I Quit The Internet For A Week. Here’s What I Learned.

I practically live on the internet — and I’m not the only one. Statistics from the Pew Research Center show that a shocking 85% of American adults use the internet daily, while three in ten use the internet almost constantly. That’s not mentioning the alarming one in five teens who report using Youtube “almost constantly.”

The most frightening part?

Most people don’t even realize how much time they spend on the internet and social media. Social media is a time-suck designed to keep you engaged with its content for as long as possible. You might not even realize what you’ve been doing for the past few hours — but you keep going anyway.

I decided to find out.

The Ground Rules

As a certified “netizen,” I wanted to go internet-free for quite some time now, but I never got around to doing it. This summer, I wanted to try new things and spend more time outside, so I decided, why not go internet-free?

Before starting the challenge, I decided to set some ground rules.

Obviously, I’m not allowed to use the internet, but I decided also to go computer-free. Why? I could already imagine myself spending hours on certain video games that don’t need any internet connection. So, I decided to put my computer away in a cupboard until the end of the week.

I also decided to spend more time outside for this challenge. You can already guess how boring it might be to stay at home without any internet.

Internet-Free Week: My Experience

I had originally planned to write something during my internet-free week every day and include that in my article. Unfortunately, that didn’t end up happening. So, instead, I’ll just summarize how the week went for me.

Days One to Three

At the beginning of day one, I instinctively reached for my computer on my desk, only to find it wasn’t there. I had quite a bit of trouble finding ways to spend my time without the internet, and it was quite a surreal experience for someone who spends all day online. It was only the first day of the challenge, and I had already learned a lot, especially about how fast time passes when you’re online. You don’t really quite realize how much time you waste on you’re computer until it’s taken away.

During day two, I found myself spending a lot of quality time with my family and appreciating all the little things nature has to offer. I had a lot of fun sitting in the sun and listening to all the little sounds around me. It was also nice to see the plants and bees around my area.

I was a little bored on day three and even found myself wanting to go back to the internet at one point. Instead, I decided to sit in the park and draw. I also worked on a puzzle, which I started on day one, with my family.

Days Four to Seven

The last four days were all pretty similar but nice.

I spent day four drawing an animal from an old step-by-step book I had completely forgotten about. I also got in a lot of physical exercise that day, at least for me, by doing a couple of laps around my neighborhood park.

On day six, I went to the zoo and even tried bumper carts. It was a very fun day, and I really enjoyed spending time in nature and looking at the animals. It’s a lot nicer to appreciate nature than to spend hours scrolling on your computer.

On the final day, I decided to try felting for the first time. My felted cat definitely didn’t look the best, but it was enjoyable trying something new and watching my creation slowly come to life.

What I Learned

I didn’t expect much from this simple challenge when I started it. Coming out of my internet-free week ,though, I learned a lot more than I expected. For starters, I found myself appreciating little things much more than usual, especially nature and animals. I spent a lot more quality time with my family and had a lot of fun doing so.

I also made room for my hobbies, which I didn’t really do much when I was on the internet. I really enjoy drawing, but I hadn’t done it in a while, but during my internet-free week, I drew almost every day. I found a ton of interesting things in my house that I’d completely forgotten about, like some old puzzle games and step-by-step drawing books.

I think one of the most shocking things I learned during my internet detox was just how much time I wasted online. My internet-free week may be over for now, but I’m definitely making efforts to spend my time doing things I actually care about.

Should You Go Internet-Free?

If you have the time to go internet-free, absolutely! You may find yourself feeling bored, but you might also learn something from the experience. At the very least, try to think about how you spend your time online. Is it really worth it watching that silly cat video or that video reviewing Reddit memes? Chances are those videos don’t really add any value to your life, and you’ll probably forget about them the next day.

The internet can be a great tool for learning all sorts of things, but it can also be a giant time-suck. As long as you’re aware of how you spend you’re time online, you can make sure that you’re not wasting your time online. Sometimes it is okay to waste your time, but do you really want to spend most of your day scrolling through social media, or would you prefer to go outside and spend time with family?