How do you cope with being away from the Internet?

[Frindis]

After @Pifanjr's answer in the thread https://forums.pcgamer.com/threads/what-is-your-major-pc-blunder.64068/#post-165513, it made me think a little about the thought of not being connected to the web for a longer period of time. I have been offline to the world for maybe a day or two, but I think that is about it (at least in this last decade) For me, it has gotten to be a routine. I wake up, turn on my PC, connect to the internet, make coffee, and start to work. Whenever the net is not working properly, I growl a bit inside. It is ok if it is for an hour or two, but anything more than that, ooooooh boooy, I get cranky!

How about you, how do you cope with being away from the internet for a longer period of time?

 

[Zloth]

Just no internet? I still have power? No problem! Set Steam to offline mode and away I go. Might not get credit for a few achievements (maybe) but I can live with that.

Now if you cut off the juice completely, it's book time. (Possibly bundled in blanks or outside in the shade, depending on the time of year.)

 

[Sarafan]

I believe we're all very dependent on the Internet nowadays. I can't imagine staying away from it for a longer period of time. Access to e-mail, bank accounts and game launchers - all of these need Internet to function properly. If the Internet doesn't work, I feel discomfort even if I don't need it in this particular moment. Sign of the times...

How do I cope with not having access to the Internet? By using Internet on my mobile phone... But seriously, probably it would be helpful to have a backup of offline installers from GOG. This would allow to play games even without the need to connect to Internet. But usually I don't have those installers backed up, so without the Internet I read books, watch TV, go for a walk etc.

 

[Alm]

I have been using the internet way more under lockdown so would be even harder to live without. But I guess I'd have to go retro and get myself a CD player and some magazines to keep me occupied.

 

[Brian Boru]

how do you cope with being away from the internet

I don't understand the Q, what is this 'away from the internet' thing? Sounds a bit like being buried underground in a coffin, is that it?

Not a big problem for us, except of course if it affects work—in which case we'd finally succumb to family's entreaties to visit:
"You guys still got that spare room with internet?"
…
"Okay, great. No, don't worry where we sleep, not a thing".

Like @Zloth we'd have plenty to do offline, both work and leisure—BigFish definitely works offline, and Steam should too. There's always TV, boxed sets of movies & music—and you know what, we might even have a conversation or two!

But behind that facade of equanimity, both of us would be pretty cranky by day 3—so hmm, maybe best to avoid conversation after all…

 

[mainer]

I ran into that situation just yesterday. I think it was an issue with my ISP (Spectrum, man, I hate Spectrum) where Steam, GOG, & Origin just wouldn't load. I could actually access the internet, but pages took over a minute to load. For gaming, in a situation like that, I'm set because I don't currently play any games that require a internet connection. So I was able to access my games in offline mode.

I do rely on the internet for so many of my daily/weekly/monthly activities. Besides gaming, I pay all my bills online, do my banking, communicate on various forums, get news, and watch movies (as I haven't had a television in over 30 years). I do enjoy walking for a few miles in the morning before I connect, and it's a very rare day when I don't turn my PC on.

If there's no power at all, I read books. I have a couple of propane lanterns for light (if it's night). I actually enjoy reading at night anyway, even when there is power (currently re-reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson). But that umbilical cord to the internet is always there.

 

[DXCHASE]

Just internet? I find it easy because i have hobbies that dont require it, but since it is a huge part of my day, without it id just pop on a movie or cook or something outside, probably just house work, i also like to bowl so if it was a couple days or a week without internet, id fill in the time with these things that i can think of.

 

[Frindis]

Yeeeah, I could have made that question slightly better🤔. I do of course play offline games, occasionally walk outside ( Daywalker half-vamp) and I do agree, there are things like books, just that I do tend to read them on a screen though - PocketBook Lux 4 (actually really good since it can use different reading formats). If no power at all on any device, then I have to admit I will stare at the wall for a couple of long minutes making an angry sad face. To quote @mainer: [...]that umbilical cord to the internet is always there [...].

Perhaps I should have worded it something like this: "Do you feel that the digital world has taken too many slices of your non-digital life?"

 

[Pifanjr]

Perhaps I should have worded it something like this: "Do you feel that the digital world has taken too many slices of your non-digital life?"

I do feel like I often rely on my phone too much for entertainment/distraction, instead of just picking up a book.

 

[Alm]

I don't feel that way at the moment. I was very shy and socially anxious as a child and the computer / internet has been somewhat of a godsend for me. Also using the PC for most of my life has given me skills that I have taken into my job.

 

[Brian Boru]

"Do you feel that the digital world has taken too many slices of your non-digital life?"

No.

It's taken away needing newspapers & mags for news & current affairs—thank you digital world, so much more scope, so much less dead trees and accumulated piles of magazines!

It's taken away needing a whole wall devoted to book shelves, and the horrible job of choosing which ones to take on trips/hols—thank you digital world, so much more space at home & in luggage, so much less paranoia that I'd picked poor choices to bring along!

It's taken away hunting for people to play physical games with. I could go on, but in short the digital world has been a major boon for me—I have the advantage of having lived pre-digital, so I know the 'good old days' are now the much better present.

That said, I have so far avoided a smart phone—there be dragons!

 

[Frindis]

@Brian Boru I actually bought a Samsung Galaxy A71 a few months back, but not used it. I am still holding on to my old Nokia phone from the medieval ages. Never knew it would be so hard to let it go, he he