Turn off internet access at home

I’ve been recently experimenting with having no Internet at home.

Before anyone labels me as “eccentric” and anti-tech because I’m against social media and because I’ve turned off wifi at home, let me explain.

So, why do I recommend not having internet access at home?

Because - is it really necessary?

I believe it’s important to keep a balance in life and that the tools we use shouldn’t be everything our lives revolve around. We use internet all the time - too much even.

Whenever we have a question or a problem, we immediately turn to Google or Youtube for answers. We don’t try to find answers ourselves anymore.

Without being able to access the net at home and only have your own mind and some books to accompany you, then you turn to them and take a maximum out of these scarce resources. To think about it - our mind is actually not a scarce resource by any means.

I started to learn a quite difficult skill a few months ago. Learning this requires a sustained focus over long periods of time.

What I’ve discovered is that when I come across an obstacle but have no access to the endless stream of information on the Internet, I have no other option but to turn to books and think on my own. Sometimes I’ve re-read an entire chapter and pieces of different sections over and over again until I got it.

With internet access, going online would be the first thing I’d do: scanning and browsing different websites, articles, and videos for an answer - most likely not fully understanding the solution.

You can think of this as deep work vs. shallow work. The information we get by scanning and browsing doesn’t stick. Our brains are unable to store information that comes to us like water from a firehose - it needs to be steady and flow smoothly (scanning websites vs. reading a book).

You may not have a problem with excessive internet use, but if you do, I suggest you give it a try.

KRISTJAN