If you know the gesture for "six seven" (whatever that means), ever described someone as having "negative aura," or instinctively sent a viral reaction GIF instead of using plain old emojis, there's a good chance you spend... a considerable chunk of your free time on the internet. In other words, you're "chronically online"—so much so that you speak almost entirely in slang and no one else understands you except for those who are also chronically online.
And we get it. Between work obligations, social media habits, and the general pull of entertainment platforms, it's easy to find yourself more plugged in than you'd like to admit. While it's fun to stay in the loop and understand the latest viral TikTok trend or X/Twitter meme, being a little too deep in the feed might not be all that good for your well-being, so it's important to know how you can pull back without feeling like you're missing out.
If You Know All the Lingo... You Might Be Cooked
One of the clearest signs of being chronically online is fluency in internet slang that most people outside of certain corners of the web simply wouldn't recognize. If you're using the terms "lock in," "clock that tea," "the one and only 24K gold Labubu," "ate and left no crumbs," and, of course, the dreaded "six seven" in casual conversation, you might be "cooked." Sure, it's nice to know all the slang that's circulating these days, especially among the younger generations, but using these expressions in everyday speak is a pretty telltale sign you practically live on the internet. (Well, that, or you have a Gen Z or Gen Alpha sibling.)
It goes beyond slang, too. Another evident sign you're chronically online? You know all the reaction GIFs that are currently trending. From clips of American streamer IShowSpeed to the blank stare of B.O.B., the blue gelatinous blob from Monsters vs. Aliens, internet speak isn't just confined to words, because some reactions are better expressed with memes. The fact that you might already know exactly which GIFs are being referenced here is telling enough.
And since more slang terms and trends are constantly being created almost every day on social media platforms like TikTok, if you know to update your vocabulary bank to the latest viral expressions, you're probably far too invested in what goes on online. Are you familiar with the Say the Word on Beat game? The "Ask an Axolotl" song? "Nothing Beats a Jet2 Holiday"? Yeah, it's probably time to put the phone down.
The Real Cost of Too Much Screen Time
And yet, while spending excessive time online can be fun in the moment, it can also have negative effects on your mental and physical health. Research has consistently linked high social media use to increased rates of anxiety, depression, and poor sleep quality, particularly among younger users. The constant stream of content—much of it designed to provoke an emotional reaction—keeps your nervous system in a low-grade state of stimulation that can be difficult to wind down from.
Productivity is another area that tends to suffer. It's not hard to see why. If you have your phone in front of you while doing work or school assignments, the chances of you abandoning the task at hand to scroll through TikTok, X/Twitter, or Instagram instead are pretty much 100%. Humans are horrible at multitasking, after all, so if you're already someone who's chronically online, you're probably more likely to stick to those habits. Before you know it, it's 11 p.m., and you have an hour left before your project needs to be handed in at midnight.
There's also the social comparison factor, which is particularly hard to avoid on platforms built around sharing curated versions of people's lives. Seeing a continuous stream of highlight reels, whether they're about career milestones, travel, or relationships, can subtly distort your sense of what's normal or achievable. So while it might be fun to see a group of people reenact a Disney or Nickelodeon-like show, you may also feel somewhat left out, especially if you don't have your own dedicated friends to do it with.
How to Ease Back Without Going Cold Turkey
If being "chronically online" is technically kind of a bad thing, how do you start cutting back? Well, instead of going cold turkey and locking yourself out of certain apps, a better approach might be setting app or screen time limits through your phone's built-in settings. That way, you're not making a drastic change but a more gradual one that might help you shift your patterns and habits. Of course, you'll still need to exercise some accountability and diligence; app limits only do so much.
Another approach worth trying is building phone-free windows into your day, such as during meals, in the first hour after waking up, or at least two hours before bedtime. When you're bored or itching for entertainment, look elsewhere and fill those phone-free periods with productive work or other hobbies and activities. Over time, having these screen-free breaks will feel less like deprivation and more like a natural reset.
At the end of the day, while there's nothing inherently wrong with staying connected or being fluent in the language of the internet, you don't want to be so chronically consumed that the connection starts to come at the expense of your focus, your productivity, or your real-world relationships. So, sure: go dance to JoJo singing "Too Little, Too Late" in the rain—just don't do it for hours. A little self-awareness and discipline go a long way, and the fact that you're even thinking about adjusting your screen time habits is already a step in the right direction. Lock in, twin.
