I'm gonna try to go 2 weeks without the internet (For me, that's unheard of)

I'm 24 and basically grew up with computers. It wasn't til I was 10 or 11 when I first went on the internet. (I remember the first website I went to, the Boston Red Sox website on my dads computer at his office haha)

Shortly after that my dad got a laptop computer from his job and he could go online from home.

Ever since then the internet has been a regular part of my life... and since middle school, my DAILY life (and at some times my ENTIRE life haha)

Now I'm 24, getting started with my own small business, and suffering terribly from inability to focus and see ideas, projects, or goals all the way through. Inside my head is a pretty comical place... I visualize it as a bunch of TV screens and radios playing all on different channels all the time. Even if I turn one or two of them (thoughts) off, another two will pop up somewhere else!

I've tried meditation and it works, I benefit from it, and yet I haven't been making the time (20 mins +/-) every day to observe these images/thoughts/ideas that are going on in my mind until they fade away one by one until I'm in that focused state on just one thought or idea. That grounds me for the day, or at least part of it, but since I haven't been consistent with it my thoughts are constantly running wild (to a certain level)

I've always got so many things my mind is telling me need to be done now (check email, check forums, check facebook, watch youtube video, search wikipedia, research this or that... you know, haha) on top of family obligations, social commitments, business projects, problems, customers, bills, etc.

And away from the computer I still get emails on my phone, I can still access the internet from my phone....

INFORMATION OVERLOAD!
I think I'm at the point where I need a break mentally! I wonder how many GB's (or TB's?) of data I consume from the internet daily.... That would be interesting to figure out...

Anyway, I'm going to challenge myself to go 2 weeks without access to the internet. I will say up front that for work I will need to be connected to the web, there are about 6 web based applications that my company uses to run the business including email communication, so I won't be able to disconnect from that at this point in time (unfortunately the business doesn't run without me... yet...), but I'm going to set my browser to block all other websites (I think the plugin is called StayFocused if you're interested, I know its available for Chrome, maybe others). I won't be going online on my phone during this time either.

Is anyone else "addicted" to the constant flow of information that the internet can provide? I'll be blocking "the internet" by midnight tomorrow... And I just realized that will mean I won't be able to check this thread after that (for two weeks)... haha oh man, I'm rambling now...

and GOOD LUCK to that!

see ya in two weeks

i won't even pretend i could not get online every single day of my life... especially now that i have a smart phone

I'm holding out on getting a smart phone for as long as possible just for this very reason.

As it is, I spend way too much time on the computer, I could use a break too. I'd have to get a few good books to substitute with, but with that I don't think it would be that hard.

I will agree with the whole information overload thing. Spending the majority of the day surfing the internet consuming data will put you in some weird kind of techy altered state. There is so much info available in a mere split second, doing anything else just seems like its going at a snail's pace.

Unpossible...

Pics - or it didn't happen...

To tell you the honest to God truth this has been something that I have been planning to do since last year but it's just so hard. One day it lasted for a few hours lol. I just haven't been strong enough to commit to not going online but one of these days I'm going to do it

Stoner4Life said:

best of luck to you, this shit's digital heroin.......

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yeah that

You know what, i could use a break too. I am gonna take a week off from the internet in solidarity starting now..

I went 3 months without a computer and internet in 2010. It took about 1 month to detox.

I never felt better!

Good luck!


R.Fortune

please keep us updated daily so we can experience the ordeal vicariously in agonizing detail.

I got my crackberry a few years ago, and when it came time to replace it because the screen was broken I tried going back to a "dumb phone", but ended up getting another blackberry a few weeks later.
Digital heroin is a GREAT way to put it.

Daily updates would be hard because, well... then I'd be on the internet!

I could add the reply to this thread page URL to my "allow" list so I can post updates but nothing else.... would that be cheating do you guys think? Or should I just keep a log in Notepad and post it all in 2 weeks? lol

that would be cheating... keep a diary on notepad.

i would love to hear about how hard this is and what withdrawal symptoms you have...

well if you had more things to occupy your time/life then you wouldn't be on the net so much. Go do volunteer work or get some outdoor hobbies instead. Or get 2-3 jobs outside the tech world. Read books in your down time. Otherwise, relax and enjoy your time on the net, in moderation. If your business is revolved around the internet and internet marketing, then that's the path you chose. Gotta deal with it or hire a secretary and such.

You need something to occupy your time. On the other hand, I'm guessing there are things you have neglected in the real world in order to spend more time online.

Last year I stayed off computers from April until about November. (7months) I've been online again for about 3 months and am ready for another break.

lw

I need the internet to stay updated with news and events pertinent to my lifestyle.

What would I do without it, watch network tv and read high times??

fuck that shit

@JustDoIt, I'm really happy that you made this decision. I think it will be a very positive experience. I hope more people follow your example. As @Stoner4Life said, the Internet really is digital heroine and many people (myself included) are addicted to it.

there's only so much you can do on the net I feel. forums, research, email, news, videos. facebook type of stuff and porn. That gets boring after a while to me. Now video games is a different story, online or offline. That seems to be the real addictions. So many people playing that WoW game and stuff like that. Dropping out of college because of it.

JustDoIt said:

I visualize it as a bunch of TV screens and radios playing all on different channels all the time. Even if I turn one or two of them (thoughts) off, another two will pop up somewhere else!

.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you've got adult ADD.

schwilly said:

I need the internet to stay updated with news and events pertinent to my lifestyle.

What would I do without it, watch network tv and read high times??

fuck that shit

Click to expand...

yea TV sucks these days for the most part...

the longest time I stayed without pc or internet was a couple of months ago because of a power outage, after 13 hours of zombie like rambling throughout the house the power finally came and I was a happy net addict again )) anyway good luck the first days will be the hardest, after you stop thinking about it it will be easyer