The following services are best done via internet and will be full of friction to substitute an alternative:
1. Remote desktop sharing and web conference calls
2. Remote learning / webinars
3. Bank transactions (web banking) for bill pay, instant wires and archived bank statements, etc. Yes, a phone call to the 1-800 could work, except for payments and immediately available bank statements.
4. Music video of the latest Rebecca Black hit exclusively available on Youtube only (lol right?)
4.
4.
I'm leaving the Internet for a year
11–20 of 113 posts
Re: I'm leaving the Internet for a year
#12[deleted]
Re: I'm leaving the Internet for a year
#13Maybe he should ditch electricity and plumbing too? I mean, if you're going to figure out how this one technology has infested your soul, why not go all the way? I'm sure there are some Amish* communities that would take you in and let you hammer some nails while you get back to your non-technological inner being. * That's always what they seem to do in movies to the point of being a cliche.
The internet is pretty distinct. It changes how we think and perceive the world. Electricity is very impactful. But most things that it provides had analogues, at least for the middle to upper classes. Servants fulfilled the role that appliances now play. Horses provided fast enough transport, because the scale of cities were smaller, etc. All analogies will break down somewhere, but most modern electrical convenienc…
Imagine a culture that was pre-electricity. Bring someone from that culture to 1990. Show them cell phones, televisions, space travel, etc. Imagine the cultural shock... the "advanced technology == magic" effect.
Now imagine showing someone from 1990 what things are like in 2012 with the internet we have today. While they would think it's "neat" and even "amazing", the magic effect would not be there.
The internet is cool, no doubt, but it's not the leap that electricity has been.
Re: I'm leaving the Internet for a year
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is this a serious suggestion? It reads like you're mocking him, which is pretty uncalled for, but I can't be sure.
I wouldn't call it serious or mocking, rather I'd call it whimsical speculation designed to generate conversation. I find your attempt to suppress my whimsical speculation designed to generate conversation to be pretty uncalled for.
I didn't read it as whimsical; I was originally going to write something like "You're quitting smoking? Are you going to quit coffee, too?" It struck me as pretty harsh.
I do think there's legitimate value to the idea-- I'd bet most people would be a lot happier without electricity or indoor plumbing than we'd imagine.
But I think if somebody decided to try it for a year, a guy saying "No electricity, huh? Are you gonna stop cooking your food, or are you just doing like a halfway thing?" would sound like an asshole.
Also, what gives with calling my good-faith request for clarification an "attempt to suppress" you? I could have just downvoted you and moved on if that's what I wanted.
Re: I'm leaving the Internet for a year
#15It's been done before: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/offline/features/2010/lif...
I will be running the marathon under three hours.
Top comment: It has been done before
Re: I'm leaving the Internet for a year
#16It's been done before: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/offline/features/2010/lif...
I will be running the marathon under three hours. Top comment: It has been done before
You seem to be interpreting the comment as suggesting that there is no point in the endeavor. It can equally be read as simply offering another perspective or showing what might be expected.
Re: I'm leaving the Internet for a year
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
The internet is pretty distinct. It changes how we think and perceive the world. Electricity is very impactful. But most things that it provides had analogues, at least for the middle to upper classes. Servants fulfilled the role that appliances now play. Horses provided fast enough transport, because the scale of cities were smaller, etc. All analogies will break down somewhere, but most modern electrical convenienc…
Imagine a culture that was pre-electricity. Bring someone from that culture to 1990. Show them cell phones, televisions, space travel, etc. Imagine the cultural shock... the "advanced technology == magic" effect. Now imagine showing someone from 1990 what things are like in 2012 with the internet we have today. While they would think it's "neat" and even "amazing", the magic effect would not be there. The internet is…
It's a good point. Energy's changes are highly visible and impactful, especially on a societal level. I would argue they're less impactful when we consider how an individual actually lives day to day.
The effects of the internet are largely invisible. Some people today still don't get the internet at all. The world around them changed, but they can't notice. But for someone who does get the internet, it can completely change how you live your life.
Re: I'm leaving the Internet for a year
#18Couple of years back I hiked in Himalayas and there was no access to Internet for 15 days. Not just Internet but no cell phones, TVs, iPod etc. For first 3-4 days when we were still in rural towns of India, we had electricity but after that we had no access to electricity. I must say it was the best experience of my life. I don't think I missed anything at all. As far as author goes, 1 year is a really long time. I'd love to hear after 1 year.
Re: I'm leaving the Internet for a year
#19Having followed Paul's writing for awhile, I feel like I get where he's coming from and what he hopes to do with this endeavor. I really respect that.
But I still have to question the viability, and ultimately the value, of this honestly rather extreme abstentionism. If he were moving to a village in Thailand, things would be different – he'd be surrounded by people who don't need the internet, and the society he'd be living in wouldn't expect him to use it.
But, as far as I can tell, he's staying in NYC. The penalty for disconnecting is going to be disproportionately greater there than it would be in a society that doesn't expect even its homeless to be able to get government forms from an internet-connected computer in a public library. He can try to live in New York circa 1992, but he's ultimately going to be expected to live in New York 2012.
I think a more productive self-denial would be to limit one's internet usage to libraries and internet cafes. Cancel the FiOS and 4G, divorce yourself from Twitter and email, but leave the option open of making a trip down to the library to take care of the things in your daily life that actually require the internet.
Re: I'm leaving the Internet for a year
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
I will be running the marathon under three hours. Top comment: It has been done before
You seem to be interpreting the comment as suggesting that there is no point in the endeavor. It can equally be read as simply offering another perspective or showing what might be expected.
I was being a little dismissive.