Just a few days ago, I was checking out my Facebook news feed and came across an article shared by Scott Stratten. It was an article written by Paul Miller (published on The Verge) that dealt with the intriguing topic of unplugging from the Internet for a year. As I read through the story, I was struck by the different side effects that the writer struggled with throughout his Internet starvation. There are may Internet side effects, both when you’re on it as well as off it.
There have always been people who will seemingly do anything to make sure we all stay off the Internet, but their agendas are usually less than factual. After reading the article that Paul Miller wrote and seeing what the Internet side effects did to him during his absence, I was kind of intrigued that the Internet has such a strong hold on society these days.
Without the Internet, most people wouldn’t be able to work, meet new friends, interact or even stay in touch with their loved ones. It’s a frightening feeling, especially when you think about the fact that it’s all driven by electricity. Are we really “plugged in” to the web so much that the Internet side effects keep us from unplugging every once in a while?
If we have a look at a fresh video created and shared by Epipheo, we can grasp the Internet side effects in just under 4 minutes. The fact that the web allows us to get into so many subjects at once can be a hazard. The examples given in the video are most people’s everyday lives, and with distraction comes stress. It’s this stress that keeps us from sleeping sound through the night, feeling content with a day’s worth of work or even feeling satisfied with just a single phone call to our best friends.
As with everything, there are ways to fight the Internet side effects if you’re willing to sacrifice some of the time you actually spend on the Internet. If we go back to the Paul Miller article for a moment, staying off the Internet for a year causes more stress than being on it, at least according to Paul Miller himself. But, unplugging for a week or two will actually do you good. Doing something physical and creative without using the Internet will actually benefit your work and your creativity on the Internet when you come back again.
Fighting the Internet side effects is not an easy task, especially when the Internet is boosting with things to keep us busy. But if you want to stay sane in our technologically infused society, that is sometimes the only way you can dodge the Internet side effects altogether.
Internet Side Effects And What They Do To Your Brain
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