Life Without the Internet

polycarp · Post by **polycarp** » Tue May 03, 2005 5:06 am

http://us.f507.mail.yahoo.com/ym/login? ... 5n74ttrsa6

Do you remember what your life was like before you were plugged into the Internet? Well, Yahoo and the media agency OMD recently commissioned a study to find out what would happen to today's Internet users if they were taken off line. The participants were unhooked for two weeks and asked to keep a diary of what they did and how they felt.

"The diary entries," reports The Atlantic Monthly, "were almost uniformly miserable: The subjects discovered - doubtless to Yahoo's delight - that the Internet was more deeply embedded in their daily lives than they had realized. Activities such as checking box scores, e-mailing friends, booking travel, paying bills, and shopping were profoundly disrupted. Across the board, participants reported withdrawal-like feelings of loss, frustration, and disconnectedness after the plug was pulled."

How did the researchers get people to agree to participate in the study? They were paid $950 for the two weeks. However, it's interesting to note that despite the $950 offer, "they had to approach around 750 people just to get 28 willing subjects."

smithy87 · Post by **smithy87** » Tue May 03, 2005 5:39 am

Without the Internet we'd all start off like

then like :yh_sigh , then :yh_wait

and eventually :yh_cry

devist8me · Post by **devist8me** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:05 am

I think I would be bored out of my mind.

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:40 am

Life without the internet? :yh_ooooo :yh_sick :yh_sweat :-1

Philadelphia Eagle · Post by **Philadelphia Eagle** » Tue May 03, 2005 7:18 am

I would be lost without the internet.

It's a great convenience to me as I shop on-line, pay bills, do my banking and carry out some financial advice work (limited - as I am retired now).

I also do a little day trading on the financial markets which makes my wife extremely nervous and she has threatened on several occasions to 'un-plug' me!

(That activity is not recommended for those of a nervous disposition!)

john8pies · Post by **john8pies** » Tue May 03, 2005 7:25 am

Yes, it would be a great inconvenience and a bit sad. Not sure why they are too worried about what it might be like though, since as we have it, why not just enjoy it?! Oh, and another thing, if offered that sort of money just to go without for a fortnight, believe me, I would go without for a fortnight, no questions asked!

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Tue May 03, 2005 9:05 am

Very interesting. I was hooked something awful when I first got it. Turned into a total forum junkie!! It's funny sometimes how blurred life can get. The upside is all the buddies and chat friends you can make worldwide, whereas before the internet, you were just stuck with your local pub gang. :wah: But the darkside of the internet holds all the predators and mental cases that cant seperate life from fantasy, and try to impune your sense of reality with sick visions of their imagination.

The internet affords us a little anonymity, so perhaps we can become a little more freer to share ideals and such. We get to 'commune' on a more global scale. Get a plethora of advice when needed, and a healthier exposure to cultures we wouldnt get without it. It's never ceases to amaze me how alike people from all over the world really are! Have any of you noticed that folks from other parts of the world have chosen to reach out to the english speaking west, by learning a language other than their native one? I for one speak only english. But because my croatia, slovakia, lithuania, bulgaria and african chums chose to learn my language, I am not limited to only the west. For this I am truly grateful to them. :-6

capt_buzzard · Post by **capt_buzzard** » Tue May 03, 2005 9:07 am

It was citizens band radio before internet.

ice maiden · Post by **ice maiden** » Tue May 03, 2005 9:47 am

don't say such things life without the internet unthinkable :wah:

capt_buzzard · Post by **capt_buzzard** » Tue May 03, 2005 10:01 am

ice maiden wrote: don't say such things life without the internet unthinkable :wah:Well one can aways take up a new hobbie/interest.

babygirl · Post by **babygirl** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:34 pm

Life without the internet omg i would go crazy i do alot of my shopping/ banking pay bills etc i would be lost.

Also i would go mad not to have my daily intake of FG :yh_cry

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:34 pm

capt_buzzard wrote: It was citizens band radio before internet.

LOL So true. Been there, done that.

cars · Post by **cars** » Wed May 04, 2005 5:46 am

Raven wrote: Very interesting. I was hooked something awful when I first got it. Turned into a total forum junkie!! It's funny sometimes how blurred life can get. The upside is all the buddies and chat friends you can make worldwide, whereas before the internet, you were just stuck with your local pub gang. :wah: But the darkside of the internet holds all the predators and mental cases that cant seperate life from fantasy, and try to impune your sense of reality with sick visions of their imagination.

The internet affords us a little anonymity, so perhaps we can become a little more freer to share ideals and such. We get to 'commune' on a more global scale. Get a plethora of advice when needed, and a healthier exposure to cultures we wouldnt get without it. It's never ceases to amaze me how alike people from all over the world really are! Have any of you noticed that folks from other parts of the world have chosen to reach out to the english speaking west, by learning a language other than their native one? I for one speak only english. But because my croatia, slovakia, lithuania, bulgaria and african chums chose to learn my language, I am not limited to only the west. For this I am truly grateful to them. :-6

Extremely well put! I agree, you're right on the mark!!!