Raise your Game: Unplugg from the Web?

I spent about a year and a half off the internet (by choice). It is EXTREMELY healthy and head-clearing. But, in the end, I just found it impractical. And I got tired of running to internet cafes everytime I needed to check/send an email (too often).

If you can pull it off, then I totally recommend it. Your life will feel so much better, simpler, and more productive within 2 weeks. The internet was supposed to be such a great thing. It just didn't turn out that way for most people.

 

I decided to do it because I was tired of bathing my soul in internet garbage day after day. And it was totally awesome. My whole life just seemed so much more simple, and clean. It was like I removed an enormous source of darkness and distraction from my life.

I also found it almost impossible to mess with porn, to look up escorts, etc. I may definitely try to do it again.

 

I wish I could abstain from internet one day, but don't know if it's possible in our technological era. What I realized that besides PMO addiction I have an internet addiction. All I want to do is just sit in front of my computer and endlessly browse various web sites for hours. I don't use social media, but I spend lots of time browsing cars and real estate classifieds, news and sports sites, Google Streetview, etc. I think this is how I get my daily dopamine dose. Sure I was getting much more pleasure when browsing porn and I feel extremely bored without it. Abstaining from internet for some time might be a good idea, but right now that will be too much for me. I don't even own TV anymore, didn't watched it anyway, internet replaced TV for me. I don't have a smartphone too, everytime I see people browsing web with smartphone I start to feel depressed. I guess by refusing to own smartphone I'm protecting myself from getting deeper into internet addiction.

 

I like the idea and i think it's great if you can do it. I kind of need the internet for my work in order to get new jobs as and when they arise i also only watch TV on the net these days. can't even remember the last time i watched a proper television. I reckon if i lived somewhere different and had more friends i'd be able to pull it off

 

I almost relapsed today and as long as I have an internet connection at home, I think for me it's going to be a slippery slope. With that in mind, I am going to disconnect from the internet for 90 days. I have a friend who is going to take my laptop and I won't get it back before then. If I feel that it worked then I will cancel my internet at home altogether. I have all my passwords saved to an external flash drive so I can still access NoFap and my emails from an internet cafe or even a library. I tried once before but I didn't want to quit then so it didn't work out. I want to be free of this now more than anything so although there is no 100% failsafe, I feel confident this will help me out more than it will hinder me. Best wishes to you @HoplessCase101. Congratulations on you getting to 182 days. That's awesome.

 

I hear you and I agree, aside from one email address and a very occasional email in it I need the internet for nothing. Yesterday I spent about 10 hours online watching YouTube videos. I didn't relapse however I knew that what I needed to do that was just a few clicks away and that's the danger. I could very easily live without the internet at home and so after I have logged off here I am giving my laptop to a friend who I know will not give it back until I have reached 90 days PM free.

 

If you read just 10 pages a day of a book and no more (which most people can find the time for no matter how busy their lives are) then you will be reading 3650 pages every year and 3660 on a Leap Year. Depending on the size of the book you could easily be reading between 10-15 books a year and then you won't be too far behind Bill Gates. If you can ensure that the majority of those books will have a positive impact on your life through reading them then that's even better.

 

This is me, too. My psychiatrist told me to stay off from 10 AM to 2 PM. I've barely ever done it.

 

I think that this is an interesting experiment to try! Definitely, the major part of the content we access on internet is designed to drain our attention and make us dependent on search for more distractions. In the meantime, our personal projects, abilities, skills, self-knowledge are neglected, because we don't apply active effort and significant time to develop them. So, the more self-control we have about the influences we let enter our mind and life the better! For this, I think it's necessary to redefine some deep mental habits and pattern of feeling that tell us what is boring and what's not. On this frenetic and instantaneous culture we live in, this is a huge challenge. It's not uncommon nowadays to see people that are unable to sit and watch a movie uninterruptedly or spend one hour reading a book. Although may be impracticable (and even a mistake) stay totally away from internet and other digital medias, I definitely agree that its uses demands much attention and carefulness.

 

I love this idea. I have the library and work to access the Internet for paying bills and checking email. It’s doable in short spurts that I can make longer and longer.

 

Great ideas guys! I think I need to do something like this also.

 

It's a great idea taking a break from the internet (The Great Pacifier) and commune more with one's self and nature, etc. I've already had cut down drastically simply because I obviously can't hunt for choice erotica anymore, so it's just the essentials of checking email, two news sites, NoFap and a music streaming site. I can now enjoy the internet more since it doesn't enjoy me anymore! It really is about time! Basically, anything on the web that isn't enriching to your life should be avoided.