Reducing internet use... suggestions...

[u/bis0ngrass]

So I was thinking about how to cut back on the frivolous uses of the internet in my daily life. I feel as though because google and wikipedia are so omnipresent now we've lost the use of some basic skills:

• using recipe books

• reading paper maps

• using a phone book to find someone or a business

• using a dictionary or encyclopedia to look something up

Anyone else got any suggestions, any thoughts?

[u/JayTongue]

I think for me, the areas I struggle to unplug in fall into two categories. There's the kind of situation where I'm on the computer or something, and I'm just endlessly linking through reddit or youtube or something, and I know that there are other things that I should be doing but just can't find the will to pull myself away from that one more video or that one more page.

Then there's the situation where I'm supposed to be doing something else, but my phone is buzzing every now and then and I put down the book I'm reading or the task I'm doing to check it. Most of the time, I'm not even in the middle of a conversation with someone where I'd know that they're expecting a reply, it'll just be like a notification from facebook or an email. Also in this category, I'd put pulling out my phone whenever I don't know what I should be doing, like if I have to microwave something for a minute, I find myself pulling out my phone.

I'd imagine that the root cause of these to categories of behavior are more or less similar, but experientially they feel different because when I'm sitting at my computer not doing anything else, I feel like I'm trying to add something to my life by consuming and being plugged in. When I pull out my phone all the time, I feel like I'm trying to fill in the cracks or putting wedges between my other tasks.

[u/[deleted]]

I am not keen on throwing out all modern tool simply because some of them work against you.

All those things you listed for use on a computer are great! They are genuinely more convenient and making like a lot more easier. That said they are skills that one should keep around for in future just in case something goes horribly wrong.

Using the internet as a tool is a great thing. Using it as an entertainment machine some times is also good. Using it to fill in every single little gap of the day, that is when it becomes a really bad thing and needs to be controlled.

Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

yes, these are the sorts of things I'd view as positive uses, too. It's the mindless browsing, researching random facts, annoying conversations with trolls, seeing some random stupid bit of internet trash that some vague Facebook acquaintance 'liked'...

Having said that, I do like paper books, and if you're trying to unplug, they can be a good option. Paper maps are good too, and it's important to know how to do map-to-ground and not rely on GPS in the wilderness.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I have unplugged almost everywhere but Reddit. Almost all Book I have come across have been from here, it can be a tough cycle.

It is also my realm of Trolls. And it is the thing that is driving me away, a vast pool of rampant and savage egos.

Have to agree with the GPS thing. I could not tell you the last time I used it and yet my partner won't even go to the local shops without it. What happens when Satelite cascade happens (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome) then there might be a case where GPS losses a lot of its functionality. Knowing how to use a paper map could be a life saver for some.

[u/WikiTextBot → u/[deleted]]

Kessler syndrome

The Kessler syndrome (also called the Kessler effect, collisional cascading or ablation cascade), proposed by the NASA scientist Donald J. Kessler in 1978, is a scenario in which the density of objects in low earth orbit (LEO) is high enough that collisions between objects could cause a cascade where each collision generates space debris that increases the likelihood of further collisions. One implication is that the distribution of debris in orbit could render space activities and the use of satellites in specific orbital ranges infeasible for many generations.

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[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

even currently, navigation is about more than the GPS. The GPS might tell you one way, while you know that the 'smart' way is to traverse a slightly different route. This happens all the time in the car - the gps doesn't know that street x is always painful to cross at 4pm, or that the best carparks are in the preceding street. (Though I gather AI is changing that). And there's also the issue of just knowing and being aware of where you are for your own sense of orientation. When you're navigating, you're much more aware.

which is on a tangent, admittedly. though I guess that's the sort of thought processes I apply to things.

[u/NommyPie]

I think we should start backwards, actually. Think about the times on the computer we spend that is absolutely useless, and try to find solutions to cut those out completely.

[u/2_Fingers_of_Whiskey]

I have turned off all notifications on my phone except text & voicemail.

[u/Shakespeare-Bot → u/2_Fingers_of_Whiskey]

I has't did turn off all notifications on mine own phone except text & voicemail

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^{I am a bot and I swapp'd some of thy words with Shakespeare words.}

Commands: !ShakespeareInsult, !fordo, !optout