You've been reading my mind Christine. I have become increasingly allergic to the internet these past few months, the internet and any screens in general. It's true, thinking of it, the first thing I see when I wake up is the screen of my phone when my alarm goes off. I go to work, and I spend 8 hours in front of a screen. I get to the gym and there's a screen on the treadmill, I go home and I feel compelled to turn my computer on in case someone has tried to get in touch and I'm maybe ignoring someone without even meaning to, so the first thing I do is check out Facebook even though I don't particularly care for it and then I get bombarded with pictures of people's lives (or what they want their lives to look like) on my feed. And they're not even people I care about just people whose friends requests I have accepted just to avoid any awkwardness, work colleagues for example. And I truly have had enough of screens!In trying to focus on Mr. King's best writer's advice: read a lot and write a lot. I have come upon a couple of things really getting in the way: the internet and the television. Now luckily, I don't have internet where I live anymore (because AT&T is the Devil in the form of a corporation). Unfortunately my roomate is a television junkie. It's on as soon as he gets home and he watches all manner of stuff from European Soccer, NFL, NBA, MSNBC, Fox News, Jon Stewart, Andy Griffith, Mrs. Doubtfire EVERY SINGLE TIME IT IS ON, and 16 thousand movies he's already watched.
I can pretend like I am superior but am I? I watch PBS, CBS Sunday Morning, Super Soul Sunday, Sherlock!, The Mentalist, Columbo, tons of cooking shows and the history of the hot dog and the X Factor, and American Idol (don't tell Mr. King) Plus tons of movies I've seen before: Remains Of The Day, You've Got Mail, Jaws, The Sand Lot, My Cousin Vinny, Knocked Up, Love Actually,etc, etc.
TV and the internet is a monumental time eater because I watch stuff I've seen or lollygag on my laptop at the library or my daughters, going to facebook, looking random crap on Google and checking the sites where I have my stories posted. Oh and I don't consider this site a waste of time because I actually write on here (and you are all always so nice to respond).
Anyway, I turned off the TV today and was straightening up my apartment and usually I put my current King book on cd on and listen but today I didn't. Didn't turn on the radio either. It was just me and silence. It was very uncomfortable at first. It made me kind of anxious but soon I got comfortable with the nothingness and my mind became less fragmented and I was able to think, and I started to think about something I was writing. I could see if I stayed in silence then the trickle of thoughts might actually flow down to that story stream I used to float on years ago.
So I'm going to give it a shot---anyone game? I'm not talking forever...how about a morning, or afternoon or maybe a weekend or longer who knows we just might get the hang of it---no internet, no T.V. or music...just us and our own thoughts.
If anyone wants to go on the journey with me..please post your experience.
At least, I haven't had a TV for the past 10 years, and I have not missed it. Too much of a time eater like you say and such a passive "activity". I have been trying to avoid the internet invading my life as much as I could ( there's nothing smart about my phone for example, I can call, receive calls and take pictures, that's about it) it doesn't seem to go away, it's just getting worse. And to make matters worse, I'm in the wrong job, I'm a digital marketer, so I kind of have to be on top of the whole internet thing. Some days I just wish I could just take off and go to a remote African country or somewhere where this whole obsessions with screens hasn't taken over everything.
Now this forum is different. There's a genuine friendly vibe about it and it has been my refuge recently. This forum and Stephen King's stories, as always. And I have to say that your post has inspired me. I know that when I get home, I'll pull some candles on, serve myself a nice coffee with Bailey's and start the Dark Tower (an actual book) and won't open my internet, with the exception of this forum. Thanks and good luck for your internet free adventure.