7 Things I Noticed When I Was Without Internet for a Week

“Your mobile internet data has run out.” That was the text message I got when I was on the bus coming home from work. I panicked because I didn’t have time to reply to a friend on a social network, as well as waiting for an important email and reading an online article all at the same time.

The rest of the way, I realized that I was very dependent on the online world. How would I be coming home years ago? Possibly, at most, listening to music or reading a book, and all would be well. For this reason, I decided to live a week without the Internet. A shock therapy, so to speak, but it was very important for me to realize a number of things about my addiction and, perhaps, the addiction of billions of people today.

The hardest part of this experience was getting started. It took me a long time to work up the courage. When I went to sleep, the night of the decision, I felt that my life would change a lot, and I was right. The next day, I turned off my mobile data and Wi-Fi. I was sure the changes would be many. But do you know the best? I do not regret anything!

6:35 am — I usually turn off the alarm and the first thing I do while in bed is go to Instagram. At the time, I didn’t realize that the experiment had begun. When I realized, I quickly jumped out of bed, a little annoyed.

8:15 am — I got ready for work half an hour early because I wasn’t distracted by smartphone notifications and scrolling through the social media news feed. But don’t think it was easy… the hand automatically unlocked the access pattern several times to take a peek, and, at the same moment, the frustration beat for having already “cut” the access.

1:45 pm — given that I don’t get notifications from the workgroup now, I didn’t understand what my colleagues were laughing at when I arrived at the office. I realized that communication in the work environment is like a cyborg (which is made up of both organic and “cybernetic” parts), where 50% of what they say is spoken and the other 50% takes place via the Internet. “Yes”, simply replied one colleague to another, after reading something he had received on his cell phone. “I am writing to you,” the other ends the discussion.

6:35 pm — that day on the bus, instead of looking at social media, I read One hundred years of Solitudeby Gabriel Garcia Márquez, a charming book that I’ve been putting off reading for a long time.

21:25 — it’s strange, but the cell phone charge is at 70%!

8 am — I looked at the weather forecast on my cell phone and realized that even for that I need the Internet. So I started trying to determine the temperature by people passing on the street. Laughing to myself, I then went to ask the forecast, subtly, to a next-door neighbor.

1:14 pm — my colleagues had to explain a few things to me, starting with phrases like “This has already been discussed in the work group” and “Inácio gave a very good idea about weekly meetings and everyone accepted it in the group”…

2:35 pm — during lunchtime I really want to watch, as usual, everything that happens on social media. Desperation starts to hit…

8 pm — I get bored at home. I can’t watch a series because I’m also without TV. At the moment, I have no desire to continue reading the book. To kill the boredom, I started to write the thesis that was very late, but that I didn’t find the courage to write.

10:45 pm — the cell phone charge is 56%.

7:30 am — is amazing, but very true: not being distracted by social media and a video during breakfast, I can sleep an hour longer.

3 pm — New songs on my cell phone now I miss. As I search the company’s Internet for some data I need to work, I maliciously think about downloading some songs, since I’m very hands on. But after reflecting for a while, I change my mind. Giving in to “sinful” thinking would be the same as giving up!

5:30 pm — I end up understanding that I’m doing a lot more at work without the distractions on social media and WhatsApp messages.

7:15 pm — precisely because I had died of boredom the night before, I decided to check out the events available in the city. Today, I attended a conference on art in the second half of the 20th century.

12:16 pm — I just realized that I haven’t checked my email for days, and I don’t know a lot about what’s been going on with my friends… and news about the world, then? I even asked my colleagues about who won the Oscar! Of course I wish I had seen the ceremony and the memes on the Internet, but I’m still resisting.

10:30 pm — again, in order not to stay at home (after work, I just wanted to spend hours browsing social networks), I made an effort to see a friend who ‘never’ had time to visit. We talked for several hours and I’m coming home fulfilled.

11:15 pm — I’m not so happy anymore. The subway station was closed, and I didn’t (obviously) get notifications about it on the phone as usual. Annoyed, I head to the bus stop, wondering how to arrange my return.

4:48 pm — I no longer write to my friends. Instead, I call. It’s surprisingly pleasant. Instead of writing a ‘cold’ message to a friend, I called and we chatted for several minutes. It was much more interesting to hear her voice and news about her trip to her aunt and uncle’s country house than simply seeing her profile pictures.

10:30 pm 🇧🇷 One hundred years of Solitude really got me.

12:35 pm — I went to another art conference and ended up forgetting my cell phone at home. But really, I wouldn’t even need it.

4:45 pm — I walked for a long time through the city, looking at the peculiar buildings and constructions that I hadn’t even noticed before. I found out that, close to my house, they had opened a small bakery that is only 2 months old and has 3 chairs, but has incredibly delicious croissants. When I ordered the second one, I saw that I had been there for a good few minutes, simply enjoying a croissant and a coffee without posting a photo of the place on Instagram or glancing through social media while I hold the cup with my other hand. I can say that now I am really in recovery and the withdrawal phase is over.

9:30 pm — I finished several new pages of my thesis during the week to send to my supervisor. I just opened my email to send, without much ado.

11:30 am — I found a cookbook on a shelf in my library. I dusted it off and started making a neat cake. Today, I will have visitors. It’s the first time I make a meal without consulting recipes on the Internet, but in books.

12:45 pm — the chocolate-covered carrot cake turned out great! I took a picture, but of course I didn’t post it, even though I felt like it.

9:30 pm — today, with my friends, we talked a lot about my experience without the Internet, but we spent more time eating a cake made from a long-forgotten recipe from a book.

8:30 I pick up the phone and feel an incredible emotion. Surely, in a few seconds, it will rain a multitude of unanswered messages, news, articles, comments, likes and shares. I close my eyes and think… “And if I don’t do this, what will I miss?”

I turn on the Wi-Fi on my cell phone and almost die laughing. Yes, there are a lot of unanswered messages, but most of them are from groups, nothing too specific. I missed almost nothing in the life of anyone I really cared about because yesterday I was reunited with my closest friends. I missed some important news, but I learned a lot from my co-workers. I also received some funny messages in private. Anyway, it seems that the Internet didn’t notice my absence much. But I did miss the Internet. At the same time, I also enjoyed life a lot. I went to lectures, went on walks, enjoyed my own company and the company of friends, too, read a book and wrote. Overall, I think the Internet is fine without me, and I’m better off without it.

3:30 pm — I now have a special app that tracks how much time I spend on social media, and warns me if I go over the half-hour limit. I can’t always do it, but it’s much easier to turn off my cell phone while working, talking to a friend or having lunch.

7:15 pm — I’m about to go on a date with the man I met on the bus during the week’s experience. Instead of looking at my cell phone screen, I looked around and our eyes met. Soon, they crossed paths again because there weren’t many places to look. At several points, I realized he was paying attention to me. But I could only observe this because I wasn’t glued to the cell phone. In addition to all the positive points that I observed happening in my life during the experience, I can say that this was one of the best. Can you imagine how many opportunities to meet different people I didn’t miss, when I stopped looking around me? Anyway… I advise everyone to do these Internet “diets”. It’s great for us to understand a little more about the world around us.