[ArcheM]

So there was a problem with my Internet provider for about 2 days, and, well, it was weird. First off, I work from home, and without Internet I essentially don't have work. And I didn't and am not going to for another 3 days, because it's a national holiday on Monday. That's after I had a low-productivity month because of depression.

Secondly, it's not that I can't function without Internet, but usually that's a special occasion, for a particular reason, like a vacation. Usually my Kindle is loaded with books, and there's things I'm supposed to do. This time, I was just home, without any warning.

Thirdly, it's the first time I'm in this situation with a smartphone, which actually has 3G. And a computer, which, even if offline, has some games installed.

So, during the 2 days I have played several hours of a game which I had given up on many months ago, and now I have to ask myself another time if I actually enjoyed it. Am I playing it now? I mean, I mini-gave up on it 2 times because I got frustrated and bored. But... Why couldn't I find anything better to do?

Well, I kind of tried. This occasion forced me to explore the Android store a bit. I like learning languages and I tried to find a good app along those lines. And didn't manage to. Maybe there were some, but they were probably asking for registration upfront and I'm not the most proficient user of touchscreens, so I passed up. Those that had some demo features or didn't require registration were usually what I consider boring word games, or in fact didn't have the language I'm learning now (Dutch). So I exhausted this venue in a couple hours at most.

Then there's also the Kindle app. I have recently become disenchanted with books, and I thought my interest might be reinvigorated in these unusual conditions. My issue is that books that I come across too often turn out to be either boring or depressing. This time in a sample (that is, at the very beginning), a girl in a Medieval setting gets married off to a complete stranger for money, and shortly after witnesses her friend and mentor burn to death in gruesome detail...

So that went off the list. Well, I also found some apps with fitness exercises, but that didn't take long.

Then I went back to that game.

I wish this experience took me in a more positive direction... I think I felt less anxiety because some of my online-related responsibilities were suspended (like the job). And maybe I fell asleep easier because I didn't have any noise and light coming from my computer... But normally that light and noise is there for a reason, because it allows me to forget my loneliness and hopelessness with virtual people (be it singers, actors, or just personalities).

So I don't think anything changed in the end. But for some reason I feel like something did. Or maybe it's just my expectation... I mean, I won't really have anything to do for another 3 days. Can anything really be achieved by staying off the Internet for 3 days? I don't have any friends offline, and no offline hobbies. At the same time, it feels hard to completely return to the "pre-offline" activities... I guess it made me take a step back, but I don't know that I've really learned anything useful from this added perspective.

[Crazy Hitch]

I'm a firm believer they should update Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. I wouldn't cope without the internet!!!

[metalchick]

True, so true...I go to places with free wifi when I don't have internet...it's a pain but better than nothing

[ArcheM]

The problem is, I often don't enjoy being on the Internet. I come here for regular maintenance of sanity. Also there's work... Otherwise I don't even know why I go to Youtube. It used to be comforting, but now it's only occasionally distracting, and most of the time its algorithms fail miserably... Although I guess I should say that there's a lot of useful things available to me on the Internet, but as a vehicle for entertainment it's been slipping steadily for me.