Last year, Paul Miller (a journalist at The Verge, a news and high-tech Web site) announced to experiment to live a year without internet.
The 26 year old man (at the time) had to learn to work without using internet. The experience forced him to call people to meet, to consult library books to learn, not to have all the information he needed in a moment.
"I give up one of the five most important technological innovations of all time for a bit of peace and quiet."
The experience was tracked on The Verge and allowed to follow its progress. Yesterday, May 1, 2013, the end of this year offline, was an opportunity for Miller to make an assessment. Surprisingly, it is negative. According to him, the experience left on a false premise: life without internet just was not his "real life" because internet took an important part in his "real life". Seeking to experience something different in another world, was impossible because his life and the internet were already bound.
He does not deny, however, some positive aspects as being able to focus on a text for a while, return to books... even his family said that he has become closer to others.
The big problem was that he was alone in this experience and the world around him continued to live connected.
"Internet is not an individual activity, it is something we do with each other. Internet is where the people are"
"For this experience to an impact, it would probably take everyone participate, not a single man in a disconnected world"
The only real conclusion is that internet isn't causing social distancing, but the use of it, as shown by the history of P.Miller. If you want to read the full story of the journalist is here.
Read the full article on The Verge.
The 26 year old man (at the time) had to learn to work without using internet. The experience forced him to call people to meet, to consult library books to learn, not to have all the information he needed in a moment.
"I give up one of the five most important technological innovations of all time for a bit of peace and quiet."
The experience was tracked on The Verge and allowed to follow its progress. Yesterday, May 1, 2013, the end of this year offline, was an opportunity for Miller to make an assessment. Surprisingly, it is negative. According to him, the experience left on a false premise: life without internet just was not his "real life" because internet took an important part in his "real life". Seeking to experience something different in another world, was impossible because his life and the internet were already bound.
He does not deny, however, some positive aspects as being able to focus on a text for a while, return to books... even his family said that he has become closer to others.
The big problem was that he was alone in this experience and the world around him continued to live connected.
"Internet is not an individual activity, it is something we do with each other. Internet is where the people are"
"For this experience to an impact, it would probably take everyone participate, not a single man in a disconnected world"
The only real conclusion is that internet isn't causing social distancing, but the use of it, as shown by the history of P.Miller. If you want to read the full story of the journalist is here.
Read the full article on The Verge.
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