Living without the Internet for a year

I’m still here: back online after a year without the internet

One year ago I left the internet. I thought it was making me unproductive. I thought it lacked meaning. I thought it was “corrupting my soul.”

So did leaving the Internet fix Paul’s ails?

And now I’m supposed to tell you how it solved all my problems. I’m supposed to be enlightened. I’m supposed to be more “real,” now. More perfect.

But instead it’s 8PM and I just woke up. I slept all day, woke with eight voicemails on my phone from friends and coworkers. I went to my coffee shop to consume dinner, the Knicks game, my two newspapers, and a copy of The New Yorker. And now I’m watching Toy Story while I glance occasionally at the blinking cursor in this text document, willing it to write itself, willing it to generate the epiphanies my life has failed to produce.

It’s interesting that in this instance (and I’m sure it’s the same for more people than not), Paul realizes that life is work. For most people, the Internet has made this work easier. Is this a good or bad thing? For now we don’t know. The entire article is well worth the read!

via @shareski