I have done this before, cold turkey for weeks at a time. (Out of necessity, not willpower: I was sequestered in the South American jungle.) I thought it was a really healthy and beneficial experience. I rediscovered what it meant to read books, actively entertain myself, and have lengthy conversations with people. It's not possible to carry on this way in my everyday life, but those habits have persisted even as I plugged back in. I mainly use the internet for research and writing e-mail now. Five-hour YouTube binges are (mostly) a thing of the past.
To anyone who has misgivings about the toll that being online 10+ hours a day takes on them, I encourage you to step back, take a look in the mirror, and really ponder your online habits. Compulsive internet usage has all the hallmarks of clinical addiction, but strangely almost nobody acknowledges it as such. Like any addiction, beating it will improve your life.
The longest I was without internet was for about 10 days. I didn't miss it at all. I was visiting my relatives in Serbia.
The thing is, I had all these activities laid out for me there, like visiting people, going on a food market, building etc., so I think it would be harder to stay offline while being at home. It's even worse when I think that most of my hobbies and work are computer related (web dev, fl studio via midi keys, writing...). I guess it's better to focus on more important things than just staying up to date.
Well i too am making slow progress, I had my FB account disabled for a year now, i just check it once a month and then disable it quickly because I quickly remember how boring it is. My tumblr and twitter account password have been changed to obscure passwords, so that I cant login that easily (have to use password recovery). It's been a month now since i've logged in... And I've erased every single feed from my google reader and Now i'm using just plain ol' bookmarks so I check up only on a few of the important sites.
I've also done a jetpack plugin for myself to see how many times i've visited a particular site that day. The count shows up in each firefox tab.Because it's easy to go in circles without knowing it...
I second all of this. As a general rule, if you don't know how you could live without something, it's probably a good idea to find out. You get a much better idea of how much you need it vs. how much you're just using it to kill time and distract yourself. You might even find that not having it makes you miserable, but at least you then know how miserable.
Well, that's funny, I also worked in the amazon for several months at a time, away from the internet (in eastern ecuador). I can't say I missed it -- no, I couldn't browse the web, but I also didn't have to deal with email and cell phone calls about stupid stuff. In that sense it was quite liberating.
It gave me a new perspective on my online life, and how much time I used to waste on stupidity like Facebook, for instance.
I found the opposite effect - extreme loneliness and depression. My IRC friends were really only the close community I had. I found phone or face-to-face communication difficult, and unnatural; perhaps the internet is for introverts?
Coincidentally, on the way over to Starbucks just now, I heard a segment on NPR about internet-addicted korean kids who are losing their childhood to the online realm, so much so that they now have two-week internet addiction rehab programs for these kids and are starting to teach elementary school students about proper internet use and netiquette. I couldn't help but to relate to some of the kids as I myself spend lots of time on the internet, but unlike most of them who seem to be passing the hours playing online games, I tend to do lots of reading and more educational type activities, or at least that's how I justify it. I think this stigma against prolonged internet usage will slowly fade as more and more people are depending on the internet for their work, leisure activities (reading, art, etc), and communication. I mean, too much of anything is bad, as they say, and taking time to go out, breathe some air and kick a ball around is necessary for physical and psychological health, but the internet has become, to me, more convenient and efficient advancements of my canvas, library, classroom, newspaper, and telegraph, and so my time spent surfing, which has proven to be quite inefficient :P, has increased. I'll definitely get out a lot more and hit up my local cybercafe, though.
I currently live in rural Japan and when I first moved here, I went 2-3 weeks w/o a cell phone or internet. To be honest, it was torture. But it was self-imposed.
When I finally (and eagerly) got back online, I saw that the world hadn't ended. It was an important lesson: life goes on, even if you're not connected.
Since then, I've drastically reduced my time spent online and as a result, have accomplished a lot more things offline. I highly recommend it to anyone who feels they need to be always connected.
"After some soul searching, I decided to take a two-week leap into digital darkness – limiting my internet, TV, and cell phone access to working hours."
One does not require soul-searching in order to watch TV during work hours. ;)
I went camping for two weeks earlier this month and didn't miss the internet at all. The funny thing about internet addiction is that people feel like they will miss out if they don't check their emails, facebook and favorite website 10 times a day. The truth is most of these things can be left for days. I don't own a smart for this reason. I feel that it will just be another unnecessary distraction.
A funny thing about 'Social media' is that it has tended to make me less social. Instead of calling people I'll send a dm or email. Instead of personally inviting everyone to a party it is easier to invite them via facebook. Sure the internet and social media has made communication easier but it has also made it less personal.
It's very sad but true. I have become embarrassingly dreadful recently - I've been reading everything and anything.
My last day job; I refused to doss about on the web. And as a webdev never suffered - if we had connectivity issues. Other's looked stranded.
I also was pretty diligent in using books. I absorb so much more reading from paper. I also find the quality of information online to be weaker than print and lower than the past. There is a lot of uneducated opinion, repeated ideas; and it makes finding information more arduous too.
It's strange how the non-multitasking disconnected days of old used to feel better. I'd download usegroup messages and read in a burst, then do something else. I'd also sit back reflect and fine tune a reply.
When the web cost me more - dialup - I was far more discerning.
It's really a case of poor time management and prioritisation. The web can be a distraction; it's easy to lose hours. This is actually a good wake up call.
I've never seen this site before - the99percent. I clicked around a little and it looks pretty good. I reckon there's some irony in this, as I'm bookmarking it for later internet addiction time later.
To anyone who has misgivings about the toll that being online 10+ hours a day takes on them, I encourage you to step back, take a look in the mirror, and really ponder your online habits. Compulsive internet usage has all the hallmarks of clinical addiction, but strangely almost nobody acknowledges it as such. Like any addiction, beating it will improve your life.