Hats,shoes, and all the crap in between.: MY LIFE WITHOUT INTERNET ...

Can you imagine a world where you have to physically talk to people, buy a newspaper made of … paper and use a map if you’re lost? No? Neither could I?

This is because like most of us girls on the go, I have a smart phone that buzzes, beeps and even shakes with excitement as soon as I receive an important notification. These notifications often include someone I haven’t spoken to since primary school, a birthday night out or another dreaded email from PPI.

The problem is I have never wanted that endless stream of information to end. My day-to-day living could not continue without a constant RSS feed of blogs to read, the ability to Skype my family and Google ‘how to cook rice’ countless times.

So imagine my shock, anguish, and sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when my university lecturer said that I was about to venture into 24hrs without internet.

THE CRUCIAL LAST MINUTE GOOGLE SEARCH

The night before ‘THE DAY’ I had a serious affiliation with addicts. As I lay in bed doing some obviously crucial last minute Googling of baby penguins and people falling over I felt scared… really scared. How did people function before we had such a helpful tool and how did anyone ever get a degree?

I sent my last tweet of ‘ going internet free for 24hrs, see you soon’ and turned it off. I didn’t think I would have the ability to switch it off, to actually press the button which disables all 3g and wifi connections. Knowing that I could no longer see what was going on in the outside world, watch television or most importantly catch up on Paris fashion week.

As I lay in bed I started to think that maybe a life without social media, Youtube and a million bloggers could be more productive. I mean I might even eat my lunch before posting it on to Instagram.

According to IPG Media brands agency in the last year alone there has been a 34% rise in people who use their smart phones to update their social media. And hey with all that extra time, I might finally use my gym membership.

THE MORNING AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE

We all have those habits we do in the morning without realising we have even done them, whether it is: popping the kettle on, grabbing a dressing gown or feeding the pets. For me it’s scrolling through social media and mail online apps to catch up on what I’ve missed.

As I emerged out of a deep sleep I rolled over, grabbed my phone and opened the apps to receive the notification: ‘no internet connection’. It hit me like a tonne of bricks ‘ What am I going to do?’ Feeling sorry for myself I sulked down the stairs and fed the rabbit.

It had never occurred to me how much I rely on social media, that feeling of not being able to see what my friends wore on a night out or if another celebrity had piled on the pounds. With a click of the fingers I felt like my left arm had been ripped off and I was out of contact with the world.

I’ve lived in the North East for almost three years and have never ventured further than where the campus bus takes me. So three housemates and I visited ‘The most talked about piece of public art.’ The Angel of the North.

This seemed like a productive and interesting way to distract myself from missing my bestest friend – the internet. The only issue with modern day living is we’re used to instant information, and within 5 minutes we were bored.

The day went faster than I imagined, I participated in the art of actual communication with friends as in speaking, made phone calls and spent an awful lot of time talking to the rabbit. But nothing prepared me for the mundane evening I had ahead.

The problem with being a student is that I cannot afford a TV license, therefore any consumption of such media is to be done using wifi – woe is I. This a normal evening would be bearable but a Saturday night without the X Factor is like fish with no chips. It was the longest evening of my entire life, just staring at a ceiling with the realisation that I am nothing without my trusty iPhone, and laptop.

I’ve never been happier to reach the 24hour mark, it was an enormous sense of pride, that I could complete what felt like an enormous task. This might seem over dramatic but for someone that often runs out of her monthly internet usage within days, this is a victory worth celebrating.