The Delete Button

COVID-19 was a life-changing event for many. For me, it hit right through my transition from Primary School to Middle School. Having 6th grade cut off and going through 7th grade fully online was definitely a ride. In pandemic times, I resorted to the only medium I had for entertainment and communication: my iPad.

I documented almost every single day of what was my new normal through funny TikToks and Instagram stories. I chatted with my friends on Zoom and arranged virtual recess hours where we played Roblox. It was fun!

I found a new hobby in making my own Roblox games and enjoyed watching one of them take off. Every step of the way, I was leaving breadcrumbs of pictures, videos, skits, etc... And I would come to cherish these so much nowadays.

Around 2022, a part of me decided that it was too much. Too much data being tossed around. Too many accounts. So without a second thought, and without ever downloading the vast troves of memories I had created over this period, I clicked the "Delete my account" button and thought I'd never look back.

But I did. It took me a few months to even consider that I would want to go back and look at these videos, so the pain didn't settle in until later. When I realized what I had done, there was no going back. It was all gone.

Now, whenever I stumble upon a video from this time, like a video TikTok had automatically saved to my camera roll or one on my Dad's computer, I cherish and save it. I look back with nostalgia. COVID wasn't just a life-altering event, it was life defining. And now, I try to grasp for the pieces of my life that still float in the air, knowing I'll never be able to get the full thing back.

Some files I've been able to recover from my Dad's computer

Our online presences have value. Not only to advertisers and large corporations that make a living off of the value they see in our data, but also to us. Just like our parents and grandparents saved their pictures, we must make a commitment to also save the content we create.

Next time you're thinking of deleting a social media account, please, just please (!!!) take a second and request your information be sent to you first. Decades later, you'll look back at these pictures and remember what life was like back then. When I say this, I don't mean that life was better during the COVID pandemic, I mean that we cherish the memories of these life-changing events.

Our social media interactions and creations may seem ephemeral and worthless, but they're part of our living history. We must make an effort to document it.