I had no internet for about five days this week. We first thought it was an area outage, from the weather, but we found out after a few days that it was some sort of wonky setting on our computer. We thought we fixd it, but it then started to run appliactions that use the internet - iTunes, WeatherBug, etc. - but not either of our web browsing programs, so we couldn't actually get on the internet.
This will sound cheesy, but I found I started to ENJOY the lack of internet. Instead of sitting around for hours doing basically nothing over and over again with the occasional social plan made or compliments exchanged, I was able to do things like start to bake and cook again, and read a very good book (For Another Day, by Mitch Albom. I read The Five People You Meet In Heaven and am trying to get my hands on all the Albom I can). The internet for people my age is largely based on interaction with peers, usually coupled with some sort of showing-off of yourself. It just feeds into kind of doing lots of little things to impress other people. I had a relaxing few days of spending my down time with myself, not thousands of other people on the internet.
That said, I couldn't really make myself do it again if internet use was an option, haha. After a while, in these times, it would grow pretty inconvenient (in regards to this class and many other things, you practically need it to function). And it's nice to know what's going on, be it news stories or my friend's social stuff.
2 comments:
"I found I started to ENJOY the lack of internet."
...WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!?!
Wow. Living without internet (even for a day) is pretty ambitious. I need to distance myself from the internet. It basically owns me, because I seem to do all my research for school through the internet. It's far more efficient than thumbing though book after book, but it takes away the creative aspect of learning. You never run into new ideas anymore. With the internet, you search for exactly what you are looking for and nothing more. I also seem to have a different personality on the internet than offline, which can probably be seen with this class. The sad truth is that I believe I've probably interacted more with Linworth kids online than I have in person. Although the internet is a great resource, it owns my life. Both my businesses are run through the internet, and it seems to be an addiction that pulls me away from my family. I spend at least 4-6 hours on my computer everyday. The moment I get home (and often before that) I am online doing something.
I give you serious props to be able to appreciate life without internet and be bold enough to actually get away from your computer and do something new. I wish I could do that.
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