
I'm quitting the Internet. Will I be liberated or left behind? - jackowayed
http://www.slate.com/id/2249562/entry/2249563/
======
jrockway
I am not sure why people worry about spending too much time in front of their
computer. In "the old days", there wasn't one device that did everything for
you. If you wanted to write, you got out your typewriter. If you wanted to
read, you went to the library to find a book. If you wanted to shop, you went
to the store. If you wanted to have a quick chat with someone, you would call
them or find them in person.

Now, "the Internet" handles all that for you one one device. You are doing the
same things that you always did, but what used to take several hours now takes
a few clicks. This is a good thing, not a bad thing; you have more time to
waste, and so you do it by reading news.yc instead of walking to the store.

~~~
eru
The problem is that the current computers have not enough bandwidth to satisfy
your brain.

Cycling to the store and talking to a real human being gives you more
diversified sensations. (Even if it does not feel as interesting at first as a
computer game.) Also moving around on your own is good for your body.

~~~
jrockway
The computer frees you to spend your time cycling to the lake instead of to
the store, which is even better.

Nobody said, "never leave your house and always use your computer for
everything." I just said that you can take care of necessary tasks so quickly
that you have a lot more free time to spend as you wish; you don't need to
combine recreation and chores anymore.

------
superjared
I've considered this a few times, but each time I do I eventually conclude
that my internet/technology usage is well within normal limits (perhaps it was
hubris that caused the resonance cascade after all). While I'm on my
computer(s) at least 8 hours a day, those 8 hours are spent working. When I'm
done with work I rarely pull out my laptop, unless I'm expecting something
really cool via email...

As a developer I find it odd that I only like creating software, not _using_
it.

~~~
mapleoin
Then what are you doing here?

~~~
0x44
Perhaps reading hacker news constitutes part of superjared's workday?

~~~
Groxx
I know _I've_ learned a fair number of things through this site that've
significantly improved my marketable skills.

------
yters
I've gone offline for a week or so. While I was doing my masters I only used
the internet while at school, mainly to do research.

It felt good, didn't feel like vast swaths of time just disappeared into
nothingness.

~~~
_delirium
I had no internet at home for about 3 months after moving to a new place once.
I was a few blocks from my office and coffee shops, so it wasn't too hard to
get online, but in my actual home I had none. I'm not sure I'd do it on
purpose again, but it definitely had upsides. I went to bed at more normal
times, read more books, cooked more, and cleaned more frequently.

I think the main difference is that, with the internet available, there is
never really any time when I have _nothing_ to do: there is always something
interesting I could read, discuss, or do. But without the internet, there are
all these bits of down time, e.g. I've finished breakfast but have 20 minutes
before I need to leave to go somewhere.

~~~
prawn
Over the years, I've tried to limit what I get caught up reading. I've sworn
off all local news, given up Slashdot recently and pretty much only read HN
and whatever it or my Twitter feed links to.

Despite the overload of information on the net, _very_ often I find myself
sitting there in the evening, no new emails to look at, nothing new on Twitter
or HN, and I think "Well, I've caught up on the Internet again." Then I wait
five minutes and do another round of compulsively checking email, HN and
Twitter. And another.

And next thing you know, hours have passed and I've done virtually nothing
productive.

I'm about to move house and I am purposely leaving the phone/net connection
until last so I'm forced to go a few weeks without the net at home until it's
sorted out. I used to garden, cook, read, etc and more recently I barely find
time for any of these things.

Sometimes, the busier you feel, the less you're getting done. At least, in my
experience.

~~~
stse
When I need to I've found that separating different activities helps me from
getting "caught up" in the Internet. I use a HTPC to watch tv-series/web-tv
and listen to music, an android phone for connecting with friends, e-reader to
read books and documents. If I do need the computer I mainly use my laptop
without wifi, and plug it in when I need to access the Internet briefly.

I do use my desktop computer for gaming, surfing the web and other purely
recreational activities, but at least I'm not kidding myself when I do. Before
I would tell myself that I was doing something useful, while I would get into
the "loop" you're talking about. Now I read and watch video less, but I read
and watch things I actually like.

~~~
prawn
That sounds great and I like the idea of isolating a work computer from the
net. However, a lot of my work involves checking sites, FTPing here and there
and so on.

Would still be useful for very specific days of intensive offline work.

Wondered about a net-jar (like a swear jar). Clock my non-work traffic at some
outrageous rate, and my wife gets to spend the proceeds on shoes (well, more
shoes)...

------
yetanotherlogin
I've also recently been feeling some internet fatigue.

It's occured to me that the internet encourages* bite-size pieces of content.

I sit on reddit and complain that it's getting too 4chan, with stupid lolcats,
cartoons, FMLs, short bloggettes, and so on. Cheap, quick, unintellectual
nuggets. But with some harsher self-observation, I realise that as I scan down
the list I go for the cheap and quick nuggets. I open a pic, smirk, close tab,
next. I open an 8 page article and think, crikey, tl;dr, close without
reading. I open a 90 second youtube and will watch it, I open a 14 minute
youtube and think "oh I can't be bothered to devote that long to this".
Whereas in "real life" I will happily read a lengthy national geographic
article in one sitting, and television tends to come in minimum 30 minute
chunks.

I started reading the Baroque Cycle last month (not done yet, no spoilers
please!), after Anathem before that, and it struck me how these 17th century
RS people didn't have flushing toilets yet they were dedicated to knowing at
least the fundamentals of philosophy, logic, maths, biology, chemisty,
physics, rhetoric, etc as part of being a standard 'decently educated' person.
I have a degree, too, and live in a pampered world of extreme convenience, but
I have only the vaguest pop science grasp of E=mc^2, linguistic structuralism,
the socratic method or whatever else. I ask myself why I'm letting myself sit
on forums and get depressed by the deja vu of ever-repeating ill-informed /
tabloid-level soundbites and debates, about, say, Iraq, instead of reading a
serious book on the sociopolitical history of the middle east. Why am I
skimming yet another "top 5 shiny css background examples" instead of
thoroughly perusing a textbook of fundamental design principles? Why do I find
myself link-surfing my way around WP to a biography of Russell, but never
tackling Principia Mathematica?

So I'm now hoping to consciously curb my "just one more F5..." time-
frittering, and spend more time bringing myself up to speed on all aspects of
a well-rounded intellectual the old fashioned way: books.

* I say "encourage" rather than "force" because I am well aware the syndrome I describe comes down to personal choice and the reality is that it's my fault and not the internet's fault, so please don't argue with me on that basis, I know that. I know that in theory the internet, being an information-delivery-and-exchange medium, is capable of HELPING me in 'serious' self-improvement. I know that, for example, TED talks are highly regarded by many people as a means of engaging themselves with new areas of knowledge and learning. I can only speak for myself in saying I don't like videos, I don't seem to do well at reading long articles on screen, and I don't seem to be able to maintain attention span on the internet without ctrl-tabbing every 30 seconds. Much better for me personally to step away from the computer, recline on my sofa or bed and focus on some dead trees.

------
Maro
I don't really get it. It seems the author is using the Internet for all the
right things: communicating with people, helping people, his bussiness is
internet-based, which supports his family. It seems he's getting more out of
the Internet than the time he inevitably wastes online?

~~~
thmz
Supporting your family with 'money' != being there for your family.

~~~
antipaganda
...but it HELPS.

------
jseliger
Those of you who have Internet compulsion problems might like Mac Freedom:
<http://macfreedom.com/> , which is one of the most brilliant and simple
programs I've found. You open it, it gives you a prompt with a number of
minutes, and for that period of time you can't access the Internet (it's
possible to get back on with rebooting, but that's enough of a pain that I
suspect few people do it).

If you're looking to disconnect distraction:
<http://paulgraham.com/distraction.html> without disconnecting altogether,
this is a great way to do it.

------
holeykermoley
The internet needn't be an either/or.

Just distinguish between _surfing_ and _searching_. The first is a form of
entertainment and the second is connected with problem solving.

(OFC, entertainment can be valuable and educational, and can help solve
problems indirectly; I don't want to knock it.)

~~~
eru
Just ask yourself "Am I really enjoying my time, or am I just
procrastinating?"

For the former, go on and read Hacker News or play that flash game. For the
latter, quit and do something worthwhile--either real work or at least real
fun. (Of course just procrastinating and doing nothing really worthwhile can
be fun every once in a while. But then at least admit it.)

------
endergen
I have three thoughts on this:

1) We are all forced to use computers in a sort of arms race against our would
be competitors in any job market or office place.

2) The browser and mobile phones are the ultimate swiss army knife and this
will only get worse as all forms of media and communication get even more
saturated.

3) People's reactions to his disconnection is exactly how I feel about my
friend who refuses to get a cell phone. It is very annoying to communicate
with him because it's like he has his own communication paradigm. He's always
unavailable, barely returns calls, and always wants us to plan meticulously
where and when to meet when going out, where as the rest of us just freestyle
it because you can use your cell to freestyle it on the way. This reminds me
of the new york times article on Cell phone refuseniks:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/technology/23cell.html>

------
bmj
I swing back and forth in thinking that stuff like this is either fluffy navel
gazing or serious introspection. I'd like to think it serious introspection.

I'm on my laptop a fair amount, and at home there's almost always a laptop
open on the kitchen counter for checking email. My wife reads quite a bit
online, and I do too. Our older son, who is 7, is just beginning to poke
around on an old laptop. Do I spend a fair bit of time each day on my laptop?
Yeah. I don't, however, carrying a mobile data device (yes, I have a cell
phone, but no data plan), so if I'm not at home, or at work, I'm not
"connected," and I don't feel anxious about that.

We're leaving shortly for a one month road trip. I'll be working periodically,
and my wife has an iPhone, but I'm looking forward to being disconnected for
days at a time. I'm not sure it'll be liberating, though, since I don't
necessarily feel that I am a slave to anything.

------
javajones
You know I gave up the TV because I can get anything online. The internet
rocks.

~~~
ascuttlefish
I gave up the TV for the same reason, but now I don't bother getting any TV
online. I just do without. I sometimes wonder if I could do without the (90%)
pablum I read on the internet.

~~~
somebear
I gave up TV because it just became too tiresome. Haven't missed it at all. I
just noticed the other day, when I turned on the TV to play some Wii, that the
cable company still hasn't turned off the signal, I don't know if they are
hoping to sucker me in?

~~~
ascuttlefish
When I was in university, that was pretty common. I think you're right,
they're trying to get you back. Like the coke dealer who tells you the first
one is free...

~~~
gaius
The first one _is_ free, that's the point!

~~~
ascuttlefish
Is it? I always wondered about that. My free first line cost me quite a few
subsequent lines...

------
jsz0
I don't know where you draw the line on that one. Lots of activities you do
offline could be considered a waste of time too but, if you enjoy doing it,
that's basically what life is for most people. Moderation is probably a much
more reasonable way to deal with it.

------
hugh3
I don't think I could ever quite quit the internet, but I am happy with my
decision to stick with a twenty dollar internetless dumbphone, which at least
guarantees that I won't be on the internet unless I'm at the office or at
home.

------
CapitalistCartr
And at the bottom of the article: "Become a fan of Slate on Facebook. Follow
us on Twitter."

<laughs>

------
hschenker
Quitting the internet? How is that any less ridiculous than someone in the
1980s saying he's going to quit using the phone and reading the newspaper
because he feels addicted to calling his friends and checking sports scores -
and asking his acquaintances to contact him instead via telegram or pony
express?

------
volida
Unless you go live in the jungle, you will just be reminded everyone is on the
Internet.

~~~
whyenot
> Unless you go live in the jungle, you will just be reminded everyone is on
> the Internet.

I lived for six months at a very remote field station in the Amazon. We were
more than a days travel from any village or town. We had electricity for only
4 hours a day. We bathed in the river. Dinner invariably involved spaghetti
and a can of sardines. We had the internet. You can't get away, no matter
where you go :)

~~~
volida
sounds quite an experience

~~~
whyenot
I left out the part about bot flies and leishmaniasis.

------
j2d2
Why ask this question online if you just quit the Internet?!

