I'm not going to preface this article by saying what we all heard from 2012 Tumblr that I'm 'not like other girls' when I say I'm an old soul.

Let's start off by defining what I mean by 'old souls'. Basically, it's just someone with a greater appreciation for the simpler things in life. You're particularly mature for your age and less swayed by the peer pressures of social media and the modern age.

It's absolutely your own prerogative if you aren't an old soul!

What I will say is that maybe it skipped a generation. I'm happy to use my phone, of course, and it's great to use Instagram as a source of wholesome puppy content and ducks doing rogue things that you wouldn't expect. That's great.

It's the soul-crushing anxiety and crippling self-esteem issues that accompany the other side of social media that I tend to take issue with. We all have the ability to control our feed as much as we can. Being an old soul means that I like to avoid finding validation through a screen but within myself instead.

If you're following all the stick-thin celebrities with perfect skin and neat heterosexual lives, then of course you will feel like you are pale in comparison. Literally! As an old soul, I try to avoid this as far as I can.

That said, even if you unfollow those social media stars and replace them with cat videos, you can't fully stop the problem at its source.

Yes, you will eventually forget that you followed those influencers in the first place, but you aren't immune from the pressures of society or peer pressure just because you follow a wellness guru on Twitter. Just embrace the distance and perspective of being an old soul.

We all think that we're the exception to the rule

Watches now need to be digitalised with an iPhone face. You can pay with them, and even rings and jewellery now seems to come equipped with the internet inbuilt.

In a world where everyone has access to everything, old souls aren't afraid to be apart from that. Being alone is our ideal state of being. We don't need constant company.

Otherwise, we can't escape it

Sometimes, hear me out here. I just need to detox and unplug. I need to disconnect from being available and accessible 24/7.

It's so draining to know that the person I'm hoping to hear back from could reply at any minute. Or in two days… or I could be waiting for a project proposal from a classmate, but instead see them active on Facebook. They're just living their lives. They're allowed to. But we see far more than we ought to, not even just in content considerations.

Where privacy is no longer a thing in the modern world, old souls just want to find some of their own. We're not alienating ourselves, but we can seem like outcasts for not caring about all that stuff.

In short, we have too much power. No responsibility, but way more risks at our fingertips than our silly species can deal with. Hence the appeal of stepping away for perspective. Disconnecting.

Sometimes I just turn my phone off in the afternoon for a few hours. It's so liberating to know that I don't need to look at it every three seconds to check that my tweet is getting likes. Or that my insta is thriving.

After a while I forget I've even brought my phone with me. It makes me nostalgic for a period that I've never really known.

Phonelessness!

Going without modern stuff doesn't mean that you will never reconnect, but phonelessness is not scary! Old souls realise that life is short and we can't waste it looking at screens. Be grateful for what you have, not what you don't.

Memes and videos and gifs all get more nonsensical by the day. The struggle to keep up is not worth the payoff from actually being literate in The Internet.

I'm exhausted, do join me in disconnecting every now and then

You truly don't realise how much easier and more peaceful life can be.

Being an old soul gives you a new appreciation for the world and allows you to step away and just enjoy life for what it is. You can embrace your spirituality and gain knowledge about yourself. You will be happier, trust me.

Old souls are few and far between, and the world is changing rapidly – stick together with your fellow disconnected queens, and prioritise your own needs.

Don't follow the crowd, walk to the beat of your own heart.

Everyone else is thinking it, they're just too scared to let go.