Jake Davis, 19, was arrested a year ago for being part of an internet hacking thing I don't entirely understand but which I admit, I found rather amusing. One of the conditions of his bail is No More Internet. I'm probably not the only person who finds myself envying him this, just a little bit. (I'm not so much envying the potential extradition to America, where they don't like people who make them look silly.) I found the whole article about Anonymous fascinating but Davis' piece about his forced exile from the internet was unexpectedly moving.
'Things are calmer, slower and at times, I'll admit, more dull. I do very much miss the instant companionship of online life, the innocent chatroom palaver, and the ease with which circles with similar interests can be found. Of course, there are no search terms in real life – one actually has to search. However, there is something oddly endearing about being disconnected from the digital horde.
It is not so much the sudden simplicity of daily life – as you can imagine, trivial tasks have been made much more difficult – but the feeling of being able to close my eyes without being bombarded with flashing shapes or constant buzzing sounds, which had occurred frequently since my early teens and could only be attributed to perpetual computer marathons. Sleep is now tranquil and uninterrupted and books seem far more interesting. The paranoia has certainly vanished. I can only describe this sensation as the long-awaited renewal of a previously diminished attention span.
For it is our attention spans that have suffered the most. Our lives are compressed into short, advertisement-like bursts or "tweets". The constant stream of drivel fills page after page, eating away at our creativity. If hashtags were rice grains, do you know how many starving families we could feed? Neither do I – I can't Google it.'
*Jake Davis, in last week's Observer
Image by Emilie Bjork, via East Side Bride.
Well, I have not completely disconnected but I have eliminated Twitter (for about 3years) and Facebook (just recently) out of my life. It has been refreshing. I'm so glad that he found a silver lining in his exile. So young and yet so wise. May I share in my blog, too?
ReplyDeleteYes, the internet is rather addictive, and needs to be managed (in my life!) Time offline is definitely calmer and slower and my brain less frazzled come bedtime, but online time can be educating, energising, inspiring and creative too. So many people sharing so many thoughts and ideas. It's a fine balance!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I think about this all the time. The quote is amazing.
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ReplyDeleteHow does one enforce an internet exile?!
ReplyDeleteI have been living some internet exile in the past few years. One when I spent 3 months in Madagascar with no phone or internet. It was real life and it was really good. I should do it again.
ReplyDeleteHe is so well-spoken. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteJust today, I was reading another article about somebody who voluntarily gave up the internet for a year. I'm not usually one to say "the world is telling me something," but yes, perhaps no internet here and there would be a good thing.
I live an ocean away from most of my friends and family, so I struggle with how to use the internet to support those relationships, but still temper myself elsewhere online. Of course it's possible, but I'm so easily pulled in.
wow.
ReplyDeleteso gad you posted this-so interesting. life with out the internet-quite blissful in lots of ways!
ReplyDeletei'm not sure i could manage life without internet. sure, it's intrusive, but i've made some of my closest friends this way.
ReplyDeletewhat a powerful thought. thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of mixed feelings about the Anonymous folks (never mind the fact that almost anyone can pretend to be a member by simply donning a Guy Fawkes mask), but I feel as though the actual hackers are very intelligent people.
ReplyDeleteAside from that it's an interesting punishment. One could even say it's not a punishment at all.
A very interesting post. I think our attention spans have taken a real battering in the last few years. I was thinking recently about how little I sit down and do just one thing at a time with no distractions. Since I got a smart phone it's got a lot worse. I think I'm going to eliminate facebook and have one day a week with no twitter, to try and regulate that need for being 'connected' at all times - we must be able to attach and detach our attention, I think I am good at detaching and moving onto the next thing but less so now at attaching for a period of time, which has lowered my quality of life if I am frank with myself. I find blogging to be good however as sitting down to write coherently is difficult when distracted with Twitter etc, and it forces you to spend time thinking about one thing only.
ReplyDeleteI love you for posting this. Exactly what I needed to read. x
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