taking a break

Yesterday I took a break from the internet for 24 hours. This was my way of protesting SOPA. I decided that if the sites that I used on a daily basis weren't willing to black-out for 24 hours that I would just refuse to use them for that amount of time. It wasn't the first time I'd thought about taking a willing break from the internet. In fact I'd been thinking about it a lot recently and my want for time to completely clear my head.

I wanted a break from all the statuses about TV, the tweets about the morons in the GOP race, and even a break from the Shit fill in the blank Say videos. It's not that I don't care, it's the opposite in fact. I care, I care too much about the internet. I love the internet, I can say what I want and share what I want and have friends in all other parts of the world.

Of course all of that is bound to change if SOPA and PIPA pass. I do want to say quickly that I am against them both and that if you haven't done anything about them passing that you are either A) too lazy to read an article about something that WILL affect you or B) a moron who doesn't understand how these things WILL affect you. Either way, you need to figure it out and do something about it.

This is about me though, not those bills and the trolls trying to pass them. I needed a break from the constant stream of information and I know that I did the right thing.

So while I was internet free I had a lot of time to think. In fact, when I woke up I went to my computer and saw my "NO INTERNET TODAY" note I left on my computer. Panic struck me. PANIC!

• What if someone important dies?
• What if there is a natural disaster somewhere?
• What if it's discovered that Mitt Romney's flawless hair is because he wears a wig?
• What if one of my friends gets broken up with an needs to talk?

So I sat there struck with panic thinking about all these things and then I thought "What the hell can I do about it anyway?" Is my being on the internet RIGHT THAT SECOND to comment about something really something I care about? No. Is it going to help any of those situations? No. If my friend needs to talk they have my phone number and I'm probably the last person you should call if you get dumped (just an FYI: I am NOT a comforting person and I'll probably just tell you to get the hell over it.)

Once the initial panic of not constantly being plugged into all the information in the world went away my day was blissful. I played outside with Alden, we went to the library, we got him some food, we came home and played videogames together and watched TV, and made a tent to read our library books in. It wasn't really any DIFFERENT than any other day except for the fact that we weren't both being pulled to opposing sides of the room to periodically check on our computers. There was no "Facebook Messenger" tone that I felt the need to respond to right away, no unfinished schoolwork hanging over my head, and not a care about anything that was going on outside our little living room fort. I was completely tuned in to JUST being present.

I'm not saying I didn't look at my computer with the big "NO INTERNET TODAY" sign and make a sad face a few times and I'm not saying that Alden didn't pitch an absolute fit when I tried to explain to him why we needed time away. We have a problem, we have grown accustomed to this. This is everyone's new way of life. It's damaging us, we aren't ever fully away. Most people (who obviously have way more money than I do) have SmartPhones, they are literally never more than a touchscreen away and why? What are we so afraid we're going to miss?

I'll tell you exactly what I missed. I scrolled through & read every update from yesterday. I missed 3 friends who can obviously read and were posting about SOPA and trying to make a different. I missed a lot of Facebook drama and the names of those people who everyone wants to be the next American Idol. THAT IS IT. I missed nothing. I regret nothing.

Yes, we are back online today and no we aren't going to unplug completely anytime soon. Yes, I'm blogging about this because blogging has become part of how I deal with things. Being away for a short time, just one day made me really think. We are definitely going to unplug one day a week. It was so nice and quiet and it cleared our heads and for the first time our day was uninterrupted by people who weren't present. We ourselves were completely present.