Ask HN: When was the last time you lived 24 hours without the Internet? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: When was the last time you lived 24 hours without the Internet?

27 pointsRed_Tarsius52 comments

It has recently occured to me that I didn't quite remember my last day "off" the Internet. It was maybe 4 years ago, I'm not so sure.

The answer to this question was the first step that lead me to a straight change of habits I'm applying to my daily life. The Internet is a blessing for all mankind, but the amount of time I spent hoarding knowledge was detrimental to actual projects and health. I could even call it an addiction.

So, out of curiosity, When was your last time you lived 16~24 hours in a row without the Internet? Do you even remember it?

EDIT: For some weird reason the thread got istantly pushed down from the front page. Anyway, thanks for participating in the conversation and sharing your experiences!

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For sure, for sure? A year ago, sailing in French Polynesia (aka "Tahiti").

If we were in a largish town on a more populous island, we might get WiFi, but never for anything better than a quick email and FB check, and posting one and most two pictures, but more generally we had 2-3-4 day stretches with no Internet access over the course of two weeks. During some stretches, our world was quite literally the 9 people on the cat.

(But I still had tech: Took pictures and read books on my mobile. Once back on land, streamed a Senators-Canadien game, that felt like paradise, 'cept the Sens lost....)

Last fall, on a weekend retreat. Hardly any cell signal, let alone data, and dialup, had there been any, would have been 56K at the most. Full 36ish hours with no contact at all with the outside world, just my wife, the three other couples, and the retreat leader.

And the occasional weekend here or there when I just unplug. Read an actual made-of-pulp book. Draw, snowshoe, go wheeling, play music, cards, or Carcassonne.

Then there are days like today, plugged in constantly.

This summer I went on a 3 week road trip around the Southwest US. Went to 7 or 8 national parks, camping mostly with some random hotels. I had access to mobile Internet but I wanted to experiment with a full 3 week news hiatus. In that time I didn't use the internet on my phone (except navigation when lost), read any newspaper, listen to non-music radio, or watch TV.

The strangest thing was that when I got home, I really hadn't missed anything. In a normal day I read dozens of articles and consume news from so many sources that when I got home I expected to have to catch up. But I really didn't. I think we consume a lot of information just because its there, but so little remains relevant a few days or weeks later.

A couple of years back I went on a week-long hike deep enough into the country that I had no internet, no AC power, etc. While I was away from the internet, I realized was how often I was interrupted by useless emails, so when I returned, I unsubscribed from dozens of email lists I had ended up on over the years. I didn't realize the sheer volume of lists I was on, because it happened gradually, but some time away helped me realized how uninterrupted my life could be and how useless the information I was receiving was.

I still find myself clicking "unsubscribe" quite often, or opting out of email lists when I sign up. I don't miss the additional interruptions to my day.

I spent a month cycling Corsica and Sardinia late season in 2013, just sleeping on the beaches and in the forests. I brought a smartphone but never really used it, there's not much in the way of internet deep in rural Europe but when you see stars everynight, who cares? After all that time without any news I remember reading the Guardian when I reached Calgari, there was a massacre sadly much like any other but unlike anytime before it moved me to tears.

I slept on this beach and in the forest behind it for a few days, go! https://goo.gl/maps/8GC1F

This is timely. I am planning to spend the next few nights free of my laptop. I usually browse the web and plan massive things in my head, but I haven't written a line of code in my spare time in a week or so. I think I am burned out and could use the break, even if it's just for a few hours.

The last time I went without internet connectivity was 3 years ago, celebrating my two year wedding anniversary with my wife in Dominican Republic. The hotel has wifi in the lobby area, but I learned from a previous trip that it was an exercise in frustration trying to get anything other than pure text.

The last time? This past weekend.

Before that? Every other weekend or so. I don't own a smartphone, and I make a point of staying offline most weekends unless I have a major email backlog to deal with, or something specific to look up.

Even when working on personal coding projects I prefer to stay offline during weekends whenever possible. Very, very useful strategy for maintaining sanity generally, I find, and for making time available for more useful + deserving sources of interaction and stimulation -- like books, music, movies, paintings, architecture, natural scenery, animals, and people.

Mid June. I had just gotten married; my wife and I turned our phones off for our honeymoon and spent a week enjoying each other's company (and also drinking a lot of wine) in a cottage in Napa Valley.

I did a week-long hike in the Los Padres national forest about a year ago. It definitely took a few days to get used to having no communication. (I still reached in my pocket to check my non-existent phone once every half-hour like clockwork). The first 24 hours were nerve-wracking, all I could think about was "what if something crazy happens and nobody can reach me?". But after a few days I just forgot about it, the internet just wasn't something that crossed my mind.

Last week. I spent 11 days backpacking throughout Dominican Republic. My phone was off, except a few times when I connected to wifi to check for urgent emails or issues.

It was amazing... It was the first time in a year that I was able to pull away from daily minutiae and think about things from a much higher level (such as career goals and big plans for this year).

I came back full of energy and motivation that I hope to carry through the end of the year... or until my next trip.

Its wonderful. I spend a week a year bicycling across my state (with 20,000 other people). Some maintain their phone addiction; you see them clustered around public outlets with their chargers and blank expressions.

But the rest of us leave that at home; laugh and talk and think for mile after mile and come away changed.

That sounds fun. Where does it take place?

Its called RAGBRAI (ragbrai.org) which stands for "Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa". The Des Moines Register sponsors it. Been going on since the 70's, when a columnist invited readers to accompany himself and his wife on a cross-state ride. 200 people showed up to the 1st one; today there's from 10,000 to 25,000 people per day depending on the proximity of larger cities etc.

Its like a fair in each town we go through - with food stands and entertainment and beer garden and the main street blocked off for a block party. The 'overnight towns' have that times 10. My family camps with an outfitter hauling our gear; we bike all day with just a bike pack and a wallet.

The whole week is around 450 miles, more or less depending on the route each year. This year's route has been announced; check the website!

Out-of-state riders can sign up with OOS (Out Of State - an outfitter specializing in visitors) or with any other club you can contact. Mine is BIC (Bicyclists of Iowa City), one of the ride sponsors. They haul gear and reserve campground space for the group including a pavilion tent, beer coolers and solar-powered showers and cellphone charger.

That sounds like Cycle Oregon, except they limit the participants to 2,000.

I'm a regular backpacker and it's wonderful to leave it all behind.

3 years ago is the last time I remember. It was on a 2.5 day camping trip. At the site we went to, there was no cell coverage without going down the mountain, so the cell phone was turned off, and I didn't bother bringing any other devices. It was nice.

It's hard to have that type of disconnected experience any other time than vacation since my job relies on using computers all day. Maybe one of these weekends I should switch off the phone...

A year ago, when there was power cut and phones are out of charge/conserving battery.

We were playing board games, under candle light and family was bonding like never before.

The week before Christmas so about 5 weeks ago. I booked a very nice hotel in Nha Trang for a 3 day trip and not taking my computer was a very deliberate choice.

I didn't suffer from any withdrawal symptoms, although I napped a lot (which I normally never do) but that had more to do with 1) not sleeping well the night before on the way there and 2) my employer knowing I was unreachable.

Kicking off from sugar is much harder, to me at least.

8 days in Cuba.

To gain access to the internet you were required to goto the business center at one of the government hotels. The business center sold 60 minute time cards issued by the government for ~$15. These cards would have a unique code that would grant you limited access to the network.

Unfortunately for 7 out of the 8 days every hotel I went to had ran out of these cards meaning no connection to the internet whatsoever.

The last time was probably 8 years ago, before I had a smart phone. I went winter camping in a relatively remote area with some friends.

Edit: I should probably add, I don't see constant internet access as any more of a problem than books. If anything my kindle (which is always in airplane mode) is a worse impact on my productivity than the internet.

About 6 months ago, on my way to Turkey.

It was a pain. I got less writing done than I'd hoped, partly because I couldn't look things up. I enjoyed holidays more when I had a working Kindle Keyboard and could get internet anywhere. Next time I'm taking a laptop; there's too much value out there to be a luddite about it.

Couple days ago. During the summer, it's usually every weekend I stay at the dropzone without any laptops and I don't carry my phone around. I'm also outside for the whole weekend and I empty all my pockets to jump. There's planes to jump out of, people to talk, things to do, a breath of fresh air!

Last week I actually went almost two whole days without internet access. It wasn't intentional (I forgot my iPhone at home when I left for two days), and where I went there was no computer or other internet accessible devices. I survived fine, but yeah.. a certain degree of separation angst.

Canoed down the Wisconsin River for 3 days last summer. Spending time alone with nature was a great slowdown and reboot. It really helps put in perspective the hectic rush of American life and how little benefit worrying about small things at work brings me.

2007: I took Amtrak on a round trip from the Seattle area to Beaumont, Texas and back [1]. Part of that involves taking the Sunset Limited between Los Angeles and Beaumont. That's a scheduled [2] 40 hour trip from Los Angeles to Beaumont, and 36 hours from Beaumont to Los Angeles.

There was no wifi on the train then (or now, I believe), and I did not have a phone with cellular internet.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the Nintendo DS came out in North America just 3 weeks before my trip started, so I saved that for the train trip. I also brought Mario Kart and some other Mario game that I had not finished. Oh, and Brain Age was very helpful--it includes a bunch of Sudoku puzzles. I also had a bunch of podcasts and some audiobooks on my iPod.

I did not bring, if I recall correctly, any physical books on the train. I wanted to travel light, and the books I was currently reading or wanting to read were all heavy hardbacks. (Kindle was not out yet...it was released while I was I was in Texas, a few days before the trip home started).

All I brought on the train was my PowerBook, the entertainment stuff listed above, my phone, a TomTom GPS, a couple charges to keep the aforementioned stuff running, toothbrush and toothpaste, a comb, a swiss army knife, and enough clothes to cover the time on the train.

Everything else I'd need or want for the 3+ weeks I'd actually be in Texas, including several hardback books, I shipped via UPS or FedEx ahead to the hotel.

I don't understand why more people don't do that, at least for stays where they are bringing a lot of stuff. You've already got enough to deal with on boarding day...why add wrangling two or three big pieces of checked luggage to that? And FedEx and UPS lose luggage at a lower rate than airlines (I could not find data on Amtrak lost luggage rates). [3]

[1] for the usual reason one would go to Beaumont, Texas if one has no relatives there. A patent I was involved in ended up owned by someone who sued someone else, and I had to go be a witness.

[2] Most of the route is over track owner by freight rail companies, and their trains have priority. That means AmTrak spends a lot of time sitting on passing sidings waiting for a freight train to pass. Add several hours to scheduled times for any long trip.

[3] I suppose it might depend on how things are getting paid for. Since I was going in order to be a witness in civil litigation, someone else was paying for my travel expenses, and they had a pretty loose wallet. If you are paying for your own trip and your fare includes a certain amount of luggage it might be hard to justify letting that freebie go to waste and paying for FedEx.

12 Hours of Sebring 2013 - four days off. The coverage in the area was better last year, but before that it was almost non-existent. Unless, of course, you pay the ridiculous fee for spotty track wi-fi that barely worked even when you were connected.

The men of our family try to get to Montana every year for elk season.

Remote, cold, feet hurt, sore, and no Internet access for 24-48 hour stretches (sometimes longer). But the pack weighs on me more than the disconnection, even after over 20 years of daily access.

About 2 years ago, took a 4 day bus tour of Ireland, where free WiFi was mostly non-existent outside of Dublin. Whenever I travel in Europe, I purposely don't buy a SIM card or get the AT&T Passport. It forces me to be disconnected.

The second week of the last August, on vacation thorough Turkmenistan. Not that they don't have Internet but there was no WiFi in hotels and I didn't care to go to Internet shops. I survived well.

Summer, spent 12 days camping in an empty Greek island. I had to climb to the top of the hill just to get phone signal so even though I could theoretically go online, chilling became a priority.

Thanksgiving in USA, rural Florida. Then the power went out for three days. Time for fishing and fan-boats! It was awesome. I just deleted all the unread email when I got back online

Twice in past 3 weeks. I was at the Alafia river rendezvous, 1640-1840 traders gathering. Kept the Internet tucked away for a few days at a time.

Probably about a year ago. But I was only checking the internet about 3 hours per week total back then. Now I can't get away from it.

Yes, when I was on a remote island in Thailand. It actually felt refreshing being disconnected from the internet for several days.

That must have been very remote because I have been to some remote islands in Thailand and they all had fantastic internet speeds. In one of them (Koh Lanta) I remember downloading a 1080p movie in about 10 minutes. On wifi, inside a hut.

My last time 100% without internet was in Nepal, last year. Nearly 40 days offline.

Interesting. What were the costs like? of the different components of the stay there, not just Internet. I've been in some remote places on vacation, but some of them did not have good Internet access or it was expensive.

With 20 dollars a day you're good in most parts of Thailand, including a clean decent bed to sleep on and two meals a day. I never paid for fast internet there anyway, it was always free and included in the bungalows prices.

Thanks.

Last summer for 2 weeks at my girlfirend's cottage. Didn't have cell service either. We did have satellite TV though.

Vacation up north a few summers ago. Brought my laptop, but there was no connection unless I went to a coffee shop in town.

I am using a old nokia phone which has nothing but whatsapp. If that counts i was unable to have internet for last 2 days.

A month ago when my internet went down. Pretty irritated, nothing much to do apart from reading magazines in my free time.

About a month ago, on a bike trip with my family! Thailand has spotty internet :)

11 days in 2013, while I was taking a Vipassana meditation course in São Paulo.

Last summer @ Wacken Open Air, i lived ~5 days without internet.

Last summer I did a cycle camping trip. No internet for 7 days.

A week in Jamaica when I was 15. That was 11 years ago.

On a cruise a couple months ago. I survived.

Spent a year with no home broadband - 2011.

Last week from Tuesday to Saturday.

Everytime I go on holidays dude, what is wrong is you, it really not hard.

Losing my job last year made me re-evaluate a lot of aspects of my life, since April, I spent time off the internet; though to be fair, until September, a good chunk of my 'offline' time was burying my head in a bottle. (Just FYI, terrible idea - you torch a lot of long term memory that way from the drinking period).

Weekends, after starting to overwork again, have stopped being for the internet and more for phone calls, or outside, or cooking epic food. Anything analog. Digital will still be there if I grab my phone, but, I'm trying to remember and learn how to live life in 3d.

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