The No Internet Experiment

As of last week I am Internet free. I am officially unplugged. I'm not Anti-Technology or anything. I think it can be used as a great tool. Recently I decided to try to go at least 1 year without the internet at home. I did think about this before but did not do it because I was using it alot for calorie counting. Now that I am not calorie counting anymore I thought it would be a good time to try to go without it.  I am still using the internet at the Library though. I started to notice too many negatives with it and want to see what my life will be like if I limit the amount of time I spend on the internet. I felt as If I was somewhat addicted to checking email, facebook, looking up random stuff on google, clicking on link after link. Not to mention I am going to save a ton of money.

Pros so far without the internet

• I am getting to bed earlier 
• I feel better rested
• I have less headaches
• Much less screen time
• I am reading more books
• I am going to the library more 
• I am having a better time focusing
• I am getting a little more things done on my "To Do" list
• Better at planning and prioritizing my screen time

At first It felt odd not being able to check stuff on the Internet anytime I want to but I soon started to do other things like writing in my journal, going outside, or chores. I'm not saying I will never have the Internet again but I want to see what happens. I can't remember the last time I finished a book and now I'm really getting back into reading. I feel like the reading I was doing on the Internet kind of trained me to skim through articles instead of really fully reading about a subject. Reading full books has the opposite effect for me...helping keep attention and focus. I finished a book about positive psychology called the happiness advantage. That one took me a few weeks because it was non fiction. Now I am reading a book called "The Mountains Echoed" By  Khaled Hosseini. I have read his other 2 fiction books as well. He is a really good writer and he can really suck you into a story in a way that makes you feel as if you are in Afghanistan living as a villager yourself. The characters in his story are so compelling and sometimes its hard for me to put his books down without wondering what will happen next.

People already think I'm strange and make Amish/ Hippy jokes because of me not having a cell phone,  riding my bike/ walking everywhere, and being vegetarian. I don't really care though. I like experimenting and seeing what works for me and what doesn't. I'ts weird how if you change something about your life that everyone else deems as a "social norm" that people can't help but compare themselves to you. People immediately get defensive even though I am not placing any judgment but just living my life in a different way.