How do you cope with being away from the Internet?

Frindis

Dominar of The Hynerian Empire
Moderator
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?
 
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Zloth

Community Contributor
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

Community Contributor
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. :p Sign of the times...

How do I cope with not having access to the Internet? By using Internet on my mobile phone... :D 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. :)
 
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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

Legenda in Aeternum
Moderator
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…
 
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mainer

Venatus semper
Nov 27, 2020
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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.
 
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.
 
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Frindis

Dominar of The Hynerian Empire
Moderator
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?"
 
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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.
 
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Brian Boru

Legenda in Aeternum
Moderator
"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! :)
 
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