I’d like to quickly talk about the idealization going on with the internet. These last few days (or maybe a week or two?) away from my own website have helped me realize something oh-so important…
The internet is only important if you make it important.
It’s funny because as I was sitting and thinking about this I was also debating going through my RSS feeds. I figured, the world has survived this long without me reading them, I’m still human without going through them, why bother? To illustrate my lack of control, yes, I did read them. I also happened upon a friend of mine who shares my thoughts. Scrivs says “I don’t need the web”.
I don’t either.
I used to. I used to think I needed to read my websites, check on Flickr photos and update my blog with something clever or witty. I thought I needed to do this (among many other things) every day. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Your routine might include surfing digg or checking news on Slashdot or even browsing new additions on deviantart. I realize none of these things really affect my life. So, I sat down and asked myself:
Which websites affect me and my life?
I thought about this even beyond the ‘web 2.0’ scene. I mean, think about the internet and all the websites you happen to visit. Do any matter? The following are the only websites that have some bearing on my life.
- GMail – Email from friends, family, school, etc. Primary means of communication. A close second is my cell phone.
- Google Calendar – In order to save precious brain space I dump everything onto my calendar. I wouldn’t know what I was doing at any given point without it.
- Colorado.edu – Naturally I do everything from registration to pay tuition to check homework through various portals. I can’t imagine college life without the internet.
- Wells Fargo, American Express, Vanguard, IndyMac, EmigrantDirect – I manage all my finances (checking, savings, CDs and a Roth IRA) online. I haven’t stepped in a bank for a solid year or two (and that was just because the ATM broke). I’ve never spoken to anyone from my banks on the phone.
- Facebook – Another primary means of communication and socializing in college. Don’t get me started on the news feed debate though…
That’s it! That’s my five! There are over a dozen sites on my bookmark toolbar in FireFox, though. How can that be? Do I really need all of them? Newsvine? Maybe. Or can I simply pick up the WSJ between classes? Flickr? It’s nice, but not necessary. More than 2 million pictures are uploaded to Facebook each day, that seems like the place I need to be paying attention. What about meebo? Nah, not really.
I dare you, reflect on your daily websites and how they affect your lives. Link back or leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. How much time are you going to save just by reading your own words here? Personally, I’ll be saving at least two hours each day.
Wow, 2 hours? Look how easy it’s going to be for me to ‘earn back’ two full days this month!
Yes yes, you’re right. Do most of the websites I read have a huge impact on my life? No. Do the websites I read shape me and influence what kind of a person I am? Yes.
There are only a few that I really NEED, but the rest enjoyable and that’s all that matters. It is true that I am affected by a little bit of information overload with my 150+ feeds in my feedreader and I really should try to cut some of them down, but I really do enjoy reading them and keeping up with people and the news. Even if they don’t have a significant impact on me, I don’t think I could live without at least a good portion of them.
I agree, Zach. I’ve read plenty of blogs, books, magazines, etc. I think the key is balance. What I’m getting at is the overload you mention. I hope to stay away from getting too wrapped up in one thing or another. I’ll never really get away from blogs, I just want to become more aware of my usage. :-)
I think most people recognize the fact that a lot of what they do online isn’t a necessity to their lives.
But cutting the bulk of it out completely to get down to what’s “absolutely necessary” is taking the problem of information overload too far.
Everything you do online doesn’t have to be a necessity. If you replace your “internet time” with “tv watching time” … well, you’re not farther ahead. If you replace your “internet time” with productive work that leads to more success in life (money, personal growth, etc.) then that might be a good thing.
The challenge with the Internet is not whether we make it important or not. It is important. The challenge is that there’s TOO much out there. And it’s too easy to access. That creates ultra-easy information overload which diminishes the value and importance overall.
I agree Ben. I think it’s extremely important to point out, like you said, that I plan on taking this ‘newfound’ time and making it productive. If you look back a few weeks I’m giving up TV. ;-)
It doesn’t even have to be productive though, in the sense you defined, it may be spending time with family or friends. I find that to be much better use of my time than in front of the screen. I just need to tackle the overload I guess…
As a family man with a 2-year old I would say that spending more time with your family IS productive. It’s all a question of how you value your time. And we’re very much into semantics at this point since we’re largely agreeing.
It’s so easy to surf around for hours online and realize you pissed the time away. It’s the same like watching TV (kudos for dropping it, btw.)
Oh, and if you can solve the “attention problem” for Internet users, you could very well be a really really really rich man.
Hah yes, we’re in violent agreement.
I guess a certain level of motivation is required on the users’ part to fix that problem.
Thanks for commenting, Ben. :)
Hey, I really like your site. Its minimalistic yet very striking. I love the way you organize the content on this page, and the typography rules. Could you tell me how you got recent comments to show up at the bottom of your page (your site reminds me of a WordPress blog, is it?) Thanks!
hey look, i don’t need internet so much it took me about a week to read this post. or maybe that was due to my deflated hopes, since prior i had been checking daily to no reward.
on a marginally more serious note, i’ve skipped the ‘net for long weekends and upon returning realized that there wasn’t as much thrill in surfing, i had to reinvest myself in it. it seems that daily exposure is kind of necessary to maintain one’s interest level. how relevant or interesting would all your feeds be if you spent a week away from them? a month? there’s a weird gap in between missing them and no longer caring.
Wow, you win, joe. The same was true for me and your blog.. lots of deflation.
I’m young so I just realized this a little while ago: if I don’t go to school or I don’t show up to work, etc. the world goes on without me. And on that downer note, the same goes for the feeds. They’ll go on without me and I can either come back and catch up or not… I think they’ll still be what they always were but it’s me who has changed.
So, are you saying you don’t care about me anymore?