going offline (mostly)

[pcock]

i would really like to delete my facebook, but i run a semi successful night in glasgow that kind of relies on me making an event page, giving a record away in a promo competition, and inviting my friends to it. unfortunately i have over 1800 facebook friends. i tried to whittle it down a few months ago to the 500 people i actually know and party with, but it took 6 days to do 350 people and i just got flat out bored. while i still have it though, i tend to gaze at it aimlessly.

 

however, i dont, and wont (for the forseeable future) have a smart phone, so im limited in that sense. i also dont have the internet in my studio.

 

but yeah. i would love to cold turkey the internet, but its kind of just not possible. i had to do it 4 years ago when i was a drunken student because i couldnt afford my own connection, so i went 8 months with no internet in the flat, and it was actually just kind of boring. i ended up just playing red alert 2 on my pc and reading alot of books. as much as i love books, they are really only engaging for around 3 hours a day though.

 

having said this, this was in at a time in my life where i had no job for 4 years, i just partied and winged it. now i work 25 hours a week, piano practice engages me for 3 hours a day, i spend around 16 hours a week producing, it feels less damaging that i spend 2 or 3 hours a day gazing at the internet and watching comedy.

 

this is another thing, i love comedy. so much. but to the point where i feel like ive basically watched almost everything thats good. i recently trawled the entire 'what tv series are you watching' thread, and found nothing i hadnt already seen that wasnt shit.

 

also, i dont give a shit about people on the internet any more. ive been on this forum for a shade off ten years, and when i was younger, it felt like a virtual gang of actual friends. now i barely recognize any posters here as being distinguishable from the others. and this isnt anything to do with the forum, or the people who post here, its just me growing to be a fully grown adult.

 

 

 

anyway, im drunk. that was the longest post ive made here for a while.

[pcock]

i will say though, you guys still have a tremendous taste in music. that is the lifeforce of this forum, always has been, and i still often find fascinating new artists ive never heard of up in the music discussion section. ive spent the last 5 years distinguishing myself as a pretty decent techno dj, its extremely rare i find any techno from the last 4-5 years i havent at least heard of the label an artist is on, but as i enjoy into delve into the insane amount of genres in existence, this place never fails to throw up something new and interesting.

 

 

 

also, squarepusher - ultravisitor was the most mindblowing cd of music i had ever listened to when i signed up here in 2006 aged 16, and it still is.

 

even now understanding production 10 years better than i did then, steinbolt actually leaves me breathless.

[sweepstakes]

I love the feeling of being totally unplugged. Last time I had it was a couple years ago visiting my in-laws in Japan. Next time I go I will leave the laptop.

[joshuatxuk]

you can't leave WATMM, it needs sensible people.

 

 

good luck on your brave journey joshua, and see you next week!

 

zole

[cloud capture]

I turned off my phone 3 years ago and my pc died in early 2014. At first it was tough losing a pc. I'd had one on my desk since 1992 so it took some time to get out of the cycle of wanting to sit in front of the machine. I have an old ipod touch a friend gave me for watching their dogs and I use that to keep in touch with family and a few close friends I grew up with. I've never had more than a handful of contacts on facebook, and it is really efficient for keeping up to date with those closest to you(especially since I live the life of a hermit thousands of miles away from them).

 

The next step is going to be shutting off the internet. It's mostly a waste of money since I have wi-fi at the bakery. It's pretty awesome getting back to the natural way of life I remember as a kid in the 80's and early 90's. The thing I notice the most when I'm out in public is literally everyone is so dependant on their phone. Young and old. Walking, talking, eating, driving. It's sad to witness the human disconnect.

 

Have fun Joshua.

[zero]

I did this years ago (may 2005 - july 2006) because the apartment I moved to didn't have a phone line and I was getting free cable from the landlord and didn't want to screw up their arrangement. I used internet at work for work related things, but never had too much time to browse, post, search for music, etc. like you can when not at work. when I came back online, everyone was talking about youtube and myspace and I was like wtf are those?

 

This was before widepread wifi, facebook, and the smartphone, which have radically changed human behavior...it is incredible how many people have lost the ability to act socially in situations where they should and instead stay glued to to their screens. sometimes I think what an alien would think if they saw how humans move around looking at little screens all the time...they must think we are following some sort of orders or being controlled by a smarter, higher power...

[peace 7]

WHEN INTERNET WAS GOOD:

cute-sleeping-cat.jpg

 

WHEN INTERNET WENT TO SHIT:

jDkfow98gjUhfyTsjhf.jpg

 

 

>-MY PREDICTION FOR THE FUTURE->

 

CURRENT INTERNET HEADLINES:

"You won't believe what this article is about!"

 

FUTURE INTERNET HEADLINES:

"UhRghf78798sdf jksdfik9848 8f8jfdjsfFJHFDSK ksd!"

[joshuatxuk]

thanks for all the responses, been interesting reading them

 

i'm not leaving watmm anytime soon, at the most extreme i might take a break sometime in the next month or so, but this input has been very helpful in my personal goal setting / planning

 

btw i forgot to add. on reservations, if you're not native american you're not allowed to live in a house alone. so i stayed in a mobile house owned by this guy who was an elder. he'd come in every morning and sit at the computer playing computer games. literally, from 9am to about 6pm. then he'd just walk out. he only said 2 things to me when i lived there in the span of 8-9 months. the first was when i showed up. he said welcome. how are you? stuff like that.

 

the next time he talked to me was the day i was leaving. he came up to me and said "i need to talk to you". i thought, shit. maybe he's real mad at me because i never paid rent and was going to demand monies. then he goes "do you like chilli? my family has made chilli for decades". he then proceeded to tell me about his time in world war 2 while he cooked chilli for me. i don't necessarily like chilli, but i told him i loved it (actually, it was pretty good chilli)

 

btw: gordon (the native dude) didn't sleep in this mobile house. he had a separate house with his family (all native). in this mobile house slept myself and his girlfriend who'd come in around 6pm, cook and yack with me. it was such a strange situation. this whole time i had no idea what was happening in the world. i never saw or read a paper, never did anything besides go to hotmail to email my parents (about twice a month). if you had told me the world was at war, i'd have believed you.

 

that's fascinating, I had no idea that was a thing with reservations but it makes sense. you really had quite a unique experience, that's something to cherish.

 

what all did he say about ww2? i remember talking to a veteran years ago, a guy who saw combat in italy, and it was remarkable to hear firsthand. he's probably passed since. one of these day's i'll have to write it all down in detail b/c i didn't record it or anything (we chatted at a state park)

 

speaking of nm, i go to cloudcroft every year (sadly couldn't go this time) but it's nothing close to remote or off the grid. just offline for days and a break from work. plenty of slightly odd and endearing characters though, state seems full of them.

[Guest boo]

i will say though, you guys still have a tremendous taste in music. that is the lifeforce of this forum, always has been, and i still often find fascinating new artists ive never heard of up in the music discussion section. ive spent the last 5 years distinguishing myself as a pretty decent techno dj, its extremely rare i find any techno from the last 4-5 years i havent at least heard of the label an artist is on, but as i enjoy into delve into the insane amount of genres in existence, this place never fails to throw up something new and interesting.

 

 

 

also, squarepusher - ultravisitor was the most mindblowing cd of music i had ever listened to when i signed up here in 2006 aged 16, and it still is.

 

even now understanding production 10 years better than i did then, steinbolt actually leaves me breathless.

where's yr music?

[WeAreOceans]

I just hate social media. It's so addictive to post to, and scroll through an endless feed, but it's all self indulgent garbage and never ending marketing and advertising.

 

I like the world wide web for the most part though. Stick on adblocker and avoid the social media/viral quagmire, and there's loads of cool stuff to read and learn, and people to talk to. I've grown up most of my life using it, I couldn't imagine living without it.

[Soloman Tump]

My facebook feed is now generally just a news feed full of stuff i "liked".

A lot of "friends" I have unfollowed simply because they post shitty memes of Minions or ladbible video links.

 

Real friends I just text or call them, its easier.

 

Would not really be too sad to lose my facebook account. Might be my new years resolution.

 

Otherwise mostly online I check a few forums, visit a few online record stores, news and travel updates.

[MadameChaos]

talking about quitting the internet, on the internet. most WATMM thread 2015.

[fenton]

i was googling for 'offline dating' forums the other day and while there are some they are hauntingly quiet.

 

 

which i obv should have thought of.

 

 

even though I am making this trufact up.

[pcock]

 

i will say though, you guys still have a tremendous taste in music. that is the lifeforce of this forum, always has been, and i still often find fascinating new artists ive never heard of up in the music discussion section. ive spent the last 5 years distinguishing myself as a pretty decent techno dj, its extremely rare i find any techno from the last 4-5 years i havent at least heard of the label an artist is on, but as i enjoy into delve into the insane amount of genres in existence, this place never fails to throw up something new and interesting.

 

 

 

also, squarepusher - ultravisitor was the most mindblowing cd of music i had ever listened to when i signed up here in 2006 aged 16, and it still is.

 

even now understanding production 10 years better than i did then, steinbolt actually leaves me breathless.

where's yr music?

 

www.soundcloud.com/venxx

 

 

theres some bits and bobs up here.

[caze]

I've never had a Facebook account, never felt like I was missing out on anything. There's more than enough bullshit on the internet that wastes my time as it is, I can't imagine a Facebook account could possibly help. I could definitely do with cutting down on random on-line research binges though, when I should probably be working I end up reading about interesting philosophical/historical/scientific shit for a couple of hours instead. No, learning everything I can about the Beaker Culture should not be on today's list of priorities.

[Nil]

I deleted my FB account when my ex dumped me 8 months ago, but still have an incognito account to keep my musician page, with 0 friend. Feels good.

[granty]

I recently unfollowed everybody on facebook so my fb-feed is pretty much empty. Best decision ever. I still have fb chat if I really need to contact somebody and if I'm really interested in what a certain person is up to I need to go check their profile. A lot less of daily mental trash now.

I do miss the time when I didn't get to be on the internet 24/7 and I used to listen to cd's for hours, just staring at the cover art. Now even while listening to music I have all sorts of distractions going on - like writing a post on watmm. Anyway - maybe just a bit of mental discipline is required to get back those halcyon days. It's an exercise in focus to just keep your mind at one thing at a time, could be helpful for many people.

 

I did that with Twitter - it's way better now. I hate Facebook but have to use it for contacting music promoters, venues etc. otherwise I'd completely fuck it off. I did go without a smartphone for a year but because I kept my social media accounts it was a pointless exercise, as I kept checking the iPad every 5 minutes.

[sweepstakes]

talking about quitting the internet, on the internet. most WATMM thread 2015.

[Nebraska]

what all did he say about ww2?

 

he said he was forced into it. he didn't like his time there and how it made him bitter and angry. the one thing he loved was his rifle which he still had. he stopped at one point from making the chilli to fetch it and show it to me. "this gun means a lot to me" he said. i wanted to ask him a lot of things (remember, he'd only ever had said 1 thing to me prior to this conversation in the span of 8 months) but i decided to let him speak in case i jinxed him back to silence. he mostly talked about his family who were now in some kind of disarray that had began after he'd come back from the war (it seemed like he blamed it on the war too). he never did introduce me to them, even though they all lived around us.

 

after he finished talking he gave me the chilli he'd been making, asked me what i thought, and went back to playing video games and didn't so much as even say goodbye when i left his house (and new mexico) for good. that was that

[Braintree]

I CAN QUIT WHENEVER I WANT

[frankbooth]

Wish I could quit but the job requires me being connected.

 

That said, deleted Facebook years ago. Deleted Twitter. No other social networks other than watmm which I visit here and there.

 

Deleted many apps. All that's left are a couple music and news apps on one page of my iPhone.

 

Don't have a computer except at work.

 

Have gone back to reading real books instead of kindle versions. Listen to vinyl when possible.

 

But I'm old and losing this war. I drive an SUV around LA that's higher up than most cars. I can see into them at stop lights at night and every driver is staring at their phones.

 

Just googled "long attention span" and the first page of results solely listed articles on short attention span, completely ignoring the fact I wrote the word "long". Like it doesn't exist.

 

We're getting that much closer to the matrix and it won't be stopped.

[peace 7]

talking about quitting the internet, on the internet. most WATMM thread 2015.

 

To keep it real and analog, I'm gonna start posting to WATMM by writing my posts in fountain pen on hemp paper, putting them in bottles, and throwing them into the ocean.

[joshuatxuk]

 

what all did he say about ww2?

 

he said he was forced into it. he didn't like his time there and how it made him bitter and angry. the one thing he loved was his rifle which he still had. he stopped at one point from making the chilli to fetch it and show it to me. "this gun means a lot to me" he said. i wanted to ask him a lot of things (remember, he'd only ever had said 1 thing to me prior to this conversation in the span of 8 months) but i decided to let him speak in case i jinxed him back to silence. he mostly talked about his family who were now in some kind of disarray that had began after he'd come back from the war (it seemed like he blamed it on the war too). he never did introduce me to them, even though they all lived around us.

 

after he finished talking he gave me the chilli he'd been making, asked me what i thought, and went back to playing video games and didn't so much as even say goodbye when i left his house (and new mexico) for good. that was that

 

 

this just gets more and more fascinating

 

I'd always heard Native Americans, in general, serve frequently in the military, ironically considering the history of America's expansion in the West. in fact the first american female soldied killed in Iraq was a native american. not all tribes, some resisted but some had more than half of their men serve in WW2. I assume he was upset at being drafted.

 

Just googled "long attention span" and the first page of results solely listed articles on short attention span, completely ignoring the fact I wrote the word "long". Like it doesn't exist.

 

lol - 21st century life is quite the dark comedy

 

But I'm old and losing this war. I drive an SUV around LA that's higher up than most cars. I can see into them at stop lights at night and every driver is staring at their phones.

 

that's crazy considered they are outright banned - same problem here in Austin and Texas in general - I watched a truck frequently cross over halfway every 30 seconds or so because the guy couldn't stop texting

 

i wonder how much traffic jams are extended because people start getting on their phones to kill time, only to begin accelerating and braking 2-3 seconds late each time traffic moves

[Danny O Flannagin]

Wish I could quit but the job requires me being connected.

 

That said, deleted Facebook years ago. Deleted Twitter. No other social networks other than watmm which I visit here and there.

 

Deleted many apps. All that's left are a couple music and news apps on one page of my iPhone.

 

Don't have a computer except at work.

 

Have gone back to reading real books instead of kindle versions. Listen to vinyl when possible.

 

But I'm old and losing this war. I drive an SUV around LA that's higher up than most cars. I can see into them at stop lights at night and every driver is staring at their phones.

 

Just googled "long attention span" and the first page of results solely listed articles on short attention span, completely ignoring the fact I wrote the word "long". Like it doesn't exist.

 

We're getting that much closer to the matrix and it won't be stopped.

THIS. I noticed an increase of cars remaining stopped when the light turns green because they aren't paying attention.

[Adieu]

Wish I could quit but the job requires me being connected.

 

That said, deleted Facebook years ago. Deleted Twitter. No other social networks other than watmm which I visit here and there.

 

Deleted many apps. All that's left are a couple music and news apps on one page of my iPhone.

 

Don't have a computer except at work.

 

Have gone back to reading real books instead of kindle versions. Listen to vinyl when possible.

 

But I'm old and losing this war. I drive an SUV around LA that's higher up than most cars. I can see into them at stop lights at night and every driver is staring at their phones.

 

Just googled "long attention span" and the first page of results solely listed articles on short attention span, completely ignoring the fact I wrote the word "long". Like it doesn't exist.

 

We're getting that much closer to the matrix and it won't be stopped.

 

You understand that phones offer GPS to the driver correct?