The mute button used to be temporary.
A way to pause noise, then return.
Now it stays on.
Not because the noise stopped, but because unmuting feels heavier than missing something.
Group chats go silent without ceremony.
Notifications stack, untouched, like unopened mail that no longer carries urgency.
It feels less like withdrawal and more like filtration.
A quiet decision to let most things pass without demanding reaction.
The signal isn’t disengagement.
It’s selectivity becoming default, not exceptional.