Increasingly, it’s hard to imagine modern life without the Internet. It sometimes seems that everything we do is either happening or being discussed online. For me at least, this often creates a feeling that if I don’t constantly keep checking my email, Facebook, and Tumblr, I’ll miss out on all kinds of important and interesting developments. Events will be forgotten! Photos will go untagged! Funny cat videos will go unwatched!
Even as I laugh at how I sometimes feel addicted to the Internet, the constant need for the information or content fix social networks tend to provide seems pretty addictive to me. Seeing the red notification symbol makes me feel excited, as if something monumental is about to happen. But somehow, the notification itself never quite fulfills my anticipatory hopes.
When I’m away from the computer for long amounts of time, I sometimes start to feel this itchy, burning need to get on the Internet, a need that has compelled me to beg five minutes of computer time to check my Facebook on a friend’s laptop, or to scroll through my Tumblr dashboard in the middle of Kendade.
But most of my truly wonderful and emotionally fulfilling memories don’t come from using the Internet. Hanging out with my friends, spending time with my parents and brother, catching up with my extended family at holiday parties—these are the things that make me happiest. Being away from the constant information flow of the Internet helps me slow myself down and think more about my own self and thoughts, independent of other people’s opinions and judgments.
One day during the first week of this semester, I walked with my friend Shelly out to the docks on Upper Lake. The path was incredibly muddy, and it had snowed fairly recently, but the day was unseasonably warm and beautiful. The lake was almost completely frozen over, and after sitting on the dock talking for awhile, we both lay down and basked in the sun, stretching out legs out onto the ice. The world seemed so still and peaceful, and I felt completely distant from the reality of college life. Sometimes I would check my watch and get an urge to get up and do something productive, or go back to my room and watch Netflix, and then I would realize there was really nothing I would rather be doing than lying in the sun and letting my thoughts wander.
I think one problem I have with the Internet is how it makes me observe my life and the world instead of living in it. I want to go out and have experiences and random moments without feeling the need to post a status about it. Of course, I do love the Internet, and I agree that it would be pretty difficult to live in this particular section of society without using it. But I think all of us could stand to try the occasional technological diet or fast. Cutting out an hour or two of Internet use a day—yes, including using your smartphone—could just make you appreciate some of the other parts of life. Or at least you’ll probably have some notifications to look forward to when you log back on.