Love at first byte?
Martin Poole/Thinkstock
When I saw an article by graphic novelist James Sturm on how he was "quitting" the internet, I was intrigued. Sturm writes:
"Over the last several years, the Internet has evolved from being a distraction to something that feels more sinister. Even when I am away from the computer I am aware that I AM AWAY FROM MY COMPUTER and am scheming about how to GET BACK ON THE COMPUTER. I've tried various strategies to limit my time online: leaving my laptop at my studio when I go home, leaving it at home when I go to my studio, a Saturday moratorium on usage. But nothing has worked for long. More and more hours of my life evaporate in front of YouTube. Supposedly addiction isn't a moral failing, but it feels as if it is."
Internet addiction is real. There's even a 12-step program to deal with it, e.g.
- "Admit that e-mail is managing you. Let go of your need to check e-mail every 10 minutes"
- "Commit to keeping your in-box empty"
- "Establish regular times to review your e-mail"
- "Deal immediately with any e-mail that can be handled in 2 minutes or less, but create a file for mails that will take longer"
Internet Addiction Disorder
Are You Addicted to the Web?
But what about activism? Surely the Web has been a bonanza. Well, it's not as if pre-internet rabble-rousers haven't been doing their thing for centuries...
A Sampling of Pre-Internet Activist Successes and Community
P.S. Be Careful What You Ask For
The Web can help connect and organize those of us seeking peace, justice, and solidarity...but it's a double-edged sword. For example, as Michael Graham Richard explains, the internet has created some new threats for protected animals. "The internet is becoming the dominant factor overall in the global trade in protected species," said Paul Todd of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
Balance
The internet is very new...just about every human alive did fine without it not too long ago. Plus, outside of the privileged West, it's not a given that communities even have electricity, never mind wireless and high-speed
Take Home Message: Finding a new balance between literal and virtual community can start with a single face-to-face conversation.
