Jennifer GreySomeone on the internet told me to “touch grass” recently.
Not in a helpful, wellness-influencer kind of way. In the way people say it online — as an insult. As in: get off the internet, go outside, get a life.
My first reaction, like most people’s, was not calm self-reflection. It was immediate, internal outrage. I don’t remember what the argument was about, which probably tells you everything you need to know about how important it was. But I do remember that brief flash of anger — that strange feeling of being annoyed at a person whose real name, face, age, location, and possibly even humanity I did not know.
And then, a few minutes later, I had the deeply humbling realization that the stranger on the internet might actually have been right. Not about the argument. About the grass.
Because modern life, when you really think about it, happens almost entirely indoors and almost entirely online. We wake up and look at our phones. We work on computers. We talk to people through screens. We argue with strangers through screens. We shop through screens, read through screens, watch through screens, scroll through screens, and then we lie in bed at night looking at a screen wondering why we feel anxious and tired and like our brains are full of static.
It is now entirely possible to spend an entire day interacting with hundreds of people and not physically see a single one of them. To have strong opinions about people you will never meet, places you have never been, and situations that have absolutely no impact on your real, physical life.
When you step back and look at it, it’s actually a very strange way to exist.
But to be fair, the internet is not the villain in this story. In many ways, it’s one of the most important tools we’ve ever created. Social media and the internet have introduced people to ideas, news, cultures, and perspectives they might never have encountered otherwise. People learn about social issues, discover new books and music and art, find communities built around shared interests, and connect with people across the world who are living completely different lives. People find support groups, career opportunities, educational resources, and friendships that would have been impossible to find twenty years ago. Entire movements, businesses, and careers exist because of the internet.
For many people, the internet is not just entertainment — it’s education, connection, opportunity, and community. In a lot of ways, it’s a vital part of modern life.
The problem isn’t that we’re online. The problem is that we’re only online.
There’s also something uniquely exhausting about being angry on the internet. It feels productive in the moment, like you are defending truth or making a point or standing your ground, but in reality you are just sitting in a chair, staring at a glowing rectangle, arguing with someone who might be a teenager, a bored adult, a troll, or increasingly, a bot designed specifically to make you angry so that you stay online longer.
Getting angry at strangers online is, when you really think about it, an exercise in futility. It changes almost nothing, but it can ruin your mood for an entire afternoon.
So after I was told to touch grass, instead of continuing to be mad about it, I did something unusual.
I went outside.
Not for a run. Not for a hike. Not for a life-changing wellness journey. I just walked around the block. And within about ten minutes, the argument that had felt very important suddenly felt incredibly stupid.
The air was cold, the sun was out, someone was walking their dog, a car drove by playing music too loud, and the world continued to exist in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with whatever had been happening on my phone.
It’s very hard to stay mad about internet arguments when you are looking at trees.
And there’s actual science behind why this works, but you don’t even really need the science to know it’s true. Sunlight helps regulate your circadian rhythm, which affects sleep and energy. Being outside has been shown to lower cortisol, the stress hormone. Time around green space is linked to lower anxiety, better mood, and improved focus. Even short walks outside — ten or twenty minutes — can improve mental clarity and reduce stress.
But honestly, you could figure all of that out without a single research paper. You can feel it almost immediately. Your brain gets quieter. Your problems get a little smaller. Your breathing slows down. You remember that the internet is a place you visit, not the place you live.
The good news, especially if you live in or near Pittsburgh, is that this is actually a very easy city to be outside in. You can sit at Point State Park and watch the rivers come together. You can walk the North Shore Riverwalk with the skyline in front of you. You can wander through Schenley Park or Frick Park and forget you’re in a city at all. You can walk around your own neighborhood after dinner. In Pittsburgh, going outside doesn’t have to mean going into the wilderness — it can just mean going into the city.
And that’s the thing people get wrong about being outside. It doesn’t have to be an activity or a whole plan. It can be drinking your coffee on the porch instead of at the kitchen counter. Eating lunch outside instead of at your desk. Sitting on a bench instead of on your couch. Opening the windows. Watching a sunset. Reading a book at your local park. Small outside counts.
We tend to think we need big life changes to feel better: new routines, new workouts, new diets. But sometimes the most immediate improvement you can make to your life is also the simplest: go outside more.
It’s funny that “touch grass” became an insult, because it might be some of the best advice of the last decade. Not because the internet is bad. But because we were never meant to live entirely in it. Touch grass — not as an insult, but as a reminder. The internet will still be there when you get back.
