I, like most other young adults of our time, am addicted to the internet. However, during this past summer I had an experience that is very unlike those of other youth - I went two months without internet. 'Why,' you may ask, 'did she not have internet for two months? Was her internet "broken"? Was it of her own accord?' Don't worry dear reader, if you can manage to stay on the internet for long enough, all your questions will be answered.
You see, my two months without internet also happened (not at all coincidentally) to be the two months that I was volunteering at a camp. This camp was out in the middle of nowhere in Illinois, and although there was internet there, I did not have a device that would allow me to use it. At first I thought, 'Oh crap. I've spent all my time on the internet since I got out of school for the summer. The night before I went to camp I spent pulling an all-nighter thanks to the world wide web! How am I going to deal with going cold turkey? Will the withdrawal be horrible? Will I get the shakes? Will I not be able to function because of the lack of memes?' However, after the first few days, I realized that it was lovely! I never wanted to go back to the time-sucking, procrastination inducing, short attention-span creating internet! I wanted to frolic through the meadows, wander through the woods, and dive into the lake on the camp grounds! (Although, if I did that I would've gotten dirt and ticks and leeches and other little critters everywhere, so I refrained.) I loved being free! I never wanted to go back! Screw the internet!!!
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| A view of the lake. This picture does not do the camp's beauty justice. |
I tried to control myself, I really did! But as soon as I got home (after the obligatory 'Hello's and 'It was great's to my family, of course) I went straight to my room and opened up my laptop. I spent that whole night messing around on the internet, and most of the next day to!
After a while, however, I let up and remembered how much I had resented the internet at the beginning of the summer. The internet is truly great, it allows us to do many things that would not be possible otherwise. Thanks to the world wide web I can apply to work at camp, keep in touch with friends from there, and learn when the staff reunion is so much faster and easier than without it. However, if I don't watch out, it'll take over my life. This summer I realized the truth of Oscar Wilde's famous quote:
"Everything in moderation, including moderation."
Initially I was confused about your post because moderation in context of the Internet has a bit of a different meaning.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went on the France/Italy trip this summer, for three weeks straight I also went without internet. I felt withdrawal pretty much immediately, considering how integrated my computer is with my state of being. Instead of a camp, there were just 14 students and 3 teachers in a journey across a foreign land. For week #2, it was just me, our Latin teacher, and five other kids. This is about as far you can get from the internet short of literal isolation. It was difficult, but I was glad I had no excuse not to fully take in the things around me.
When I got home I had over 80 unread emails and it took me two whole hours to sort through three weeks worth of backed up information. Of course, later I put over 1200 of my photos from the trip on Facebook, so all has come full circle.
I am aware that my title has multiple meanings, but that was the point. It was intended to catch people's eye, and obviously it did just that!
DeleteFavorite sentence: "Don't worry dear reader, if you can manage to stay on the internet for long enough, all your questions will be answered." Funny, and a great way to wrap up the opening paragraph.
ReplyDeleteI like this post a lot, and I agree with both your epiphany (real life is better than the internet, esp. when you're in the woods near a lake), but also your modified realization (the internet still has worthwhile aspects, which should be enjoyed in moderation, aside from the occasional Wildean immoderation to temper too much moderation).
This is a really good post, Ella. I had a similar experience this summer too and I totally get what you're saying. I too missed the internet a ton over the summer, but when i got back home I realized that sometimes it's good to be away from it for a while!
ReplyDeleteGrace Anastasio
I love your writing style; so funny! I'm not quite so attached to the internet as you seem to be based on this post, but I do feel like it is nice to switch from computer to outdoors every once in a while.
ReplyDeleteI had the same thought as Evan when read the title, but by the end it worked out nicely.
This is an eye-opening post for me, since I have never gone more than a few days without using the internet in some way. I like when you talk about your fears of going cold turkey from the web--an funny analogy that I would probably suffer from if I didn't have a computer for a couple months. The points you raise about sometimes needing a break from our ties to the internet offer a good perspective about using the internet without being overly dependent on it. Maybe someday I'll work up the willpower to try a kind of "computer detox."
ReplyDeleteThis post really made me think about how important the internet is to me. I don't actually think I would deal all that well without the internet. I spent part of my summer in a house where the internet connection was kind of spotty, and I was struggling. You raise a very interesting point about being "free" from the internet and how great it was at first...we really are sort of prisoners of the internet, and experiencing (a little bit) of life without it sounds like a very liberating experience to have.
ReplyDelete