I just read a post on the NextWeb about how one of their bloggers intends to wave goodbye to the internet, email and anything online for the next month. The post also refers to how being online and connected impacts your happiness (social interaction) and sadness (being overwhelmed with information overload) levels… you can read the post here.
I started thinking about whether I could do it… and the short answer is No. For a start aside from doing it as part of a research project I’m not sure if there is any need to. Additionally, having just moved to Sydney 7 months ago, most of the people I know do not live close and the only way I can articulate, communicate or socially interact with them is online. Whether it’s email, MSN Messenger, GTalk or Blackberry messenger, Skype and Twitter.. I’d feel fairly lonely and unproductive for the majority of those 30 days.
Sure, I could watch the news to catch up on the world events, but I’d only see and hear the headline news… none of the niche or local events that I’m interested in are available in the maintstream media. Sure I could read the newspaper instead of blogs and online news… but I wouldn’t be able to comment or share them. And yes… I could spend some time outside or in a cafe just reading, talking and meeting people… but how many of those people would have to keep checking their iPhones, Blackberry’s or laptops as we talked. I think I’d go nuts without being connected… and I’m not ashamed of it. What about you?
The reality is, the internet has become our social medium… the platform for us to interact with 50-60% of the people we (Generations X and Y) know.
Either way, I wish Jim luck with his research project/test and look forward to hearing the results and his feedback.
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