GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - View Single Post - Writer Proves You Can Survive Without the Internet for a Year

Heath · 05-04-2013, 09:07 AM

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/tec...7#.UYJ24KKG0xu

Quote:

Did you really do it? Did you really avoid all parts of the Internet for a year?
Yes, with one exception. I was at the library trying to look for a book and I pulled up the card catalog and it turned out to be a website. I did inadvertently click a link, but as soon as I realized my mistake, I fled.

But yes, I avoided looking at people's screens all the time. Even when people tried to show me Instagrams on their phones I always looked away. I didn't use the Internet for a year.

What was the hardest part about it?
It was really easy to not load a browser or use apps and keep WiFi off, but when people tried to show me things -- funny YouTube videos or Instagrams -- it just felt really selfish of me. They wanted to show me something -- they weren't doing the experiment -- and it felt rude of me. They just wanted to share something with me, and I felt rude. That was hard.

When we talked earlier, you were finding out about other ways to communicate: the phone, telephone books, snail mail, etc. How did you get around not using the Internet?
A lot of those practical things never really became an issue. I went to the library a lot, but they don't really have books at the library anymore; they just have computers mostly now. I got a lot of letters but I never really got into the groove of sending letters. And then I used 411 a lot instead of the phonebook. I mostly just asked people questions. I really did learn you can get lots of great information from asking real people.

What did you want to accomplish in this year? Did you feel like it was a success?
I wanted to read a lot and educate myself. But then it evolved into an experiment where I could learn something about the Internet. I didn't really succeed, but I learned a lot. I got some reading done and some writing done, but I am not a transformed person.

What are you looking forward to seeing the most once you connect?
I want to see the big things I missed this year, the Internet culture that I missed. I also missed the people and connecting with them online.

Aside for business, could you go a year without the internet?