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+---- Thread: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? (/showthread.php?tid=6321212)
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I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - Rsynced - Mar 4, 2026
Seems it is impossible not to use a computer these days, thus making electronic detox a near impossible task. I think society has reached the point of no return and we have been tricked into a prison of our own design. I mean even the homeless all have smart phones and you can not escape looking at some sort of screen daily even if you try.
Is there an escape?
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - RangoWorld - Mar 4, 2026
100% our livelihood is attached to these computers and internet. To go off grid means to go off living in a way.
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - The Pact - Mar 4, 2026
(Mar 4, 2026 06:11 PM)Rsynced Wrote: Seems it is impossible not to use a computer these days, thus making electronic detox a near impossible task. I think society has reached the point of no return and we have been tricked into a prison of our own design. I mean even the homeless all have smart phones and you can not escape looking at some sort of screen daily even if you try.
Is there an escape?
Quote:I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when?
I think it was 1986-1988 I would fairly often take a break from playing Masquerade on the Apple IIe because I never did win that game.
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - Rsynced - Mar 4, 2026
(Mar 4, 2026 06:17 PM)RangoWorld Wrote: 100% our livelihood is attached to these computers and internet. To go off grid means to go off living in a way.
Yes, it is all set in stone now that there is no escape.
(Mar 4, 2026 06:22 PM)The Pact Wrote: I think it was 1986-1988 I would fairly often take a break from playing Masquerade on the Apple IIe because I never did win that game.
lol, I was playing the the first Mario and Zelda in that time line.
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - Pr0m3th3us - Mar 4, 2026
Move to these coordinates and you wont be using anything electronic anymore.....
61°17'13.5"N 105°32'36.3"W
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - Rsynced - Mar 4, 2026
(Mar 4, 2026 07:10 PM)Rust-0l3um Wrote: Move to these coordinates and you wont be using anything electronic anymore.....
61°17'13.5"N 105°32'36.3"W
firedrake lake. bull lake, you been? its like something out of zelda... I want street view... lol
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - Pr0m3th3us - Mar 4, 2026
(Mar 4, 2026 07:22 PM)Rsynced Wrote: firedrake lake. bull lake, you been? its like something out of zelda... I want street view... lol
Hell na i just went to google maps and found an isolated spot in canada ROFL. Street view pending....check again in 2145.
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - Rsynced - Mar 4, 2026
(Mar 4, 2026 07:46 PM)Rust-0l3um Wrote: Hell na i just went to google maps and found an isolated spot in canada ROFL. Street view pending....check again in 2145.
That place loooks fucked... lol
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - Pr0m3th3us - Mar 4, 2026
(Mar 4, 2026 08:13 PM)Rsynced Wrote: That place loooks fucked... lol
Not as fucked as that black lake or whatever 🤣
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - Rsynced - Mar 4, 2026
(Mar 4, 2026 08:20 PM)Rust-0l3um Wrote: Not as fucked as that black lake or whatever 🤣
Ya, the toxic lake is very fucked... Insane they just leave that shit there.
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - C00Lssh - Mar 4, 2026
computers and technology are certainly not going anywhere any time soon.
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - RiveR29 - Mar 4, 2026
I mean you are absolutely right. We are in a prison of our own making, most of us just do not know it. Our lives have been revolving around technology for so long.
Even in schools they do not teach kids to "survive" without technology. When I was a kid we did not have smart phones or tablets etc.
My youngest sister is an "iPad" kid, and she is a damn recluse. Just sitting in her own room all day. Okay she is a teenager now so no wonder, but it was that way long before the angsty teenager phase.
I am glad I went to the boy scouts when I was a kid and teenager. It was a lot of fun for a long time, but as the camps etc became fewer each year it got extremely dull. And by that time I had to join the Army, and there we were not allowed to have phones during certain training exercises. So that was refreshing.
But yeah, as sad as it sounds it is true, we are too dependent on technology.
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - MadeByDemons - Mar 5, 2026
You personally absolutely can, however the issue is that society at large expects you to use technology constantly and treats you with distrust if you don't.
About a week or so I tried to go a few days just without a phone or debit cards mostly to see what issues would come up. I withdrew 100 as walking around money and had a book with me for when I needed to waste some time(George Orwell's Shooting An Elephant by Penguin, highly recommend)
I still kept my phone with me in my bag, turned of in case of emergencies.
Expected issues:
-No music or podcasts, I listen to both a lot and not having access to them became apparent immediately
-No maps and no directions, people don't give directions anymore just say we're going to X come find us when you can
-No banking apps, can't transfer money between people
However it was all the unexpected stuff that came up that surprised me.
One
Phantom limb is very real, I caught myself having a momentary panic attack at least 3 times the first day before I caught myself and calmed down, attached to that was a very strange feeling of insecurity about my phone and how valuable it actually was. Having it even a short distance from me made me think about all the pictures, chats and banking info in it and if I wasn't using it actively it felt risky caring it around.
Two
I live in a place where cash is very welcome but some places didn't have enough change to give me, mind you I broke my 100 into 20s for this exact reason but strangely enough some had to give me change of 5-6 pennies ridiculous but I started noticing a lot about how many places, especially super markets could be rounded out easily, some had fractions like .12 cents or .37 cents which are difficult to deal with when you are working with actual cash in hand situations.
Three
I interacted with people a lot more often, mostly to ask for directions and operating hours in some stores occasionally I'd catch someone of guard and they'd ask me some thing along the lines of "why don't you look it up", I used the "my phone ran out of battery" excuse at least 5 times in those 3 days.
Lastly and most importantly PEOPLE THOUGHT I WAS DEAD.
Dramatic but a kind of true. I have some family members which I'd talk to every couple of days. I started all of this on a whim and didn't think it was serious enough to let them know, well the first day 2 of them tried to get in touch with me by both message and phone and of course because it was off the carrier would play the "sorry the number you've dialed is not available at this time" message. They let it go for a day but on day 3 they actually thought something had happened, they found the instagram page of a friend of mine who I had told them about and asked him what happened to me. I was going to meet him that day and when I saw him the first thing he told me was "call your family they are going crazy over the phone thing". One argument later the takeaway was "we know we can contact you at a moment's notice so when you don't that's a bad thing".
They weren't wrong but the fact that everyone is expected to be available for contact stayed with me. Maybe in the summer I'll tell people I'm having problems with my number and won't be able to talk for a few days before trying again
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - Phobia_ - Mar 5, 2026
I cannot take breaks from computers currently .
RE: I used to be a able to take a break from computers, I forget when? - The Pact - Mar 6, 2026
(Mar 4, 2026 06:41 PM)Rsynced Wrote: Yes, it is all set in stone now that there is no escape.
lol, I was playing the the first Mario and Zelda in that time line.
What were you playing those games on? People thought it was crazy that my mother had bought an Apple IIe no one else we knew had a computer.