Internet/Cell Phone Addiction

behemoth

has anyone ever tried to turn their cell phone and computer off for the weekend?i did it once and it felt amazing!but it is super hard to doi remember when i had to use house lines and didn't even have the internet hahawhat happened?shit is worse than drugs

Reynaldo

Now that I've been using two computers at the same time for a few years, being limited to one computer almost feels like having no computer, since there are actually small moments of downtime/waiting as the computer executes commands (and those moments add up). Two is the new one.

behemoth

it is sad. its like "yo i am gonna shut this computer off and go out and do shit"

as soon as u step out don't act like you don't grab yer cell and start doing computer shit again

its sad!

i posted on my FB and was thinking

remember when you would want to hang out with friends and go knock on their door and ask their mothers if they were around

and they were either out doing something or they just didn't want to hang out and you had that buffer of privacy?

now its like i know what everyone is doing at every second of their life

i know where they are, who they are with! and their internet habits haha

thesolelife

Hahaha, I went to Europe for a month w/o a cell phone and had limited internet access (my choice).

That said, w/o a celly was wonderful! Being w/o internet was a little hard. Shit, I wasn't feenin' but I noticed w/o internet, I had a harder time to find information (addresses, map, places to eat, etc.). All in all, I can go w/o celly for at least a month.

Internet, I'm not sure. Information at your fingertips is harder to let go. Damn, now I think about it, how did I live "back in the day" with just the yellow pages and less information??? Answer- easier minus having just keys in my pocket instead of all this other electronic ish.

dj_cityboy

dont own a cell phone never have and never will...i hate that shit!

maybe when i have kids i'll get one...but even then i doubt it...as a person who deals with a constant barrage of people' fiddling with their electronic devices, I have come to loathe them (the machines, not necessarily their operators) or at least their ability to brainwash parents and children alike into denying that life actually existed prior to the age of cell phones, iPods, and all their cloned cousins. Oh, excuse me ... I have to go twitter news of me passing gas. lol

Unknown

i've had an iphone for over a year and i'm hooked on that shit. most posts (95%?) are done from my phone.

it's pathetic that i wake up and stare intermittently at the screen on my phone, then go to work where i stare at a screen all day, except for lunch, where i bust out a samwedge and the iphone to stare at that shit some more.

then i come home and stare at the 46" lcd + iphone.

I definitely need to unplug and detox.

Burns

I do miss physical interaction with people. The world ran the same before the internet and cell phones.

Quite texting bitch, and talk to me!

Cell phones in the building/development industry have just sped shit up and stressed more people out on a daily basis. I'm on the cell phone all day for work, shit worked fine before the cell phone, now people want you "NOW" damnit! I don't need a office, I have a wireless broadband connection laptop and a cell phone I use for work in my city vehicle. Information at my fingertips, its disgusting at times.

You can basically live in your house without ever leaving it and get all the necessities you need with a broadband connection.
You can pay for your bills online.
You can order food online.
You can order and have your groceries delivered to you from online.
The list goes on.

Statistics have to show that less people are leaving their home/apt/condo to venture into society. Its pathetic.

Hotsauce84

I need intervention. I am the point where I can't even have a decent cellphone conversation with somebody 'cause I'm preoccupied with computer stuff. I'd rather just text them. I swear I wasn't like this 2 years ago. This habit is HARD to kick.

Almond

Habits are hard to break. With school/work, it's really easy to get "addicted" to computer-ing. I think video games are worse because you have the incentive to get to the next level, beat your friends, get the most out of your WoW membership, etc. I have a cousin who has visibly lost weight/looks tired all the time due to gaming all day.

My story about why I'm not a cell phone addict:
I've been on a family plan with my parents since I was in HS. My mom works for Verizon Wireless and used to watch my phone bill like a HAWK. She would trace my and my brother's location via which cell phone tower we were getting our signals from. She would look up phone numbers and match them to names in our contact lists which she accessed from work and ask us things like, "So how is Mary doing, you've been talking to her a lot." It was annoying. HOWEVER, the natural tendency to keep things private cut down the phone bills a lot. Never went over my minutes/texts again, but I also don't keep in touch with people over the phone as much, which is a downfall. My brother gave people weird nicknames in his cell phone contact list so my mom wouldn't know about his "bad company" (she worries about him a lot). He also got his own phone and stuff, but I'm still on the fam plan since I don't have to pay for it.

SPlDEY

I refuse to let my brain be taken over with technology.

3 tips:

Don't take your cellphone with you everywhere. Make people wait.

When it's time to read or make music. Unplug the internet.

Get out of the house, go on adventures.

Hayao Miyazaki - "All of our young people today derive their pleasure, entertainment, communication and information from virtual worlds. And all of those worlds have one thing in common: They’re making young Japanese weak."



- spidey

Beatsoup

good thread, I've been thinking about this issue more and more lately. I think people are slowly becoming androids....
I'm definitely an addict myself and use my computer every minute when I'm at home. I'm conscious of it but I can't pull away. I think the main problem is the internet and not the computer itself. I recently picked up a cell but I purposely got the cheapest model/ plan so it's not a distraction to me and it hasn't been... The internet problem is a tough one though and I really hate I can't get away especially from facebook.... If I leave it though I'll be lossing contact with everyone I know basically... Another problems is bit torrent and the fact I can be entertain 100% all the time from home for free with no reason to leave...

I used to be okay with it because I'm a nerd and grew up in a household with computers around all the time. Also back 10-15 years ago computers weren't nearly as fast or as enjoyable to use. Now there's no waiting and no chance to think about other things...

It's a sad state of affairs and almost everyone is jumping on the bandwagon... I think I'm gonna try unpluggin my internet tommorow...

Big_Stacks

Hey Behemoth,

It's really hard to be disconnected from the Internet and cellphone. I go to professional/research conferences 3-4 times a year, and I don't bring my laptop to avoid excessing work/Internet usage. So, what do I do? During the conference, I'll run right to the "Internet Cafe" area with computers to check my email. I'm definitely an email junkie, I have to know if there's some project at work I must address. My wife and I went on an extended weekend to a "romantic resort" (yeah, I'm still puttin' it down ) where there was no phone or computer access. That was one of the most relaxing weekends I had in a long time. Definitely, I endorse getting away from the cellphone and computer on occasion, to get out in the world and interact with others and to curtail obsessive/compulsive, Type A-ish work preoccupation.

Peace,

Big Stacks from Kakalak

highscheme

I went on a detox of about 3-4 years when I didnt have internet at my apartment. I would use it at the school library for an average of about 1 hour every weekday, and I had a cellphone with texting ability.

You would be surprised how you can adapt to it. I was using the internet everyday for years before that.


Good:
- Did other things (physical book reading, studying, etc)

- Wrote down ideas lot more, was able to think deeply about certain things more,

- in all areas of life including music "worked with what I had rather than trying to find the next thing"

Bad:

-A bit out of the loop with communication / what was making its rounds on the web

-depriving yourself of instant knowledge and a lot of tools that are available on the internet


But seriously, it was a long stretch. I can't believe I did it looking back on it, but I rarely even thought about it at the time.

hertzhog

I didn't have internet access at home for over 6 months. I could still go over to my parents' house if I needed to go online. My friends thought I was crazy, but I didn't really miss it at all. I read and studied a lot more, made a lot more music, etc. Now I'm back at it again! I wish there was some sort of magic button to freeze my internet access for a number of hours...

pcmr

i live fine without a cell and i have my music/schoolwork disfconnected from the net so i don't get distracted

gravelheadwrap

Checking twitter while on a bike ride =

Almond

Checking twitter while on a bike ride =

I used to talk on the phone while I was on the bike all the time. I can bike without my hands, so one-handed calls were no big deal. People on the other line get kind of freaked out about the whooshing noises and whatnot.

billbradley

I have been on the internet since 1993 and worked for internet service providers before the internet boom happened. So almost every day since I first got a computer and modem I have been connected to the net. Now I maintain a corporate network and have to be connected at all times with network and server monitoring. It is hard to disconnect from everything now that it is fused into what I do all day everyday. To get a break from it all I go on a camping trip at least once a year where I can't get a cell phone signal.

planless

Checking twitter while on a bike ride =

elise

Every month I check my phone bill and I notice I use it for only 14-16 minutes a month. I hate phones. I was thinking of going landline, but someone convinced of "what about if you have an emergency?!" deal. So I may keep a low plan cell phone, but really it is a waste of my money.

My laptop--I can't stay away. I am constantly on Eater, gourmet, etc...can't live w/o that in my life daily!

dukeofdelridge

I treat my cell phone like a landline, turning it off and on throughout the day; checking and responding to messages when I want to.

...but the only calls I get are questions of "dude you seen this youtube yet?" haha

I like to leave the house without my phone a lot more now. get out. have to look at walls for clocks to tell time. go native. I think that's good.

DJ_Phillie

im with elise...with the free calling to all mobiles that sprint offers, on top of free weekends and free calls after 7 pm....its like i use less than 100 minutes a month, but yet 450 mins is the least they offer. thats how they get u, with the data and txt messaging.

since i got a smart phone (the samsung moment) i had to upgrade to a $69.99/mo plan for the data and txting.