'Life Without the Web'

Interesting series by cartoonist Joe Sturm on his months-long retreat from the Internet.

http://www.slate.com/id/2249562/entry/2249563/

The genesis of the idea was apparently because he found himself more and more to be wasting time on the Internet - Google searches, message boards, social networking, etc., etc. We've all been there, I think.

Raises a couple questions:

(1) Do you ever get concerned about spending too much time on the Internet? Like life is passing you by, but you just can't stop compulsively checking the Web.

(2) Could you do what he did?

 

When I'm not at work, I spend very little time on the Internet.

 

I could probably deal without the Internet, but not without email.

 

It's a necessity for work. Otherwise, it's fine as long as you do not tie too much of yoursele up with it

 

Most of us have done our jobs without it. It's a necessity only if we are competing against others who use it. But if it was unavailable to everyone, then we would do our jobs without it.

 

Fine, BT. You go to LA via car. I'll take a plane

 

I'd love to see exactly how people at ESPN.com or CNN.com or NFL.com are supposed to do their jobs without the internet, BTE. Please share.

 

It was kind of implied that it does not apply if your job IS the web. Didn't think a qualification that obvious was necessary.

Yes, workers at Google need the internet, too. I get it.

This I do not get.

 

But you don't know that dooley's job ISN'T the web. So when he said it was a necessity, and you said it wasn't, you kind of took the qualification out of it, eh?

 

It was a general observation, not a dooley-specific observation.

Just came out badly because it was dooley's quote that was altered.

But my "most of us" and "only if we are competing against others who use it" qualifications I thought were sufficient.

 

I sometimes visit a place for weeks at a time that has no cell phone service, Internet or TV.

It's refreshing.