The Day the Wi-Fi Disappeared

By Sabina Maxkamova

Posted on June 1, 2025

Cover Image Title: Who Am I?

Cover Image by: Jacob C.

Classification: Photography

Specifications: 3024 x 4032 pixels

Year: 2024

Location of Creation: Quebec, Canada

It was a sunny Saturday morning, and 16-year-old Alex was performing his favorite activity: scrolling through social media while pretending to do homework. His parents often told him to take breaks, go outside, or read a book, but Alex’s reply was always the same: “I need Wi-Fi to survive!”

That morning, however, something strange happened. As Alex refreshed his page, the screen froze. The little spinning wheel of doom appeared. He groaned and checked the router. The lights were off.

“Mom! Dad! The Wi-Fi isn’t working!” Alex shouted, panic in his voice.

His dad poked his head into Alex’s room. “Yeah, about that,” he said. “We’ve decided to turn it off for the weekend. It’s a little experiment. You’ve been spending too much time online.”

“An experiment?!” Alex couldn’t believe his ears. “You can’t just take away the Wi-Fi! How will I live?!”

His mom walked in, smiling. “Oh, you’ll live, Alex. Try something new. Go outside, read a book, draw—anything but staring at a screen.”

Alex felt like the world had ended. He tried every trick in the book: begging, complaining, pretending he had an urgent project to finish. But his parents wouldn’t budge. The Wi-Fi remained off.

For the first hour, Alex sulked in his room, flipping through old magazines he didn’t care about. By the second hour, he lay on the floor, dramatically declaring, “I’m bored to death!”

Eventually, he wandered outside. The sun was warm, and a gentle breeze rustled the trees. Alex noticed other kids playing soccer in the park, neighbors gardening, and birds chirping in the distance. It was… peaceful.

He decided to take his bike for a ride, something he hadn’t done in months. As he pedaled through the neighborhood, he felt a strange sense of freedom. No notifications, no messages, no compulsion to reply instantly—just him and the open road.

Later, he stopped by the local library. At first, he planned to use the free Wi-Fi there, but the librarian suggested a book instead. Alex reluctantly picked one up. To his surprise, the story was fascinating. He found himself lost in the adventures of a young hero traveling through distant lands.

By the end of the day, Alex felt… different. He had biked further than he ever had before, met a few new people, and discovered a story more exciting than any social media drama.

When Sunday evening came, his parents turned the Wi-Fi back on. But Alex didn’t rush to his phone. Instead, he sat at the dinner table, talking about the book he’d read and the places he’d explored on his bike.

His mom smiled. “See? The world isn’t so bad without Wi-Fi.”

Alex grinned back. “Maybe. But don’t expect me to say goodbye to it forever.”

From that day on, Alex didn’t depend on the Wi-Fi as much. He realized life offline could be just as exciting—sometimes even more.

The lesson? Sometimes losing something you think you can’t live without helps you discover things you didn’t know you were missing.

[ Writing Editor: Paul A. Shannon. ]