.
Just slow enough that reading felt easier than waiting.
But not so slow that we were totally cut off from the world.
And somehow… that did the trick. 🪄
🔒 Hostage Internet
I know there’s probably an app out there already —
one that holds social media hostage.
Makes videos load for five minutes before you’re allowed to watch.
Maybe that’s the key.
Not total disconnection.
Not going full monk-mode. (although, this could still do more wonders.)
Just enough friction to let boredom back in.
Just enough silence for daydreaming to seep through the cracks.
🧠 A Small, Honest Admission
I genuinely enjoyed the past few days.
Daydreaming.
Reading.
Writing.
All because the internet limped instead of sprinted.
Sometimes I picture the internet as a modern-day Cthulhu —
tentacles everywhere, infinite, sliding through our screens,
suckers pressed to our eyeballs, quietly siphoning off wonder, imagination, and daydreams.
Maybe it is. 🐙
Posting this makes me feel old lol