intro⌗

I have used the internet for a while now, dating back to when I was only 6. Now I am 20. Having 14 years of history using a tool, you would think I would know the ins and outs like a Jedi.

I don’t. I do not understand why I use so much of the internet. I do not understand why I like the internet so much and why I feel I need it.

At times, I would feel stress if I didn’t log onto the internet. My relationship with the internet isn’t the same as my relationship to the computer, the shaving razor or the frying pan.

It feels like something that is not a tool. Something beyond human comprehension.

In this article, I aim to dissect my beliefs about the internet, what I want to believe and lastly the actions I am going to take to make my vision of the internet come true.

my beliefs⌗

I need the internet. I do not need it as much as I need shelter, food and water, but I do need it to distract me off of the things in my head.

The “things in my hand” are not necessarily bad thoughts but uncomfortable, or otherwise, ideas that I do not have the focus or effort to deal with.

It is like when you have a good idea for a project but your tasks are full. You know the project is worth it but taking care of it, and seeding it will take a lot of time and effort that you just delegate it to another day.

At times, it feels like I am missing out about the world. “What if another lockdown happens, another war, or something else?” I think to myself.

Social angst is another feeling I commonly have when dealing with the internet. If I cut off for a while, I would feel abandoned and abandoning of people.

I know fully well that:

  1. The Internet is a time sink
  2. Some compromise has to be made
  3. I will be better off

what I want to believe⌗

That I will miss out, but not to anything important.

That with proper consumption, the internet can be healthy again.

That it should not be this way. Most things should be offline.

Lastly, that there are better sources of knowledge.

The Internet gives me a fake feeling that I am a smarter person with it than without it.

That is not true, not in the slightest. Quantity of knowledge versus quality.

Most of the things I know about from The Internet does not usually stick, nor does it feel particularily rewarding.

The depth and the originality of knowledge that come from boring study easily thwart googling something, reading an article or a technical paper.

Besides, I become way too ignorant when speaking about an issue I have no clue about.

things I want to do⌗

I am a software engineer and that means that a lot of the stuff I want to use will be on the internet.

A very good example of this is looking up documentation. Since most documentation lives in the web, one has to get a stable internet connection to check documentation.

However, documentation can be downloaded and used offline.

In accordance with this action, I recently downloaded tailwindcss.com to my local laptop just to rid myself of another website that I have to use The Internet for.

Another thing that uses The Internet but really shouldn’t are icon packs. Icon Packs are relatively easily to download and use.

Lastly, I want to rid myself of Internet powered software and complex look-up-google software.

An example of Internet Powered Software is the photo editing program, Canva. Although I do not depend on it for my day to day activities, I prefer it over Photoshop or Gimp.

Look-up-Google software is a set of software that you cannot use with a manual and good reading. You have to use it alongside Google or else you won’t learn anything new.

An example of this would be emacs or vim. Nothing has me looking up Google more than emacs or vim. Seriously, it is annoying.

As for things outside the internet like acquiring knowledge, that should be done through books. These could be e-books or regular old books at a store.

I am not much of a book reader but I have read some books here and there.

Besides, books have always showcased a vintageness that other mediums have not. The knowledge I would gain from books have density, compared to the internet, not so much.

I also notice I keep coming back to my favorite books, which is a plus.

conclusion⌗

The Internet is so easy to use and so addictive too, but that does not mean that I will use it daily.

I will resist the need to use the internet for every single thing that exists. Instead, I will either:

  1. Not use completely
  2. Use an internet-free version

I also will document the majority of the changes that I make like:

  • Scripts I create
  • Programs I use
  • Things I will let go of