“I completed a 30 day no internet challenge and it changed my brain”
A little over 30 days ago I was addicted to “networked” sites, Reddit being the primary site of choice.
There was ALWAYS something novel and interesting. The comments are freaking hilarious. And it has porn. I mean, what more could you want!
I would open the app in bed upon waking up. This was great because after 8 hours of sleeping my dashboard would have all new links to be explored. It was like coming home to dozens of Amazon boxes on your doorstep just waiting to be opened.
But I found myself increasingly unable to spend time away from “networked” sites such as Reddit, Pinterest, YouTube, Tumblr, ect.
Compared to the CONSTANT stimulation of these sites real life just seemed so bland. Like a stew without any salt.
Basically I didn’t allow myself on any time wasting website. Absolutely no Reddit. No Youtube. No video sites whatsoever. No website that suggests content according to the current content your looking at such as YouTube, Pinterest, Tumblr. No social media whatsoever. No porn.
As you can imagine this shrunk the internet quite a bit.
Another rule was absolutely no internet after 5 o’clock p.m. as I wanted to see what life was like without the option of diving into a screen whenever my mind got bored or uncomfortable.
I’m not gonna lie. It was HARD. And I was bored a lot. I mean a lot. But I did it. I didn’t lapse once.
There are dozens of take-away’s from this challenge, but I’ll focus on only one for brevity.
My brain physically changed. Once coming back online I found these websites just weren’t as interesting as before. They didn’t have the same hold on me, the spell seems to be broken. I’ll be on YouTube and think, “eh, this is boring” and I’ll shut my computer and move on with my day.
Now, there is a lot of neurochemistry going on here, but if I got into that subject (which I love) this post would turn into 3000 words real quick.
I also learned that life without the internet is much more calm. The internet is literally buzzing with activity 24/7. And it’s activity is only growing exponentially.
But us humans didn’t evolve to absorb such amount of information. And while we find it fascinating it also breeds a certain form of anxiety (such as, but not limited to, FOMO.)
Am I missing out on tons of new information? Yup. And I being entertained less? Yup. Am I seeing fewer beautiful women everyday? Yup. Is life less stimulating? Yup.
I don’t fear that I’m missing out because I know I’m missing out. And I’m perfectly ok with that.
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