41–50 of 113 posts
It feels, relieving at that time. It feels that life can be simpler.
Maybe I'll do that again soon....
Life before the internet was incredibly boring most of the time. You spent the majority of your free time figuring out ways to wring the most value from the 10% of time spent doing actual things with actual people. A lot of it was filled with TV and moving around needlessly (to get things, to send things, to be somewhere at a certain time to pick up the phone...). It really sucked.
I think this is important though. I was part of the last generation that spent most of my childhood without computers (born 1990). We didn't have our first computer until I was 6 (my uncle built it as a gift for me - it ran MSDOS + had 2 games on it). Most of my time was spent outside playing sports and building things. As I got older and go my first games console (N64) I spent more time using computers but most of it was still spent outside.
When I look at my younger family members who have grown up with the internet it surprises me how little time they spend outside. When they visit friends they play games on the computer. Being 'grounded' and not allowed out is no longer a punishment. Being made to go out and not use the computer is.
I think it will be very interesting to look back 50 years from now and see how much of an impact this has on peoples' development. Will people born with computers evolve significantly differently from those born without them?
Earlier 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…
It's useful to keep in mind McCluhan's adage "the medium is the message". It's the way a new medium influences culture in and of itself that has the greatest impact on us, not the content it carries. Perhaps a better analogy for the Internet would be the printing press, but either way, it was arguably the ubiquity, accessibility and automation of electric power that changed society the most. Similarly, the fact that…
For anyone interested in media commentary I recommend Niel Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death. Published in 1986 it is a eerie and lucid look into media and its measurable effects on society. I find it more relevant today than when it was published.
[1] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Medium_Is_the_Massage
Sheesh, what a pain in the ass this will be. Not paying bills online, not making plans over email, etc., etc. The idea of not letting "the Internet" into unknown corners of your life is fine but I do the same thing by _paying attention_. This reminds of the regular Information Overload articles that get written about how the writer has too much stuff to pay attention to. When I read those I always think "you're doing…
> Not paying bills online, not making plans over email, etc., etc. If he's married, I'd wager 90% of those things will still get done over the internet; but instead of clicking a mouse, he'll ask his wife.
Life before the internet was incredibly boring most of the time. You spent the majority of your free time figuring out ways to wring the most value from the 10% of time spent doing actual things with actual people. A lot of it was filled with TV and moving around needlessly (to get things, to send things, to be somewhere at a certain time to pick up the phone...). It really sucked.
It all depends on you and your lifestyle. I know a lot of people who rarely use computers and when they do they get what they need and shut it down again. I'm guessing you (,like me,) spend most of your work day and free time on a computer. Other people go outside, play sports, build physical things, play music etc. There are many opportunities for entertainment away from a computer. I think this is important though.…
I grew up without the internet; i don't think we are that far apart or disconnected from the first internet generation.
Couple 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…
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 late…
3. Bank transactions (web banking) for bill pay, instant wires and archived bank statements, etc. We used to put these things called checks into little paper envelops. We then put an inexpensive stamp onto them an deposited them in mailboxes. About 3 days later our bills were magically paid. In all honesty does anyone actually have hard numbers on the number of people that actually use online bill pay? I'll willing t…
That's a fascinating experiment. I just tried 30 days without the internet (at home). But I still used it in cafes, whereas Paul is disconnecting completely. I think he's going to find many little points of friction that he wasn't expecting. So many non-internet exchanges now end with "sure, send me an email" or "Sure, just go to our website and..." The infrastructure to serve non-web users still exists, but it's fad…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 go…
> 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. I think only someone who has grown up with both of those advances would be able to make this comment with a straight face. Ask anyone who has nearly frozen to death in the winter because they couldn't afford their electricity bill what they think of that statement. O…
I haven't done it myself, but I have a good friend who spent a couple winters in a cabin in rural Vermont. It's not that bad. You buy enough firewood to last, and get water from the well. It gets cold at night, but you've got a roof and a fire and a sleeping bag, you're not going to die. You can walk and hitchhike to the hospital in the nearest town, if you get sick. Really, the biggest issue is loneliness.
Sure, you give up a lot of comforts which I wouldn't want to, but people lived that way in good spirits for thousands of years. Empirical evidence suggests we have more or less the same capacity for unhappiness regardless of circumstance.