I think I need to go offline for a while. Somewhere between blogging, scrolling, creating and constantly thinking about what comes next, I lost track of who I am when nobody’s watching. So I’m logging off a little and trying to find her again.

Some of the safest people I’ve ever known started as usernames on a screen. I’m talking about online friendship, growing apart, finding your way back, and why distance has never made a friendship less real to me.

Everyone says 2016 is back, but 2026 feels more like 2006: messy internet culture, nostalgia, and the strange pull of growing up online again.

Millennials didn’t stop creating, life just got heavy. Jobs, bills, burnout, and mental health pushed a lot of us off the internet for a while. But we still have stories, perspective, and lived experience worth sharing. Maybe it’s time for us to start creating again.

After a burnout break, MJ reflects on how likes and follows have turned into modern social currency—and what it means to find real connection in a world obsessed with digital validation.