No computer? No problem. I'll just....wait.....oh no..

Focus: After I got broadband in I think it was 2000, I haven't ever been without internet for a span of longer than a week. Even when I was staying with my grandmother (who didn't even have cable), I'd head over to a friend's house and use his shitty dial up. I went loco being unable to keep up with my other equally nerdy friends. I needed to adjust my Yahoo fantasy basketball roster and read my news, god dammit.

Alt focus: I'm connected to the internet ALL THE TIME. I work in an outsourced IT company, so 98% of my job is remote support through the internet. My work pays for internet on my phone and home so they can reach me at all times. You can't beat the awesome of hooking up your phone to your car stereo and streaming Pandora or Pardon the Interruption podcasts.

Alt alt focus: I refuse to live in a world where I can't watch pornography on demand and check sports news from the toilet on my phone. Seriously, my phone has replaced books and newspapers as my men's room entertainment.

 

Lately I am sick of being connected all the time. I wish I could lose my phone for awhile. I could go awhile without internet, but if it's available I will use it.

Then I go out and buy the htc Evo and its a miniature computer in my pocket. I can't get away from it. I occasionally wonder what we would do if the USA got hit with an EMP. I think it would be cool.

I could go a long time without internet since I don't do anything on it that makes me money.

 

Alt focus: Desktop, laptop & my Droid. There are usually a few days a week that I don't even touch either computer and just check my email from my phone. If I have a few minutes I'll look at FB and TiB.

Alt alt focus: I could live without a computer for a pretty good while. Don't take my phone for long though. I check my email like it's my business (and it's not).

 

Every summer a few high school buddies and I go up to the Adirondack mountains and stay by the lake, we go the whole week with no internet and usually only one person has a phone with reception, at a gorgeous lake in the mountains it's not hard to fill the time, it fucking rocks not having those distractions.

I don't have a phone with internet, but in everyday life I'm usually always connected. At work I'm in front of my PC all day and we have 2 internet connections just in case one goes down.

I usually hop on my laptop for an hour or so when I get home and sometimes get back on before bed.

No, besides when I'm in the mountains the internet is very much a part of my life, I do all my shopping on it, I handle my money on it and I listen to internet radio while at work, I would go crazy if I had to go to malls when I want something or have to go to the bank to put money in my savings accounts.

I don't need to be in front of the computer 24/7 or anything, but I'd go crazy if I had more than 3 straight days (I'm a control freak with my money) with zero access (with exception to being in the mountains).

 

I once went 12 hours while stranded in a crowded airport unable to find a plug to charge my dead laptop and PDA while waiting for a flight to North Dakota. That's not even the worst part: I was working at an industrial dairy farm. Fuck. That.

Lately, I have been running four PCs and my PDA. It's sick, and I feel horrendously guilty about it, but it's not like I'm one of these fags who updates twitter or facebook every hour (I don't even have an account on either of those).

I have gone so far as to move the summer gathering from the lake to my place in the city because I couldn't get 3G service at the lake and I was waiting for some "important" emails that I needed to review and respond to.

Hi, my name is Ogee and I'm an addict.

 

FOCUS: I went four months without internet access a couple of years back. Computer got fried by a spilt beer and I was too broke to fix it. Turned out to be a life changing couple of months, in which I took up gardening and recycling, started to run with a group of people in the area on a regular basis, and re-kindled my love of the written word. In short, I spend far less time on the net than I used to, and it's really enriched my life in a variety of ways.

ALT. FOCUS: I'm only connected when this computer is on. I don't own a laptop, a cell phone, an Ipad, or any other modern gadgets. I have the basics, like a TV, a DVD player and of course this computer, but that's it. I also don't bother with Facebook, Twitter and whatnot. I prefer the phone for getting in touch, and looking people in the eyes when I talk to them. Now, don't take this as an attack on the marvels we have at our fingertips today, as I understand the advantages of being constantly connected, but it just isn't my bag. I'm actually a fair bit of a recluse in the sense that I have a close-knit group of friends and I prefer keeping things low-key and having a good deal of privacy.

ALT. ALT. FOCUS: Despite what I've said above, it would be a major adjustment to go without the net for years. I enjoy keeping up with the news online, I play a lot of older games on my PC that require patches and the like to keep updated, and I also use the net in lieu of cookbooks when I'm in a pinch. That being said, I could definitely go without, especially since my career line as a chef doesn't really require heavy-duty networking. A land line and an answering machine serve just fine in that regard.

 

I have the pleasure of working on a computer. As I designer I've spent at least 40 hours a week, plus leisure time on these boxes for the last ten years. No, I cannot imagine my life without it. I'm quite happy without a phone or TV, but I literally need the computer or a new job.

I did go a couple months a couple years ago without internet at home, and to say it was nice is an understatement. Living without internet or TV then was probably one of the most relaxed times of my life, given the chaos surrounding me. I literally left everything at work and spent my time at home getting in-touch with myself, in the non-masturbatory sense of the word.

 

Focus: A couple years ago, I went about a 10 week period without it during Officer Candidate School. It really wasn't that big of a deal because we were cut off from the outside world pretty much that whole time.

Alt: I recently got an Incredible, so my connected time has skyrocketed. Plus I have my laptop. Funny thing is, my phone internet is about 5x as fast as my home connection.

Alt alt: I could probably go without it, but my flight schedule comes out on an internet website and my class advisor and flight instructor's main modes of communication is email. Without internet, I would have to stop by my squadron area every day and stay there for about 3 hours because the schedule comes out in paper form between 4 and 7pm and my advisor and instructor both have their offices there.

 

I've rarely gone without internet since 2001 when I got to college and finally had access to broadband. My parents had dial-up until recently when I bought them a USB wifi adapter and taught them to steal internet from their neighbor. I've gone without for up to a week a few times when on vacation.

I'm currently connected with a desktop and a netbook. My phone is a several-year-old RAZR that I'm using since my most recent phone broke and I don't feel like spending the money to replace it.

I used to be on the internet all the time but in the last couple of years I find myself spending less and less time browsing. I've got a list of about 6 sites that I look at almost daily. Combine those with my RSS reader and I've got everything that I need. Even though I'm not constantly connected anymore I think it would be a big disruption to suddenly have to go without internet. I am used to being able to look up any obscure information whenever I need it. I'm not much into social networking or any of that stuff so that loss of the nearly limitless knowledge of the internet hive mind would present the biggest challenge.

 

Focus: In recent memory the longest I went without internet/laptop is the week I spent in the Boundary Waters back in May. I hardly even thought about it and certainly didn't miss it for such a short period of time.

Alt. Focus: My laptop is the computer I use for internet surfing, but we have a surplus university desktop hooked up to our TV, which is what we do in lieu of cable/broadcast TV. My cellphone is capable of internet surfing, but that shit's expensive when you gotta pay for it yourself, so I never use it.

 

28 days of no internet when I was in rehab and it sucked, I am not sure if the withdrawal symptoms were from the detox or what but it sucked.
What sucked about it is change, everything that you check daily on the internet you can no longer do.

Since then the longest I go without is a week at a time in Mexico on the water and it is not bad as my day is pretty full, or for 3-4 days up in the mountains hunting.

I could live with out it if I had to but no happily, to much of my job and world is tied to it.

 

Focus: In 2003, I went on a three week canoe trip. No internet, no phones, no tv, nothing electronic at all. Being unplugged wasn't too much of a problem for me, but then again, I was only 16 at the time, and this was before blogs, social media, etc. really took off.

Alt. Focus: At work, I have a desktop and two snapstreams for video capture. At home, I've got a Dell laptop that I bought in 2005. It's been pretty reliable despite all the spyware that comes from various porn sites, but I'm thinking about getting a new one. Maybe a Sony Vaio.

Alt-alt focus: I think I could swing a week or so. The idea of going without the internet in a more peaceful, idyllic setting than DC is something that appeals to me. I'm going to be spending five days in Cape Ann, Massachusetts next month and I'm going to try to eschew YouTube and Fark in favor of the beach and biking trails.

 

Due to AT&T's utter incompetence I recently went 3 weeks without a home internet connection. Sure I could head a block down the street to the bistro and get some free wi-fi but that rarely happened.

I found myself going through withdrawal the first week when I couldn't check for updates on the blogs I follow. I had an even harder time not being able to watch instantly on Netflix. Eventually though, I got down to a comfortable schedule of coming home from work, watching a dvd and then reading for the rest of the night. Boy did I get a ton of reading done.

What I really ended up missing was the convenient things. Checking the weather, shopping online, getting email. It's not until your access is cut off that you appreciate those little things. It's kind of nice being forced to make your own entertainment though.

 

Focus: I've gone a few weeks in between internet stops while travelling. If I'm seeing a new city and doing my social organising by phone, meh. Intarwebs is mostly for when I'm bored, working or as a social tool.

Alt. Focus: I work in IT. I have worked in IT since '96. Every job I've ever had has revolved around the internet. All my idle entertainment utilizes the internet except for TV and Books, and I usually download TV shows and shop for books, on the internet. Live and breath it.

Alt. Alt. Focus: I'd go insane in Jail. I'd be in a straight jacket in a rubber room, pleading for a fucking laptop and an internet connection inside of a week.

 

9 weeks. Boot camp. During the last week, we got an opportunity to use the internet, but I used that time to call friends and family instead. I just didn't really feel like using the internet until I got adequate time to check everything.

 

Focus:Last summer. Almost a year ago next weekend. Between playing cell phone tag with my insurance agent (that went on 2 weeks vacation in the middle of my claim - the fucking cunt) and Futureshop, it was 5 fucking weeks. I have one of those 1950's era tv towers on the side of the house that now holds my satellite dish. Almost 50 years that thing has been there and it finally took a lightening strike. Lost my phone line, laptop, internet, router, dish, a tv, the stove, and a coffee machine.

Alt. Focus:My morning routine revolves around my laptop and Breakfast Television. I get up and put coffee on, take my shower and then I spend an hour reading my email, popping in here, FB - and catching the news/weather on BT etc..

Alt. Alt. Focus:Living without my internet fucks with my routine, so no. I hate having my routine fucked with, it ruins the whole flow of my day. I'd be lost without all the free music out there as well. What am I going to do, listen to Top 40 fucking radio?

 

At home and at work I'm online constantly*. I have an iPhone and usually have the WiFinder app working to find me free wifi. But I can go camping for a couple of weeks and be offline the whole time and I don't miss it a bit. Somebody figure me out.

*even though this is only my 19th post on this form, I read/lurk a lot.......

 

I went a semester without internet in my apartment (too lazy/cheap to get it). I managed to steal a couple hours of free wifi a day, otherwise I was without it. To be honest it wasn't too bad, but I still managed to stay current with email, so who knows how I'd do if I went cold-turkey.

I lost internet connection for 3 days about a month ago and it was a strange experience. I had to go to the library to use the internet, but it felt a bit pathetic to sit in the library watching Netflix so I would only go to check email a few minutes a day. I noticed I read a lot more, went to sleep earlier, and generally had a higher quality of life.

Right now I'm ignoring my family (who I see about once a year) to write this post, so that should be indication enough that internet is pretty bad for overall quality of life.

 

Focus:

Probably our honeymoon. A little over 2 weeks without any kind of internet, and barely any phone calls. I thought it'd suck, but honestly, I was so damn busy I didn't even think about it until I got home. And honestly, my internet habits have changed since then. Morning after the wedding, I was on TiB and checking basketball articles on my Google Reader as an example. Now, I still check TiB regularly, but it's just less often. Ditto with facebook and the other time wasting crap.

Alt. Focus:

For work, the internet is heavily relied upon as a communication tool, and with people knowing I can email on my blackberry, I am thus always "on call." I work from home, and it is only because I am seemingly always "connected" that this is possible. During the average day I maybe go an hour at a time without doing something on the internet, phone or otherwise.

Alt. Alt. Focus: Work-wise, I wouldn't be able to do my job without the internet. Not just for convenience, it's a damn necessity (as I do a lot of website stuff too). Personally, fuck it, I live on a ranch and have guns and a creek stocked with bass. I'd fucking love to go without the internet.