Lately, it has seemed that the things that are getting pushed into my view are all pretty relevant and engaging to me. Each little article I have come across as of late digs a little deeper into some of the big issues I have been tossing around inside my own mind for a good while now. Maybe I am just being more receptive to these articles right now, or more likely, I am actually just taking the time to sit down and read the full article or watch the full video instead of simply bookmarking it for a later time. (Yes, all these articles/video are on the internet. Which is funny, as you will see....)
The first Article I am referencing was this one entitled 'I'm Still Here: Back Online after a Year Without the Internet'. This was pretty great, b/c it covered a topic I am constantly lamenting on (what would my life be like if I just unplugged and stepped away?) but also didn't give me the answer I WANTED, which... MIND BLOWN.
There are so many times in life (right now being one of them) that I have had the urge to step away form the digital world, cut back. I have gotten rid of facebook for a period of 2.5 years (and I mean, fully deleted, not just a deactivate), I didn't own a smart phone until about 2-3 years ago, and now with my smart phone, I have deleted my facebook, facebook messenger, and gchat apps. Just taking steps back. When times come that I find myself going on binges, I always wonder what the big step would be like, NO INTERNET. In my mind the life of someone with no internet is a glorious and enviable one. It is a life of reading, walks, productivity, libraries, letter writing, etc. YES, I know this is fully romanticized. When I gave up facebook for years it was during a time when I was first out of college through my move up to Alaska where I knew not a soul. I quickly learned that facebook DIDN'T hinder me in getting to know new people, but the more people I got to know, the harder it was to figure out weekend plans WITHOUT facebook. Everyone was using the 'events' tab on there, and though for a while mass emails were ALSO sent out to accompany these event invites so as to keep everyone in the loop, this trend slowly faded, and I was left in the dark without straight up asking what was going on. This wasn't an omission on purpose, but most people simply forget that all their friends aren't covered when making a facebook event. Eventually, I cracked and made a new profile, and have had my facebook, fully activated, ever since.
All this led me to be SUPER interested in what a guy in my age range experienced not having internet for AN ENTIRE year. No smartphone, no Google maps, no email. I was hooked. Now, I want you to ALSO read the article, but lets just say, in the beginning everything is KINDA like my romanticized version of an internet free life, until, well, it's not. Read it, let me know what you think? It was an eye opener for me.
The second Article was actually a video... HERE. Just watch y'all.
So me and the internet, where do we stand? I may never figure it out. Is this a dilemma only people of my age experience Is it because we know fully what an internet free life is like, as well as in internet FULL life is like? Those ten years younger, do they even consider what life would be like without internet?
Yesyesyes! I'm trying to spend a lot less time on the internet. Though I making money by using computers, I also am very a lot more conscious Of how Iyoukeen sees things. I don't want him to see me just constantly staring at a screen. I've made the habit that if I don't need to be on for work, Step away and do something else.
ReplyDeleteSee, I had this talk the other day with two people who each have a 2 year old (I being that asshole who has no child, and still has opinions about them) and how they love Ipads for bringing kids into restaurants. I said it teaches them to associate going out to a meal, or eating, with the visual stimulation of a phone, laptop, etc. They said I was wrong, and that this way they weren't that terrible couple with the kid with cheerios all over the ground. I say, we survived before iPads and not all kids do that shit, if you fuckin' pay attention to them...sigh. Then I realized I have no real life experience.
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