Can you live without the internet ?

[Halcyon]

Ah yeah I think you have apoint there about the broadband.
In the days of early dial up I would only connect after 6pm when my service provider offered free access, but now on the "Always on" broadband connection the PC is on all the time.

I know I spend a little too much time on the net, but you can have some great conversations.
Even speaking with friends that you see face to face, there are some things you can say online that will be easier to say. You dont see the person and can talk and ask things that you might not otherwise mention normally.

I guess one of the great things for me has been the fact that I have family all over the place so it is great to keep in touch.

I know it is possible to live without the net but its just something I've got used to. I grew up with computers at school and have had the net for years now.
If I take my Mum however, she has never used the net at all, if at all used the computer. Some people are just not interested in computers and the net and although I think they ar emissing out, I can see they can lead a great life without it.

So, yeah I do need the internet, for the main reason that its a great wealth of information and for keeping in touch with friends and family.

So I too must stand up and present myself to the group.

Hello, I too am a Webaholic.

[swoop101]

Well when my BB connection went off for a couple of hours a while ago I had to talk and listen to people.

It took two weeks of Valium before I settled down again.


The truth is, when I am at home, I regularly go on line to browse a range of sites and I miss them very quickly when they are not there.
But when I am away on holiday I do not think about it much, except the niggling thought of plowing through all the junk e-mails after two weeks. (it would not surprise me if my box overflows this year with all the crap I get at the moment)

[Stuart]

Well, I do use the Internet a lot (both at work and at home), and while, if the internet disappeared for any reason, I may well have to do some work , I am sure I could cope.

[Halcyon]

A car crashed into an NTL box on my street at the weekend about a year ago and my net was down for 3 days. I went absolutely mad !!!
I had about 5 ebay auctions finishing as well so I really wanted to win them.
It can be soooofustrating when the net just stops when you just need it.

[zoombini]

My wife used to nag at me about the time I spent on the internet, until the day she decided that she wanted to find out something & started to use it herself. We now use it at home most days & the kids (& I) use it for Xbox live all the time.

Unfortunately since leaving NTL in May we have not got back online yet & its starting to show, almost no day goes by when we dont come up with a "we could find this out on the internet" comment.
I'm OK as I can use it at work (and my work use has increased a lot) but she has to grin & bear it.
I cant wait till August when I get to install ADSL. (but I guess I shall have to go fishing some more till then).

Well I need regular access to the net for business purposes, so even when I'm going to be on holiday I'm probably going to have to try to find a cyber cafe just to keep up to date.

As for discussion forums, I can give them up any time.

Not a problem.

Not at all.

Simple.

I just have to say "stop" and I can stop.

That's all...

... honest...

...

I could give up the internet at any time. Would it reduce the quality of my life? Yes it would. I'd have to speak to people and use telephone banking or actually go out and visit the bank!!

Not to mention all the things i look up and learn, this activity would vanish and therefore dumb myself down.

[ian@huth]

The internet is one of the best things out for many disabled people who cannot get about very easily and some would have no life at all without it.

Over the past few years I have had a much higher standard of living by having internet access, finding products which have saved me a fortune on prices I would have had to pay on the high street or by ringing around different companies. One of my best buys was four years ago when I got a 7 day self catering holiday for myself and the wife in the Canaries which costs us £42 and the accomodation was fantastic.

[Halcyon]

Ah yeah thats true ianathuth about good deals.
I just bought a new phone for £49.99 instead of the high street price of £99.99. Half price !

You hear stories about the internet corrupting peoples minds but I think it has taught me loads of things actually, and also is a great tool for keeping in contact.

[poolking]

I used to think that I couldn't live without the internet, but lately I'm thinking that I could.

If I didn't have BB access at home, I would go to my local library where you can use the 'net for free, then I'd just probably check my emails.

[Marge]

I couldn't cope without internet full stop. Nuff said

[Ramrod]

I voted for 'once a day'
......When we go on holiday I don't miss it. If it's there I will use it. This forum has increased my internet use no end (don't look so surprised )
It's a nice tool but it is rather empty/hollow as you cannot touch anything on it, you are just an observer (no matter how/how much you interact with it)

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by ianathuth

The internet is one of the best things out for many disabled people who cannot get about very easily and some would have no life at all without it.

Over the past few years I have had a much higher standard of living by having internet access, finding products which have saved me a fortune on prices I would have had to pay on the high street or by ringing around different companies. One of my best buys was four years ago when I got a 7 day self catering holiday for myself and the wife in the Canaries which costs us £42 and the accomodation was fantastic.

Actually, A friend of mine was a member of a site British Airways used to sell late booked holidays. She bought 2 weekend return tickets to Venice for 50p (before you go asking for the address, it was a mistake on the site, but BA were going to honour the transaction). The irritating thing for her was that she had to sell the tickets, as when she worked it out, she and her boyfried didn't have enough money for spending money (wouldn't have been much fun in Venice without money for meals out etc.).