Did you read about that guy who quit the internet for a year? His tech job paid him to stay offline... and write about it. (In minor resentment over all my jobs doing the opposite, I won't link to his article here).
This guy says that even stripped of the internet, he didn't write a book, or travel, or do much (or any) of the soul broadening stuff on his bucket list. At the end of it all, he found the internet wasn't responsible for his procrastinating or anti-social behavior; he was.
Here's the thing. I know the internet isn't responsible for my laziness. Maybe it's partially responsible for my caring too much about other people's opinions - I'm exposed to them far more now. However, I don't use the 'net to procrastinate, I spend a fair amount of time in the real world, and I'm happier with a book than Facebook.
Overall, the internet & I are good. I recognize it pays me a lot. I admire its potential. I realize it's drawbacks. I spent a year recently with no internet access outside of work hours, and I can't say I missed it.
But if I lived in a world where I was paid richly to stay at home and work less than 8 hours a week... I'd, at the very least, jump at the chance to work my way down my travel wishlist; writing something, anything, even if a novel doesn't come out of it. This guy's a US resident, most countries don't even need him to pre-book a visa. He's single, so no worries there. And he spent a year going nowhere, and doing nothing.
Can you tell this story annoys me?
This guy says that even stripped of the internet, he didn't write a book, or travel, or do much (or any) of the soul broadening stuff on his bucket list. At the end of it all, he found the internet wasn't responsible for his procrastinating or anti-social behavior; he was.
Here's the thing. I know the internet isn't responsible for my laziness. Maybe it's partially responsible for my caring too much about other people's opinions - I'm exposed to them far more now. However, I don't use the 'net to procrastinate, I spend a fair amount of time in the real world, and I'm happier with a book than Facebook.
Overall, the internet & I are good. I recognize it pays me a lot. I admire its potential. I realize it's drawbacks. I spent a year recently with no internet access outside of work hours, and I can't say I missed it.
But if I lived in a world where I was paid richly to stay at home and work less than 8 hours a week... I'd, at the very least, jump at the chance to work my way down my travel wishlist; writing something, anything, even if a novel doesn't come out of it. This guy's a US resident, most countries don't even need him to pre-book a visa. He's single, so no worries there. And he spent a year going nowhere, and doing nothing.
Can you tell this story annoys me?
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