Abstaining from the internet for 24 hours was a lot more difficult than I expected it to be. I didn't realize how much I rely on the internet as a line of communication with others or as a mode of staying organized and gathering information. It blew me away how often I wanted to communicate with someone on the internet or gather information on the internet. The internet is so much a part of my daily life that I don't ever even think about how to do certain things without it. Just as Wood and Smith suggested, it has changed the way I think (p.8).
Immediately when I woke up I wanted to check the weather forecast for the day, as it is part of my daily routine. Usually I would find that information in my favorites on the internet, but I had to come up with an alternative way of gathering it. I decided to call my husband and ask him if he had seen the forecast. Not having the impersonal internet to provide me with information gave me an extra opportunity to talk with my husband.
Next, I wanted to check the balance on our bank account (something I do every morning). I know I should probably keep a written record of all our spending. Sometimes I do, but I tend to miss things...a lot of things. I don't miss things because I can't remember to write them down. I miss them because I know that I have instant access to online banking, and our exact balance, at all times. When I realized that I couldn't check our bank account, I simply decided to wait until my 24 hours of abstinence were up to do so. I decided to wait to pay our bills too, since I pay all of them online.
After I had a conversation with my husband and forfeited my opportunity to check our bank account, I wanted to SEE what was going on in the lives of my friends and family around the world. I couldn't do that either. At least I couldn't check up on all of them. I also needed to discuss some upcoming plans with a couple of people, and I wanted to send out one message to all of them on facebook, but I had to call them individually instead.
I can definately see how the internet has changed the way I think and the way I live my life every day, just as Postman, Wood and Smith discussed. It has changed what I think about (Postman, p. 20). Instead of thinking about how a close circle of friends are doing, I think about how hundreds of friends are doing because the internet has made it possible for me to keep (loosely) in touch with more people. The internet has also changed the symbols I think with (Postman, p. 20). Instead of thinking about words exchanged in face-to-face interactions I've had with people, I think of the pictures people have posted on facebook recently. The internet has even changed the nature of community (Postman, p. 20). It has become the place I often go to find a sense of community (Wood & Smith, p. 21).
Without the internet I couldn't communicate with as many people in a day. I couldn't instantly send messages to mass amounts of people in a couple of minutes. Instead, I had to individually call each person I wanted to talk to and have a more personal conversation. I enjoyed being able to hear people's immediate responses because it gave me a much clearer idea of how they truly felt, but I didn't enjoy the inefficiency of it all.
The internet has most definitely made efficiency more possible in my life, so now I value efficiency more than ever. I value the efficiency of finding the weather forecast, my bank account balance, and updates on friends and family across the world all in one place. I value not having to take the time to go to multiple sources for each thing. I can get a lot more accomplished in a day when the internet can provide all of my communication and information needs; however, there is something to be said for the more personal interactions that must take place in the absence of the internet. Life without the internet may not allow for us to accomplish as many things in a day, but I think it forces us to have more real life interactions. I value, and even rely on, the efficiency the internet offers for gathering information, but when it comes down to it, communicating with friends and family face-to-face or even over the phone, though less efficient, is much more fulfilling than communicating with them online.
