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Ask HN: Have you ever gone without a computer or phone for an extended period?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you ever gone without a computer or phone for an extended period?

#31

Post by freetime2 »

I spent 6 months without a computer or a cell phone while doing a semester overseas in college. It was a conscious decision to not bring my laptop, but it wasn’t as hard back then as it is today to function without internet (this was over a decade ago).

I did have access to computers for schoolwork via the computer lab, and used those to handle personal tasks as well. But it needed to be a conscious decision to head into campus and use them. A public library could serve in a similar function.

One negative thing that I vividly remember from those days was having to rely on paper maps and getting horribly lost at times. I don’t miss that at all.

Overall it was probably the biggest period of personal growth in my life. That probably had more to do with the fact that I was experiencing life in a new culture for the first time, but having no screen to retreat to probably motivated me to get out and meet more people.

I too am considering a future that is far less digital than my current lifestyle.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever gone without a computer or phone for an extended period?

#32

Post by eaandkw »

mikekchar wrote: post #15

My job is programming, so it's hard to divorce yourself too much. However, I went something like 4 years without a cellphone plan (I had a phone, but used it as a mobile computing device). I've never really done social media (a couple of years on Facebook until I figured out what it was). Probably HN (and before it Slashdot) was the extend. But I've gone many years without anything. In terms of communications, I thin…

I hear you on the /r/cheesemaking, although for me it is gardening. Unfortunately I spend most of my waking hours on a computer for both work and play. It didn't really hit me until the quarentine that I don't hardly do anything that doesn't require looking at a screen and it really kind of makes me mad. It wasn't always like this.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever gone without a computer or phone for an extended period?

#34

Post by luddite99 »

crucialfelix wrote: post #16

6 months while travelling in India in 2003. I had brought my Mac, but on the 9th day some mysterious force blew the "daughterboard" and bricked it. So I had to devote myself to meditation and occasional slow internet cafes. I noticed how much the screen alters perception. It's a bizarre 2d world. Completely unreal. We evolved to live in our bodies interacting with objects, but instead we end up glued to pathetic litt…

It feels to me that the screen almost becomes perception after heavy usage. Like navigating a device and the apps within it becomes just another part of the world that we can interact with. And when we use a device we can go almost instantly from a thought to executing that thought by opening an app, making a google search etc. So it's almost as if the fact that things "lag" in the physical world, that it requires us to move and force things and use energy to action things is a positive. That friction between thought and outcome maybe is something that we need.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever gone without a computer or phone for an extended period?

#35

Post by mauvehaus »

I've been pretty removed from the internet a couple of times while traveling under my own power.

In 2006 I was bike touring the US for 5 months. I got limited internet at libraries and hostels along the way. Pay phones were still a viable way to reach people; I did not carry a phone of my own.

In 2010 I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. Pay phones were no longer a viable way to reach anybody. I got my dumbphone (I valued battery life over internet) mailed to me at Fontana Dam, NC. I got limited internet at libraries and hostels.

In both cases, I didn't miss the internet and all it provides while I was traveling. I have found that it's really easy to fall right back into the same habits when I returned. I wish I could say that either time made a lasting change in my internetting habits, but I haven't managed it.

In my case, the change was driven by the activity and environment. If you do this in your environment, I'd be curious to hear whether you can parlay the cold-turkey approach into a lasting change.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever gone without a computer or phone for an extended period?

#36

Post by smackay »

Did several months on one of the more remote islands in the Falklands - population: 6 humans, several thousand penguins and several million petrels. Apart from a rotary phone and generators the only other tech experience was the International Space Station flying overhead one night.

The first couple of weeks were a little interesting but after a while you realise that if it was important then you'd hear about it eventually.

Ah, simpler times.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever gone without a computer or phone for an extended period?

#37

Post by danielscrubs »

Yes, don't know if it counts but I was without a computer and with no data on my mobile for 4 months traveling. Only used the phone for connecting to WiFi at coffeeshops to download maps and check buss/train schedules.

It was the happiest time of my life.

I don't think it is because I did amazing things but because small nagging feelings went away. For example, I don't need to know about the latest protests on the other side of the world. I certainly doesn't need to wake up to violent images and be shown how much the world sucks, because it steals my focus of what I should be focusing on, _myself_ and my carpe diem day (sound narcissistic I know).

I'm not a social person, but boy was it a game changer.

That said... it's very, very easy to get back into old habits and mentality. After 8 months after I returned to work I was probably the same old semi-depressed but joking me but with a little bit more hope. Also very expensive.

But for your question. I don't think there is anything wrong with computers or mobiles, it's when you get internet-access 24/7 instead of one hour per week that things start to get dicey. So I'd try to just limit that instead if possible. It forces you prioritise the things you _actually_ need from those that you don't.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever gone without a computer or phone for an extended period?

#39

Post by vekker »

lincolnq wrote: post #28

FWIW, a 10-day meditation retreat is a very accessible way to try a really different lifestyle for a short period. (You’ll probably want to wait to try it until COVID is less of a threat though.) If you want a specific recommendation, the Goenka retreats (dhamma.org) are free (donation-supported), exist worldwide and are identical everywhere. At such a retreat, you should expect to give up technology and live accordi…

I second this. If you can look past the "Goenka dogma", these 10-day retreats offered around the world are a great way to experience life raw and without distraction of technology or otherwise, in meditation.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever gone without a computer or phone for an extended period?

#40

Post by yesbabyyes »

At some points, when losing/breaking a phone, I have just refrained from buying a new one for a few weeks / a month. It felt pretty nice, actually.

For about a year, I used the Firefox developer phone with Boot 2 Gecko. It was kind of usable as a phone, but it really made me not use basically any apps apart from some lighter web use. It was surprisingly OK, for me, but sometimes a hassle.

Ever since, I have mostly gone without logging in to my social media accounts. Still am a HN junkie, though.

Lately, I have gone without a personal computer for uite some time; the last nine months or so, instead using my phone exclusively. Originally, I was hoping to be able to use Linux on DeX (with a bluetooth keyboard and a pretty decent 15" USB-C screen from Asus). It worked surprisingly well, but it was not 100% there so unfortunately, I can't quite recommend it. The point is moot, anyway, since Samsung cancelled the beta and removed the Linux on DeX functionality. I do use Termux, which is OK for a lot of things, and tried to use Andronix and similar offerings, but it's just too cumbersome. It's a bummer, because I'm pretty sure the hardware would be OK for the type of usage I need.

Another issue with the setup is that the screen charges over USB-C, so will quickly drain the phone battery. I use a qi wireless charger, which kind of works, but is kind of finicky. I still haven't found an adapter which takes USB PD and "feeds" it into the USB-C cable, ideally charging the phone and powering the screen at the same time. If anyone can give me pointers to that, I would be very grateful.

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