Going off the grid

[Aleksey_aka_al]

I've started to use social media only a year and a half ago. And I've bought my first smartphone only about two months ago (unless you count wifi-only handhelds). The only thing I always have been using is Google. But that's a habit easily avoidable if needed. Then, there's Tor browser.

Both social media and smartphones are a hell waste of time.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Would you be able to live without social media, a smartphone and IP-adress tracking search engines? Have you contemplated taking such steps?

I have lived over half my life without the internet, or even a personal computer of any kind.

I have FB and Twitter accounts, but rarely use them. FB is for exchanging annual birthday greetings with friends who don't do forums, and Twitter is for when I want to follow up on something someone said, or for when I want to snark at certain corporate entities or particularly stupid Canadian politicians.

Yes, but not having gps would be a significant problem at times.

Can you not read a printed map?

I guess a lot of people can't do that these days; they've never had a reason to learn. And some people literally can't tell one direction from the next without some sort of electronic gadget. I once had to give directions to someone for how to get here (for a Freecycle transaction), and part of the directions included telling them to go to a certain well-known landmark in my part of town and "head north". Their next question was: "Which way is north?".

Honestly, it's not like there are really tall buildings here that are so high that you can't see where the Sun is. Even I have trouble navigating in downtown Calgary, for instance. Their roads are crazy, but as long as I know where the Sun is, I can at least head in the right general direction. The problem is that there are too many skyscrapers in the way.

I still need access to a good search engine though, how else am I supposed to search through the internet and find recipes and porn and all that stuff?

1. Library

2. Bookstores

3. Garage sales

4. Go to any senior citizens' drop in center and ask if anyone has a good recipe for whatever it is that you want to cook. If it's not too weird, chances are that someone will either have one or know where you can find it.

I thought "going off the grid" meant disappearing off the radar of government agencies.

Around here, "going off the grid" means not being hooked up to the normal sources of electricity. In other words, people who get their electricity from solar panels, or maybe not even that (no electricity at all).

As for not using google, who'd want to go back to looking stuff up in a library? That's just insane. Though I could do without either google or a public library, I suppose. I mean, the stuff I look up isn't exactly essential to my existence.

It's more work than just typing words into a search engine and hitting "enter." And you're never going to get the most up-to-date information. But it's a lot better than nothing, which is what humans had throughout most of our history.

It's attitudes like "who needs a library anyway?" that result in situations like that in Newfoundland (our easternmost province). They're closing more than half the libraries in that province, not allowing public access to libraries in schools, and they think that if people want to use the libraries that are left, they can "just drive" there. So they'll be out of reach for people who don't drive.

Libraries are more than just collections of books. The main library in my city has 5 floors. There's an art gallery and meeting room in the basement, and they hold two book sales there each year (I donated a few bags and boxes of books over the past year, weeding out stuff I don't want anymore). The main floor has the children's section, a coffee/lunch kiosk, a small area where people can buy donated books year-round, and the second floor has the adult fiction section. The third floor has another meeting room, and places for teens to hang out. The fourth floor has the computers (which I am not allowed to use as I don't have a paid membership), and the adult reference section with a quiet area where people can sit by the windows (lovely view of City Hall Park) and read, study, write, use their own computers, and we're allowed to bring food and beverages there. That's where I do a lot of my NaNoWriMo preparations.

The library holds political meetings, public music performances, movie nights, craft classes, and literacy classes. We have another branch that's closer to where I live, but it's shared with a school and rec center (swimming pool and arena). I don't use this branch because there are too many kids for my comfort level - it's too noisy.

So libraries are important. They're not just about books.

 

[Borachio]

So libraries are important. They're not just about books.

Oh, I agree with you 100%.

It's just that libraries these days aren't my favourite places.

They used to be places of quiet. But I was in my local library the other day and I heard someone talking really loudly. So I looked up to give them my best frown, only to find that the noise was coming from the librarian.

Libraries have gone really down hill, imo. Maybe it's just me, but their selection of books is really restricted. Even when I can go on-line (!) and make a reservation for a book which is transferred from another library in the same area there's just no comparison with amazon. Still cheaper than buying the thing, though.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

They used to be places of quiet. But I was in my local library the other day and I heard someone talking really loudly. So I looked up to give them my best frown, only to find that the noise was coming from the librarian.

If that were to happen in my local library, I'd either write the word "Shh!" on a piece of paper and stick it under their nose, or I'd actually go up to them and ask them to lower their voices.

That doesn't tend to happen here, though. The part of the library where I hang out doesn't allow loud talking, and cell phones are prohibited in that part of the building. So for me it's an ideal place for lunch and some reading or writing. They also have an adult coloring program, where you can choose a picture, borrow a box of pencil crayons, and color. You get to keep the picture, so I've got 1.5 dolphin pictures done (one is only half-colored so far).

 

[Narz]

It's not worth it unless you have a compelling personal reason beyond a general discomfort with the idea that the system has you on lock. I've been phone-less and off facebook and all that stuff before and the quieting it provides doesn't turn into some kind of meditative of productive awesomeness. You just slow down with nothing to show for it.

You have to be ready for it. If you try to quit with no plan you'll just be miserable. That said it goes almost without saying that the best times in your life you're go hours/days at a time without even thinking about texts or emails or checking CFC.

I agree that quitting the hyperstiumulation doesn't organically produce some amazing experience, more likely you'll just be bored & desperate to tune back in.

Also, I'd experience it pretty hard to make money if not connected to others via these means at least 5 days a week.

I finally acquiesced to a smart phone last year and it was a mistake not getting one right away.

They're pretty amazing, agreed. Though I keep mine off at least a few hours a day (plus when I'm sleeping of course).

 

[Manfred Belheim]

Can you not read a printed map?

I have no problem reading maps, but I'm still considering getting a sat nav/gps. It's not really possible to consult a map whilst driving and if you don't have a passenger to navigate you can be kind of screwed in that department and have to rely on road signs, which often aren't that helpful. I've had to drive to some unfamiliar places on my own over the past couple of years and I've basically had to study and memorise the route for a day or so before my journey. Kind of fed up of doing that now so I'm definitely considering technological assistance.

 

[Bugfatty300]

I only use $10-20 prepaid cellphones. For internet I pay a neighbor for his wifi and I use browser encryption.

The only thing I use my old smartphone for is watching movies at work and I guess it should be able to call emergency numbers if I ever needed to.

 

[Hygro]

Tovergieter, when slowing down the amount of stimulation you're intaking (less social media, less phone usage), this is a good way to learn to get super literal with the world around you. Rather than thinking by proxy and synthesis, you can really chew your food and tune into the real ingredients. I mean that literally: one of the better things I learned in the past couple of years was how to taste food right. And that mechanism for taste was similar to reading and listening to literal words, for seeing literal things like expressions etc. ... you know, rather than surmising someone's mood and briefly checking for confirmation, jumping to conclusions based on a style of speech, and so forth.

I learned to stop playing the meta and start playing the game. And maybe that was other factors, but I really feel like slowing down helped. Learning to be cool instead of hot. We met shortly after I had started the process.

Actually, (your favorite word at the time) you were an important influence in my understanding of what cool really meant, probably my biggest focus in 2013.

 

[Tahuti]

Tovergieter, when slowing down the amount of stimulation you're intaking (less social media, less phone usage), this is a good way to learn to get super literal with the world around you.

Well, stimulation is not unidirectional per sé. Social media is bidirectional, though heavily leaning in favour of 'towards you' rather than 'from you'. TV is clearly unidirectional towards you.

Social media (CFC including) offers a simulation of a person. You never get the real package. There is something illusory. Sometimes, I feel my mind is becoming an algorithm when I communicate through social media.

*Obligatory Baudrillardian mindf#$k post when I was still doing media studies at UVA.

Actually, (your favorite word at the time) you were an important influence in my understanding of what cool really meant, probably my biggest focus in 2013.

That's awesome, I'm flattered!

 

[BvBPL]

Can you not read a printed map?

I can, but the GPS provides traffic information that is superior to what I get on the radio.

 

[The_J]

You have a vastly different definition of "off the grid" than I have.

I own no real property, or other property that is documented or registered such as a car or bank account.

I make no documented income.

I have no recorded physical address, other than on my driver's license, and I don't live at that one.

Is that your example, or is that what you really do? If so: How?



For me: No social media presence, but my face is on Facebook, but without my name.
My phone is also not connected to google, and try to keep my data to myself.

But yeah, I use my bank card excessively and purchase stuff online, they know more than they should about me.
Additionally I also learned that the governments track all the scientists in their country with unique IDs. So I'm in a few more databases than I'd like to.

 

[Kozmos]

Social media? Yes. Smartphone? Probably, but I do not miss wandering around in strange neighborhoods for half an hour when going to new locations. Search engines? Hard to say. I have 'acquired' enough reading materials for my own personal satisfaction to last me a life time. However troubleshooting stuff at work/home would probably a lot more aggravating knowing there is a thing that can solve my current issue instantly.

Social media (CFC including) offers a simulation of a person. You never get the real package. There is something illusory. Sometimes, I feel my mind is becoming an algorithm when I communicate through social media.

*Obligatory Baudrillardian mindf#$k post when I was still doing media studies at UVA.

Isn't all human interaction reducible to an algorithm? I stumbled a lot (moved through a lot of different cultures and subcultures) before I collected enough data so my brain could deduce patterns and come up with optimal strategies. I talk maybe with 4-5 persons, my brain 'handles' everyone else. If we're really being technical 'I' am not even talking to those 4-5 people I care about. My brain is just responding to our internal language rules and deeper patterns we established.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Is that your example, or is that what you really do? If so: How?

That is how he lives every day.

 

[Manfred Belheim]

I'm actually still unclear on exactly where the dividing line is between "phone" and "smartphone" anyway, or why we adopted that terminology. To my eyes it seemed like we had this steady progression and addition of features to mobile phones with no obvious watershed moment where they fundamentally changed, and yet at some point we stopped calling them phones and started calling them SMARTphones... why?

More importantly, when will we bloody stop and just get back to calling them phones again?

 

[Tahuti]

I'm actually still unclear on exactly where the dividing line is between "phone" and "smartphone" anyway, or why we adopted that terminology. To my eyes it seemed like we had this steady progression and addition of features to mobile phones with no obvious watershed moment where they fundamentally changed, and yet at some point we stopped calling them phones and started calling them SMARTphones... why?

Smartphones are phones that offer personal computer capabilities in exchange for letting corporations and governments spy on you.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Is that your example, or is that what you really do? If so: How?

Yes, that's my real lifestyle.

How is a tough question to answer, since if you look at the statements I made they are all negatives, ie things that I do not do. How I don't do them comes down to "I don't do them." What you are really asking is "if you don't do those things how do you do [whatever seemingly important thing seems to you to require doing those things]." If you specify a few seemingly important things I will explain how I do them without meeting what you think are prerequisites...or I'll tell you I don't do them either, depending.

 

[warpus]

I'm actually still unclear on exactly where the dividing line is between "phone" and "smartphone" anyway, or why we adopted that terminology. To my eyes it seemed like we had this steady progression and addition of features to mobile phones with no obvious watershed moment where they fundamentally changed, and yet at some point we stopped calling them phones and started calling them SMARTphones... why?

More importantly, when will we bloody stop and just get back to calling them phones again?

A smartphone is a portable computer with a phone built in. A phone is just a phone.

 

[Lexicus]

I mean, hardly anyone refers to their smartphone as anything but a 'phone' these days anyway, or so it seems to me...

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I mean, hardly anyone refers to their smartphone as anything but a 'phone' these days anyway, or so it seems to me...

The onus should be on the lesser people to identify their phone as a dumbphone and leave the shorter more convenient term to the superior class.

 

[Lexicus]

I already do refer to my phone as a dumbphone