Hello everyone,
A while back I shared about my experiment of canceling home internet. I wasn’t certain what would happen; it simply seemed questionable that there was a need to duplicate services, and I wanted to discover the truth of the situation.
That experiment has resulted in some surprises.
As I went online less, I started realizing that the content of the Internet has changed, and not in a good way. Run a search these days and the results that pop up are generally watered-down clickbait sponsored by some company that’s more ads than information. Social media is filled with posts designed to trigger rage or other negative emotions, and once you step back like I did, you discover that the emotions that were triggered in you were over stuff that doesn’t matter.
Once it clicked, once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it.
Maybe it’s because I’m old enough to remember life before the Internet, but the act of stepping away allowed me to realize that things had shifted dramatically over time, but subtly enough that, being in the midst of it, I’d been oblivious to the shift.
I now feel like the frog that hopped out of a pot and discovered that, when I attempted to dip my foot back in, that I’d inadvertently escaped the process of being boiled alive.
I am still reeling from that revelation.
I’ve read a lot of books as I grappled with my emotions. I wanted to understand and to figure out how to handle this.
I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no Big Bad Guy pulling the strings in the background. Businesses have simply decided that if they can keep us online, if they can keep us scrolling and clicking and uptight and tense that they can harvest more money from us, so the current trend makes perfect sense from a business perspective.
But that doesn’t mean that I have to go along with it.
My two biggest passions are reading and writing. Harmless enough, except that when I read and write on an internet-connected device, ads about what I’ve read or written seem to appear everywhere. With the distance I’d gained, I began to notice, so I took my writing offline by investing in a vintage typewriter and some paper. I even compromised my minimalist stance even more by returning to print books and other physical media.
I’m shocked at myself for making these changes, but once I stepped far enough back to see, to really see, I became increasingly alarmed.
I honestly believe that we are being psychologically manipulated to spend more and more time connected to the Internet with the primary goal of separating us from our wallets. The side effect of losing our peace of mind is considered irrelevant.
I never thought this would happen, but this techy geek girl has went offline as a result of my discovery. I acquire my news via word of mouth and the local paper now, and I am slowly regaining my equilibrium as a result.
I am sad at the changes now that I’ve noticed them, but I am glad that I did.
I do not feel that I have the right to tell anyone what to do or how to live. That said, if you’re interested in learning at least part of what I noticed, I highly recommend that you read the book Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier. It’s a short read so it won’t take you long to finish it.
If you can, invest in a physical copy. Ebooks have a habit of disappearing from digital libraries after “purchase” these days and, well, if you begin to see what I see, a physical copy will allow you to share it with a friend.
You guys know me. You’ve followed me for years now, so please understand. I haven’t taken these steps lightly.
Sincerely,
Annie
18 responses to “The Boiling Frog”
Thank you for sharing your experience, Annie, and for having the courage to step away vs changing your ‘business model’ in an effort to play the game and get the pay! I, too, are stepping away, albeit, more slowly than you. I’m gravitating to more print material vs online content. Hopefully, we’ll still seeing an occasional post on your blog.
Hi Essie!
I cannot in good conscience play the game that apparently I’m “supposed” to play. What type of person would I be to encourage others to lead simpler lives and yet do dirty tricks to encourage you to spend money?
I did not realize how much things had changed until I ran the experiment with the home internet disconnection. In fact, if someone had told me just last year that I would step away to the degree that I have, I would have called them crazy. I’ve always loved computers.
I just cannot stomach the direction that the corporations are taking them.
Amen. I’m not real tech smart but I sure have seen the writing on the wall.
It literally took me disconnecting my home internet to inspire me to step away enough to see what was going on. I LIVED online. But it occurred to me that it didn’t seem logical to duplicate services (internet on the phone and at home). So I decided to test it, in hopes of saving myself and my readers some money.
I got a bit more than I bargained for 😹!
If it bleeds it leads.
I know, right?
I agree that a lot of the internet has gotten terrible. I think things like archive.org and wikipedia and annienygma.com are still good 🙂
For more than two decades, Saturday has been my hide from computers day (which also means no internet), and that helps me make sure that everything I do is not dependent on a computer.
You just made me blush, Joshua!
I believe it is smart for you to have a day away each week. Do you find that it helps you decompress?
Yes it does. I tend to get reading and chores done that I don’t get to in the rest of the week.
Good for you! I discovered that I manage to get a lot more accomplished as well. I’ve read more books than normal and have even completed some random tasks that I’d delayed due to lack of time.
Really makes me think hard about how much time can be lost when I thought I was just hopping online for a few minutes here and there!
Hi Annie!
Absolutely agree with you here, those of us who recall a life before internet notice it more I think, and it’s frightening to think that our kids find t all this ‘normal’ and I fear is also becoming a preventative for independent, creative thinking or resourcefulness.
An example, during ‘that time when we all had to stay at home’ my stepson needed to get his drivers licence as he was an essential service who still attended work, he looked up trying to book in, however the computer told him they were not taking any bookings. It absolutely did not cross his mind to pick up the phone and speak to a human! He simply accepted what was online as the only option.
We basically walked him through phoning and speaking to someone and he was able to book in and he got his licence.
I tend to be very selective about my online viewing, I stick to YouTube frugal videos like Prepper Princess and Kate Kaden, and I read ebooks for free through my library which was how I found your book and now your blog!
If I come across a great book, I then purchase it in secondhand hardcopy to add to my physical resources. I agree about the ebooks ‘vanishing’ some time after purchase, I won’t make that mistake again!
I’m currently on the lookout for Shoestring girl – loved it and keep renewing my library loan 😄, Possum Living, and the Tightwad Gazette.
Hi Erica,
It is so nice to meet you! It is so nice to meet someone who remembers how life was before the Internet.
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed the Shoestring Girl so much! That makes my day! I enjoyed the Tightwad Gazette myself, but I do believe that Possum Living is a seriously underrated classic. She makes points in that book that we can all learn from.
I do have a question though: did you have any issues actually reaching a human when you helped your stepson? It seems to be growing more difficult to reach an actual human when you call places these days. It’s almost as if they have programmed the AI to send people in endless loops until they get frustrated and hang up! 🤣
Thanks Annie!
I am in Australia so things are a little different, albeit I absolutely suffer the same frustration regarding companies hiding behind a wall of AI and bots all set to block you from actually speaking with a human! This also pushes me to pare back and simplify things further, just for the reason of not being beholden to these organisations who no longer seem to be in business to serve their customers.
I just paid for a 12 month mobile phone/internet plan ($18p/m – I imagine similar to the US mint mobile), to simplify that part.
That time of the licencing was around 5 years ago and through work I happened to have access to one of the vehicle licencing department’s internal phone number, otherwise it may well have been a similar story.
Anyhow, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and stories, I really find your work a breath of fresh air and escape to a ‘safe’ space in this current climate, and in this world of rage bait and keyboard warriors wanted you to know how much I am learning from you 😊
Dear Erica,
Thank you so much for your lovely comments. They mean so much to me!
Like you, I believe that corporations have lost the plot. Instead of serving their customers, they choose to take advantage of them instead. We have been conditioned to believe that corporate offerings are the best solution, so until we decide to vote with our money, things will only get worse.
I’ve watched the trends for a while now. I had hope of a change when minimalism entered the scene but the corporations managed to hijack it and twist it into the absolute opposite of the original intention. As a result, I am unsure that this re-emerging trend of frugality will gain traction.
But I still hope.
Thank you for your lovely comments, and thank you for letting me know that someone in Australia actually benefits from my writing. It always warms my heart to know that I am maybe making at least a small difference in this world.
Have a great day!
Annie
Hello from NZ Annie. I always enjoy reading your posts. I miss the old days of blogging. Yes about the internet – have you read heard of Cory Doctorows work on the “enshittification “ of the internet. One strategy is to take social media off my phone. I put instagram, along with access to ebooks and magazines on an old tablet I wasn’t using, and nothing else. When I pick up that tablet, I’m more likely to browse the magazines than spend time on instagram. This has drastically cut my use of social media without much sense of loss. I’m keen to hear all strategies to put friction between us and of big corporations . I also canceled my Amazon account and now get my ebooks elsewhere if I can’t get them from the library. Keep posting! It’s good to know there are others who questions where we are going.
Hi Deb!
Thanks for your comment! I’ve read a couple of Cory’s books but I didn’t realize he’d written about what I’d noticed. Is it a book he’s written or an online post? That is something I am definitely interested in checking out. I remember his concerns about where we are going with surveillance.
I miss the old days of blogging as well. Heck, I miss being able to visit an average website and not getting popups wanting you to subscribe or buy something. Like, geez! Not everything needs to be considered a marketing opportunity.
But what do I know? The “experts” apparently disagree with my opinion 🤣.
How have you been? It’s been a while!
I don’t do social media at all. I do read a few blogs I enjoy, including yours, but I get most of them through Feedly so never see the ads. I still read ebooks but I get BookBub in my email and only get free books from them; otherwise my reading hobby would cost way too much since I am not mobile enough to go to the library. My only online news source is Upworthy.com which posts good and fun news stories. Maybe it’s because I am even older than you are so I never got hooked on all those “news” sources.
Good for you, Linda!
Do you feel as if you miss out on local news by not participating in social media? I’ve noticed in my area that most local news is covered on Facebook these days….