Paul Miller, an American technology writer for the website The Verge, will try to live a year without the Internet. He started on May 1st 2012 and is now in his third month.
He cannot use the Internet at home or work or anywhere. He cannot ask anyone to use it for him or look over their shoulder. No email, no Web, no Netflix films streamed over the Internet, no smartphones, no computer games that require the Internet (many do to prevent piracy), none of it.
And no text messages either. Strictly speaking they go over the mobile phone network, not the Internet, but he feels they are too much like the Internet.
He will manfully use the telephone, the post office and the library instead. He can still use a computer and a mobile phone but not ones that use the Internet – like it was 1993.
He will continue to write for the Verge but will not be able to see his work after they post it on the Internet – or read and answer comments.
People told him it was “brave” or “insane” or “inspirational” or a “publicity stunt” or “stupid” or “a waste of everyone’s time”. He says:
I know I am most productive when I don’t have the Internet on. I disconnect, I unplug at a coffee shop with no Wi-Fi to get something done. So why not spend a year getting stuff done?
Miller is more Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death” (1985) than Thoreau’s “Walden” (1854).
Giving up the Internet felt like the last day of school: the same mix of freedom and boredom.
At first he kept reaching for his mobile phone out of habit – only to find there were no emails or tweets or text messages to see.
After a month and a half he no longer missed the Internet and loved his new-found freedom.
Some of the effects so far:
- His handwriting is better – because now he has to write stuff down. He even filled up a whole notebook – a first.
- He talks to people more.
- He gets lonely. His friends talk to each other in cyberspace while he is stuck in meatspace.
- He gets bored. With the Internet there is never a dull moment: there is always some email or tweet coming in, some burning question about pop culture to settle as well as “the endless spectacle of Tumblr or YouTube”.
- He gets lost: No Google Maps!
- He cares less about what is easy to google.
Things he has noticed so far:
- Smartphones cut people off from meatspace.
- Paying bills offline is a pain in the neck!
- Knowledge and learning are less valued. He thinks about the world of the children’s television show “Arthur” (1996- ) where the Internet has not yet taken over, where book learning is still prized because no one can google anything.
- Where to draw the line: The Internet is an endless sideshow world where you lose all sense of proportion. “Hey, look at this!” “Look over here!” And it goes on and on forever.
See also:
- Paul Miller: Offline – read about his experiences. A new post every week or so.
- culture shock
- media diet
- The future that was
- Internet
- William Gibson – coined the word “cyberspace” and understood, better than any other science fiction writer, what a world computer network would mean.
- McLuhan
- Tumblr: yet more Internet crack
I can live without the internet and I’ve gone unplugged on occasion. For example, I’ve seen so many of my friends/family so attached to their phones, they get a bit panicky when they lose access.
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I can do without TV, Radio, Phones – and I never text!! lol
Emails?? I could probably get by without that if I’m not looking for work.
But doing without the internet, and sites that are primarily informative: Google, IMDB, Wiki.. Maps/Directions, News, file sharing.. numerous blogs?? That would be a mega-challenge for me. It would alter my life… and force me to use my PC software/hardware capabilities more creatively.
Now, f I had to give up using all/any computers – that would be among one of life’s greatest challenges ever. : )) It would be almost on par with losing my eyes and ears.
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Even though I do use the internet daily, I can proudly say that I have never owned a cell phone in my life and have no plans to do so.
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I have really mixed emotions about the internet and computor…
I came to the game really late , first of all, I got my first computor in about 2002….my computor is horrible….its like a wrecked jalopy that is falling apart and just chugs along ready to break down..I keep trying to get it fixed and it just goes back to jalopy state…
Yes , I do find that if I need information , about where things are, details about tours with plane flights and hotels, its invaluable
But, its hard to generate business and make money..its all about seeking things out I will pay for ( not buy, I dont buy off the computor, but busines kind of stuff).
Youtube is wonderful , trying to get a web site up has been flawed and cost money for nothing, just my bad luck….
And, I start to wonder if I just put more time into really trying to get gigs on the street, Id be getting more ahead…People hardly anwer e mails for business if they dont see some kind of profit for themselves outright
But, I guess I cant live without it for now…
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I don’t think I could last more than 1 month without internet
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I basically grew up during the pre-Internet/cell phone days, so, in hindsight, it sounds less cluttered. My Internet usage is basic and the cell is back-up. I’m thinking about scaling back on all things media, so not being far off from this sounds interesting (and cheaper).
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I like B.R. came to the game late as well. I needed a laptop to access my paycheck stubs since my company went paperless. Plus I love all the different blogs and Youtube and Goggle. It’s like crack for me. I don’t have my cable televison but that’s ok. I found Abagond last year looking at Racialicious blogspot, And have been hooked ever since.
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Just reading this post made me a little panicky. I cycle through periods where I am online way too often. Maybe that’s a sign that this is one of them.
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I do not watch much TV, I’m not on Facebook, which I still think is the devil, or any other media site…so can I live without the internet?
Yes…
I just ordered my copy of Yurugu and after I’m done with The New Jim Crow, I shall dig in…
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Each August until about mid-September of the last three years, I shut down ALL the gadgets and have a short Sabbatical consisting of a juice-only regimen and a focused time of study and meditation. It’s WONDERFUL! I stopped watching TV the first year out and haven’t turned it back on since.
As some have already stated, I also came up in the time before all this electronic madness started, so I could realistically see going away from much of it. ANYONE who is into these items, no hate. For me, however, I have found it rather a disturbing phenomenon to look around and see SO MANY of my fellow human beings with their heads down, GLUED to a screen of some sort ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE. Gives me the willies.
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I could never do such a thing, as having to interacting with my real life peers disgusts me. Unfortunately, as with any mass media, you don’t turn off the Internet, the Internet turns you off. (notice that the i is capitalized – like God). This should make for a good read when he gets his book deal.
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I’ve never been a terribly social person offline and, although I open up more easily online, I do not have a Facebook or anything. I only ever use the internet at home. I have an old-fashioned mobile phone with which I only make calls and the occasional text message. Nothing fancy. Still remember when I used to have an old, second-hand brick of a phone!
It’s absolutely true it can be very distracting. It can be useful for ideas, finding information, getting quick answers to questions, but if you don’t have the willpower to stay away from other non-work or goal-related stuff you can easily get sucked into procrastinating. I think it’s even worse for teenagers. I remember I got absorbed in so many different websites and especially message boards. So much time would be taken up reading and replying to people. I found it difficult to disconnect from that as a teenager, but it’s like flipping a switch now.
I know I am on too much even if I can only access the internet at home, but strangely enough I can completely disconnect from it all for a month and not be too bothered. Maybe it’s because I’m not one of those in the Facebook and Twitter crowd? I only use it for e-mail, browsing and instant messaging. Plus, I’ve never had a mobile phone connected to the net where I’m constantly available to everyone.
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Internet is just another book, dictionary, map, newspaper, teacher and everything else you can think about. I use it just like I would use a book in the library, newspaper etc. I’ll use internet all day all the time if it helps me get stuff done.
Internet is also a huge distraction, Just like other things in life. Internet is not the problem people’s lack of self control is the problem.
People use to talk to each other while they are travelling, now almost everyone is listening to music on their phones (me), texting or doing some other thing with their phones that cut them off from the people sitting right next to them.
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I just got out of a preiod of unemployment a few months ago and A LOT of businesses are starting to ditch paper applications. I weep for the jobless who dont hv access to the internet..
Also, try being a student w/o the net. Yeah, you can still do research papers by utilizing your local or university library, but what are you gonna do when your professor puts tht homework, quiz, and test online?
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@ SW6
Ok…yeah…Amazon is what I use to order books. I’m waiting for my copy of Yurugu.
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I think I could easily go offline for a year or even longer if everybody else around me is in the same situation. Like living on some remote island or so. As long as all the life essentials are there I wouldn’t miss it.
However, living in the technological status quo in the Western world, deliberately depriving myself from the choice how to access information would make me feel too dependent on the mainstream media and institutions like libraries which can always be selective at their discretion. Before the internet I always knew that we are not getting the full story on everything. The internet opened a whole new world of direct awareness to my life, beyond mere speculations and suspicions of half-information and bias. It would finally cut out the middle man.
I see the internet as a tool, not more not less. For me it would be like getting rid of a power drill. I would then have to use nails and a hammer or call a technician every time I need a hole drilled into the wall.
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I fully agree with what Olufemi is saying here. The internet can be regarded as just a tool. An information tool. In essence it really is nothing more than just an extension of ourselves. At least this is what you can choose to make it.
Its a technological extension of a process that we already do on an unconscious spiritual level. One that we will eventually return to on a more spiritually conscious one. Unless of course we are deluded to go down the unnatural “Cyborg-Netically” enhanced one
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It is up to you if you get hooked or not. I have lived years without using Net outside my workplace. No problem. Same as TV. You can always turn it off. One thing is funny though: sometimes you hear somebody explaining how some image or video made solely by computers was “almost as a real world”.
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Hey Kwamla and Sam! I hope you’re well.
Fully agree with both of you. It’s all about what you choose the internet to be your purpose for.
I remember several “cases” from my Uni years in the eighties who would spend all day non-stop in the library, neglecting certain other essentials in life. (Food and drinks were prohibited near the books.) In winter they wouldn’t even see any daylight. What was generally considered ambitious or studious could also be seen as an addiction. Anything can become addictive, whether it be high or low tech.
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I grew up without Internet in a non-Western country. Sometimes I wonder how I “managed” to do it, since I use Internet for so many things today.
However, I don’t have a smartphone, not even a laptop, so all my Internet use is a home Desktop one. Meaning, I don’t have Internet when I’m outside my home.
While stuff like Facebook games and pictures of hot men on Tumblr are entertaining, I can do without it. If I go without it for a few days, I’m not addicted to it anymore.
But at the same time, I can’t without the knowledge you can get via Internet. All those things, and books and information you can’t get elsewhere. Again, we’re talking about a non-Western country – there are just some things you can’t get where I live.
One of those things include contact with people from all over the world. I don’t have a passport nor money to travel, and this is something I crave a lot. Also, meeting people from all over the world and learning new things. This is what Internet gives me.
I guess this comment was my way to excuse myself for being addicted to Internet.
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Simple, I lived for years without the internet ….mind you I did’nt have a computor.
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