Paul Miller, who is one of the founders and head writers at the Verge is 'offline'. Despite being extremely high up in one of the most popular technology news websites, he somehow manages the features section without using the web. This means he doesn't have Twitter, Facebook, a blog or any other social network. This also means he can't check the news online or Google any facts. He says it made him more smarter as he has read loads of books in the last six months.
All the articles he writes he does on paper for someone else to type up.
I know I'm sort of building this up to be some amazing thing however you're probably thinking that there are hundreds of villages and small tribes around the world which don't use the Internet. Yes, there are, however it is extremely unusual to do in the western world, especially in cities like New York where the Verge is made from.
Positives from being 'offline' are:
- You save money as you don't need to pay a month bill for broadband.
- You become smarter as you read books or do something productive in your spare time.
- It is more safe as people won't be able to find as much information about you on the web.
- You avoid cyber bullying and online abuse.
I said earlier that there are hundreds of small villages and tribes around the world not using the web, well actually there are more than you think connected to the Internet. In some remote areas of the world, some isolated tribes actually use the Internet to contact a doctor or a specialist to help ill members of their community.
Other villages use the Internet to track wild animals so if something like a herd of elephants start heading towards their village they can be prepared and prevent them from coming too close.
In conclusion, I think that when I'm in a position where I have a job that I can do without the need of the web, I will completely give up the Internet for a certain amount of time. Maybe you should try giving it up for Lent next year to see how you cope.