It's no longer news that a large number of people in this world are yet to agree with the controversial statement, “Money cannot buy happiness.” I am among those people. I understand the deep meaning behind this statement, how money cannot buy life, health, peace, and other essential aspects that contribute to happiness. I get that. However, I always say that until I reach that stage, where I have an excess of money and can genuinely feel like money is not everything, let me get there first before I join those who say money does not buy happiness.
In response to this prompt, money brings me happiness, a whole lot of it, because whenever there is no money, things simply stop working.
There is one thing that brings me so much joy that, whenever it is unavailable and I do not have the money to buy it, I experience a sense of dullness. That thing is DATA.
Before now, I was very fond of small data subscriptions, where I had to subscribe for just two days. And whenever the data ran out and I had no money to buy more, my entire mood would shift to dullness. No wonder a telecommunication company labeled data as life with their famous slogan, “Data is life.”
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Honestly, I admit that I have been overspending on this aspect of my life, yet it does not even feel like it. If I do not have data, I feel like the poorest guy alive, and I become so restless. It surprises me how some people with smartphones can stay an entire week without using the internet. Sometimes, I wish I were like them so that I could stop spending so much on data or stop feeling bad when I do not have it. But the joy of having data, just like the joy of having life, cannot be measured.
The whole situation has worsened ever since the price of data skyrocketed in the past two months. The money I budget for data on a monthly basis is now significantly higher than what I used to spend before. Yet, interestingly, I no longer even bother because having data on my phone has become as compulsory as anything else.
"Can I just stop buying internet data?" This thought crosses my mind every time I am broke, and my data runs out. I would find myself scrolling through all my bank accounts, trying to scratch out enough money to buy more data. As I contemplate it, my mind begins to highlight the benefits of staying a week without data, like how it would help me save money for personal needs. But then, my mind would challenge me: “Would you be able to stay without it?” It would remind me that even if I survive a day, I would feel it so badly and would keep thinking about it constantly. These thoughts eventually push me to buy data with whatever money I have left, just so I can be at peace.
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