Recently I became concerned that my 6-year-old might grow up thinking the computer was the only form of entertainment for an adult.
My husband and I both work from home, sitting in front of our computers all day. I'm usually not online for many minutes consecutively; I use the Internet in the spare moments between other things.
When I want to rest before I start cooking dinner, I go on Pinterest or Facebook, check my email or read blogs. The Web, for me, is mostly a distraction. Of course, I also use it for research and communication with editors when I’m working on a story.
What if I took a break from the Internet altogether? Would I function? How would I deal with not knowing what was going on online, not being able to look up anything I needed to know, and being forced to actually pick up the phone and call people?
More time for guitar!
I decided to do a five-day no-Internet experiment to see if I was capable of tearing myself away. Before I began, I turned all my stories in, as well as any other work that was due that week. Immediately, though, I felt the effects. On day one, I woke up to an important text message informing me that I had to go online to take care of some business. Well, I couldn't do that, so I asked my husband to deal with it. Though this was a necessary solution, technically I still used the Internet .
.. just via someone else.I wanted to make a stew for dinner and I needed a recipe, but I gave away my cookbooks because nowadays I find my recipes online. So I just threw a bunch of vegetables into a broth. Instead of spending time online checking out social media while the stew brewed, I read a few sections of the local newspaper and edited a few paragraphs of my manuscript. A couple of times while editing, I wanted to Google something historical. Instead I left a blank space to look it up later. In essence, I wasn't eliminating my need for the Internet, only postponing it. (And the stew turned out pretty good, even though I forgot the tomatoes.)
By day two, I was insane with craving. I thought I would die if I couldn't feed my brain with clever information, pretty pictures, and funny quotes. It hurt a little. I was having withdrawal.
On day three, the temptation to go online was so strong that I had to turn off all the notifications on my phone. I really, really wanted to click on that link about the baby pandas. My mother wanted to Skype, but I told her we’d have to use the phone. I took the cutest photo of my toe ring, but I had to wait two more days to share it.
It became apparent by day four that many of the things I like to do on the Internet are fairly dumb, and I started to enjoy not filling every moment of free time with Twitter or Words with Friends. I got into a really good book and taught my daughter how to do the cobra stitch.
Upon returning online, I learned that I'd missed a business deal. Not a huge deal, but some money lost. There were 12 Facebook notifications and none of them were important. I had 68 email messages. Right away, I was able to delete half without reading them.
In all, being without the Web was pretty inconvenient, and I didn't find that I got much more done. I did sit in front of the computer less, but I still sat in front of it a lot; I just used it for writing instead of surfing. It took me a while to catch up on all the work I fell behind on –- the money lost, the social connections missed, and the emails that needed to be answered.
Though those five days turned out to be doable for me, it made me realize how truly dependent I am on the Internet -- not only me, but our entire society. If we lost the Internet, banks couldn't conduct business as easily; commerce would come to a halt; even the government would shut down temporarily. The country would be helpless.
Here are the things I found myself unable -- and also able -- to do when I was offline:
Things I'm Forced to Give Up Without Internet Access:
Procrastinating on Facebook
Surfing Pinterest
Tweeting
Reading book reviews on Goodreads
Looking up recipes
Responding to/sending email messages
Conducting business
Shopping on Etsy
Posting photos on Instagram
Reading blogs
Sending out an invitation
Looking up facts
Looking up words
Skyping
Booking a hotel room/flight
Things I Can Do Instead:
Help my daughter make jewelry
Write in my journal
Read cookbooks
Read the local paper
Finish a book that is overdue at the library
Go out for coffee with friends
Go for a hike with my husband
Work on editing my manuscript
Yoga
Use a dictionary
Text message
Read a travel guide
Nowadays I'm making small attempts to not jump on the computer every time I have a free moment. Instead I pick up a book or my guitar, and I can engage more with my daughter, which is always a good thing.
Since my experiment, the Internet has started to feel like a trashy magazine I automatically pick up in my dentist’s waiting room. It’s irresistible, yet pointless. Of course, not everything I do online is insignificant. I am able to make a living and raise a child because I can work from home online. For that alone, I'm eternally grateful. Finding a balance between the awesome, substantial stuff and the mind-numbing side-tracking stuff will be my eternal struggle, I guess, Internet or not.
Have you ever taken a break from the Internet? How'd it go?
