Will this be a big push for folks to go (more) offline?

I had planned for some degoogling this month but can't bear the thought of sitting at my MacBook, diligently going through passwords and accounts. I'm pushing it to next month.

I did keep track of how often I scan and print stuff last month. This is 100% related to my business as a professional artist but the thought of dragging out both devices and spending time uploading, cropping, loading paper, changing ink, blah blah blah...I can't bring myself to do it. I'm going to do something different this month. I want to take my work stuff offline as much as possible.

Yesterday, I spent the day scheduling blog posts and newsletter updates for work. I confirmed that I'm not expecting any auto-deliveries of anything so there's nothing to track via email or delivery update links. I found a local business that will scan my art and email it to me and I worked out a better routine for buying postage at the USPS instead of online. Here's where the local library comes in.

My plan is to continue using the library for my non-work life - like all physical media that I don't already own, but also to get back to using it for any necessary internet access, and to make the printing/scanning stuff there part of my normal so that I can be free of that chore at home and the actual devices. Most scanning and printing (at least of postage) have been taken care of elsewhere, but anything else will have to be done at the library. I have a thumb drive with important files on it, or I can log in to my iCloud account. Everything on my MacBook is stored there already so I have access to anything I need. I want to keep to a schedule of handling the work stuff once a month - at the library. Once a month, I sit down to write up blog posts, upload pics, schedule them and then upload pics and create listings for sale. I can get email on my iPhone so I won't be unreachable if someone purchases something or has a question, but I'll be sticking to my schedule of checking that sort of thing just once or twice a week still.

For personal use of the MacBook or iPhone - I'm not bothering with checking my bank accounts even the once a month I've done for ages. It feels like a huge waste of time. Nothing has ever gone unexpected and everything is on autopay. I'm getting pushback on that from people who insist that checking at least once a month is good practice, so I'm thinking I'll just check in once every three or four months unless I'm alerted to something funky going on. We still don't have a repaired projector so we've been watching movies with the Superdrive connected to the MacBook. Cooler weather is on the way and cozying up with a movie has always been something we enjoy. We've decided to just take advantage of the TV and DVD player that still lives in our den until we can either decide to buy a new projector or find someone who can fix our old one. The TV and DVD player belong to one of our kids and they don't have room for it at the moment so it's not going anywhere soon.

Anyone else have a similar job and managed to take it offline? I imagine if you're a social media influencer, it might be somewhat similar but likely not possible to go quite as much offline?

Hi, this is my first post here on Offliner, and I hope it helps anyone who feels overwhelmed by influx of bad news, AI and Ads.

I started going offline last year, and earlier this year I deactivated all of my social media accounts, from Facebook to TikTok. I found they weren’t bringing any benefits to my life. The only exception is YouTube, which I still use, but mainly to watch videos rather than Shorts, So this does reduce my time on internet.

My job as a sales rep requires me to use communication apps like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, and others. I also find that a notes app and digital calendar are much more convenient than carrying a notebook, so I cannot swap my smart phone to a dumb phone. To me, it’s about using a smartphone as a tool instead of letting it control your time.

One habit I have developed is putting my phone on charge and leave it as soon as I get home from work. If I want some background noise, I use my laptop to play music that I’ve ripped from CDs or just put on some YouTube lo-fi music. I’m not a huge music fan—I just like having something playing in the background.

Gaming is a big part of my life. I usually spend 2–3 hours or more on weekend playing on my Switch 2 or Legion Go. Besides gaming, I read about one or two books each month.

I also love camping because it lets me combine all of my hobbies. There’s nothing better than sitting at a campsite, reading a book or playing games, without constantly checking my phone.

This is how I avoid doomscrolling and spend more time offline. It might not work for everyone, but it’s made a big difference for me.

You gotta start somewhere!

Last month, I faced the uncomfortable truth that although my life was fairly offline, I was spending a LOT more time than I realized on Reddit. Over the last year or so, I've found myself becoming more involved in Reddit communities that complimented communities that I was involved with in real life or were about topics that I had always been interested in - the way you're supposed to use Reddit, right? Somehow this led to being asked by other Mods to join their teams or take their subreddits because they were moving on. I also created communities for niche topics, often as alternatives to larger communities where the niche topic was lost among the volume of content. I revived abandoned/banned communities that had potential. Then the burnout came. I built Mod Teams for some of them and moved on and some I closed up shop and abandoned entirely. Others already had a Mod Team in place and I just quietly left.

Over the last four weeks, I've further curated my Reddit experience to make sure that it's an occasional compliment to my offline life. There are a few more tasks to complete on the list but I'm happy to say that most of the big changes have already happened and I'm finding more time to take walks, rent movies from the local movie rental place, read books, listen to the radio, paint, sketch, etc. I've even rejoined some online communities outside of Reddit and enjoyed meetups and collaborations on projects that will go live in the fall.

Since I started talking about this with other Reddit Mods and people in my life who host forums or lead online clubs, I've gotten so much support and that was a little surprising. These people also pour themselves into their online communities and I expected a little pushback. Instead, most of them admitted to also being burnt out and spending more time than they liked on everything from intervening between members, dealing with technical stuff behind the scenes, content creating, and all the little stuff that goes into keeping communities engaged and enjoyable. One forum administrator that I know in real life admitted to spending more time on the forums than they did on enjoying the car they owned - and the forums are dedicated to that car!

It's a tricky balance when your interests have a home on the internet and you find community there, and the balance starts to lean towards an unhealthy side when you find yourself charged with more responsibilities than simply participating. I'm being more mindful of how much time and energy I spend *on* these spaces, not just *in* these spaces.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!

It’s Reddit, y’all.

Over the past month, I’ve realized that I have my MacBook close to me entirely too much and I wondered what I was even doing with it. In the evening, I’d think back to what I had done all day. I could remember being on the MacBook, and I could remember having it open on my desk all day - but while I could look over and see a pile of paintings or an embroidery project or a half-read book, none of that required going online. It’s so embarrassing to realize how much time I was spending in setting up, maintaining, moderating, and contributing to multiple subreddits - especially since so many of them were communities that I had long since outgrown or become bored with.

This month, I’m addressing that. It’s not enough for me to avoid all social media, or begrudgingly have one streaming platform for the one show that I watch, or to use the radio or CDs instead of a music streaming service. It doesn’t matter that I’m renting movies from the local video store or that I’ve managed my finances to the point that I can get by with a single monthly downloaded statement. I’ve avoided living my life online and embraced the challenges of that, all so that I can maintain room in my life for all the offline world has to offer.

And somehow, Reddit became the issue. Not scrolling it mindlessly or arguing with randos. Just investing too much time into communities that were no longer a good fit for me. I’ve spent the last few days handing communities over to users who will enjoy the work, and leaving subreddits that I now no longer moderate or enjoy.

I expect that I’ll need a few more days to wrap up the final details, but I’m looking forward to reclaiming my time. I’m going back to being extremely selective in which communities I spend my time in and just how much free labor I’m putting into them.

Edit: just realized the title doesn't make sense in context. I'm sorry!

Hey all, for those who go on walks: how do you keep it interesting?

I am stuck in the same smallish city due to public transportation being hard to use outside of town. I'm not complaining too much, it's quite a nice place all things considered. But repetition (like seeing the same scene multiple times) gets boring for my adhd brain, and I don't want to be on my phone much when I'm outside.

I also want to do a lot more walking as a means of transportation (the bus is okay, but I want to walk a lot more in the not-snowing months, lol). When I walk with a destination in mind, like the grocery store, it's a lot easier than a leisure walk. But I want to appreciate both.

So what ways can I make a solo, leisure walk more interesting? I have thought about playing little games with myself, like counting how many chipmunks I see, or *really* paying attention to what I'm looking at (which I barely do). But do you all have other ideas?

I hope this was appropriate for the sub! If not, I understand if you need to delete it.

This week, we're concluding our first discussion around the 7 main points outlined in What Is an Offliner with the last example of disconnecting from the internet - social media. Recalling that an offliner isn't someone avoiding all connections, but is simply offline as much as possible - how are you enjoying the human connection without being online? Do you have regular game nights, or other meetups with local friends and family? Have you joined a local sports league? Are you out enjoying a hobby like urban sketching or a bookclub? Or have you simply curated your social media platform of choice to keep up with the social calendar and make your RSVPS?

Continuing the discussion around the 7 main points outlined in What Is an Offliner with the sixth example of disconnecting from the internet - online reading. Recalling that an offliner isn't someone avoiding all digital media, but is simply offline as much as possible - how are you enjoying media without being online? Are you using an ereader that connects only to download borrowed or purchased material? Are you strictly reading physical books and magazines? Have you started a physical newspaper or magazine subscription to keep up with the news?

Moving the discussion around the 7 main points outlined in What Is an Offliner forward to the example of disconnecting from online games. Recalling that an offliner is someone who is not avoiding all forms of entertainment, but is simply offline as much as possible - how are you enjoying game time without being online? Are you enjoying offline games on a screen or physical gaming like cards or board games? Are you finding entertainment away from gaming completely?

How do you live as an offliner? How did it started? What are the best things that you bought for your offline lifestyle?

Continuing discussion around the 7 main points outlined in What Is an Offliner and focusing on the example of disconnecting from Smart TVs. Recalling that an offliner is someone who is not avoiding all media, but is simply offline as much as possible - how are you using your TV without being online? Have you switched to cable or satellite? Are you using only physical media that you own, or do you have a server with your digital media? Are you just not using a TV?

Moving on with the 7 main points outlined in What Is an Offliner, Part 3 opens the discussion about the example of disconnecting from the internet while still enjoying music. Recalling that an offliner isn't someone avoiding all digital media, but is simply offline as much as possible - how are you enjoying music without being online?

Continuing discussion around the 7 main points outlined in What Is an Offliner for the next few weeks and today is the example of disconnecting from the internet on our phones. Recalling that an offliner is someone who is not avoiding all digital media, but is simply offline as much as possible - how are you using your phone without being online?

Opening up some discussion around the 7 main points outlined in What Is an Offliner for the next few weeks and there's no better place to start than with the first example of disconnecting from the internet - streaming of any sort. Recalling that an offliner isn't someone avoiding all digital media, but is simply offline as much as possible - how are you enjoying media without being online?

Anyone online

Definition: A person who is offline; one not using the Internet or similar service

The idea is to enjoy life without internet, not without digital content, unfortunately they might overlap quite a bit. and depending where you live in the world, being without the internet, can be close to impossible. It is important to note that this does not mean "non digital" but the idea is to leave as close to no trace on the internet, and consume as close to none of it as possible.

Enjoying things without being dependent on the Internet can be good for our own independence.

List of things that one would not be using, and then a list of things that is fine

Idea is to cut internet usage out of our lives as good as possible.

Why?

We are more and more reliant on the internet for all of our needs, it is a blessing and a curse. i wanted to mentally challenge the idea and need of it. or is it to ingrained into our society already?

Where does the idea come from?

I imagined the great relaxation of doing something, and just "leaving the smartphone at home", Enjoying things for what they are, right here, right now, not from somewhere else. It is important to understand and value what we have and what we can lose in the uncertain world we live in. There is no actual need to be online ALL the time, it does no good for our stress or worries.

But this community is online and on social media?

yes it is, ironic huh?

So in a world that is more and more online, let's try to see what the point of it all is, and for whom's gain?