I tried a little experiment at Thanksgiving. I went to visit my parent who had just moved. They didn’t have internet, phone or TV yet. Not even mobile. They live in some kind of weird zone not covered by any cell tower. I was without internet for 2 WHOLE DAYS. My heart stopped, I started sweating. I trembled. Then I realized I have a problem. I might be addicted to the internet.
I’m a big girl, I thought. I can handle this. Off I went for 2 whole days with no connection to the outside world. I guess this is where I should put a charming blurb about connection and being present and all that. It was a little less profound. After about 6 hours I stopped wandering the house with my iPhone trying to pick up a signal. By the end of day 2, I was comfortable without it. The moral of the story- you may not be as addicted to the internet as you think. I’m online all day, every day. I thought I would come unglued. I didn’t. I watched movies, ate quahogs and took the dog to the beach. No meltdown, no epiphanies.
Try it sometime. Unplug for a weekend. Turn the TV off, hide your cell phone, turn the laptop off. See how it feels. If you’ve ever taken a tech break tell me about it in the comments. I’m curious.
