I don’t think people realize how addicting the internet is. Most of the time when people are asked if they can go without it, they confidently say they could; but when actually faced with the problem, most can’t or won’t saying, “I just don’t want to.” I truly think the internet is the silent addiction no one even realizes exists.

If I could go to a library near my house every day... I... I don't even know how I'd feel. It'd be just too beautiful.

I Survived Without The Internet For Two Weeks And Lived To Tell The Tale* Here, I fixed the title for ya

I'm of social media since a year. My depression got better, my relationships developed, I gained weight (I was so skinny) and I am over all more calm and make better decisions. But the freaking best part. SO MUCH MORE TIME FOR READING! 😌👌

4:29 "The Internet is just a tool", exactly, I am 33 and it's refresshing to see a 20 year old or 19, get that. KZfaq can be very helpfull but also very damaging, depending on what you are doing with it, are you choosing willingly things that help you learn stuff, or are you just a dead beat horse the algorithm is going to ride until you lose your mind? It still is up to you.

I tend to romanticize nearly everything I did, because otherwise everyday life was boring and repetitive. I had no self control with internet, but last year, during lockdown I had to limit my screen time and slowly, but surely everything became more interesting, when you have no distractions there’s no need in romanticizing stuff, you genuinely enjoy doing it. I got better at writing, I started reading, I started observing people without feeling shy, I started painting more and yeah, life got much more interesting.

The awful thing is that saying "I need internet for my work/school/responsibilities" is so often the truth rarher than just an excuse. It doesn't make it sound any less like an excuse, though, hence a perpetual sense of dissonance when I say that to myself.

Deleting social media was one of the smarter decisions I've made. It gives much more space for my creativity. Can't wait this online school year to end, so I can try this myself.

1. Healthier Distraction 2. More Deliberate 3. Better Sleep

The internet is an easy, but not very rewarding pastime. What requires a bit more willpower (reading, making art, etc) is infinitely more satisfying 💛

This is a sign of less dopamine overstimulation which is why you could be more focused and calm. Less distractions.

Been off instagram and twitter for 3 months, never felt better

I have always dreamt of a fictitious scenario where I completely switch off the internet for extended periods of time. I know however that with school, work and everything else it might not be possible in the near future. :(

I was without electricity for a day last week and I have to say it was one of my best days in a looooong while. Everything was calm and I could enjoy the birdsong outside my window while reading a book. Also I went to bed when it became dark and the next day I was well rested. It was kinda awesome. The only thing I missed was my hot tea!

I do this a lot. Every month for 1 week, I just abandon the internet. That shit really works.

I tried to live without internet and TV for a whole month. I can relate to what he says, i got better sleep, i finished all my assignments few days earlier - which is something i never have done in my entire school years😅. I started eating better since i had more time to make my own food. I felt like i was in more peace specially without social media. i eventually got back to internet, its very important to know how to use it and how much time and attention we dedicate to it.

I actually had a similar experience in the past few months. In february I decided to only allow myself open youtube on weekends, which made my time spent on youtube more deliberate and also more fun, because i only really watched the videos of my favorite youtubers (and not a whole stream of random videos that the algorithm recommended to me). I also just spent time in /silence/, doing absolutely nothing, but finding out that my brain can actually entertain itself without having to watch or listen to something. This also helped me sleep better, because i actually processed random thoughts during the day (that werent surpressed by video-watching or music anymore). Before, i wouldnt let myself actually think and reflect enough during the day, and once i went to bed in silence all my thoughts would just on me all at once, which made sleeping a lot harder. I also find this method very easy to maintain, and it's improved my life alot.

This was actually quite thought provoking. Makes you realise how much value we place onto things that end up impacting our lives only because we let them, and not because they have any overarching significance

You make great content . Extremely grateful to you for adding value to our lives

I swear, living in the modern day without a computer and a phone is like the whole world moving ahead of you

The worst thing about doing this for me is not being able to look up stuff. Google gives you results instantly. That's a great thing about the internet, it can help us grow like you said. It also helps us connect. I can't text to my friends or my sister. Other than that I'd really like to try living without internet and see how that improves my life.

Once I had to take a holiday unintentionally without a TV, computer, an internet connection for 10 days, I just had phone but I only could text and call and it was 2010 or so, and I could tell that those were best days of my life. After one week I finally had deep sleep, my whole imagination and great dreams that makes me feel like I'm in heaven come back and I felt so brilliant and every thought I've had was so clear. Reading magazines, newspaper and books didn't make me feel so good ever like that. I think we need to realize that how addicting and a bad habit this is. I bet people who sell you this technology don't use this technology as often as you are and they don't let the monster called 'social media' killing their brain cells like we do. Soon we realize these facts we can start feeling better and live our lifes feeling the moment like we and our ancestors did in the past.

I was partially raised by the internet, my parents took me out of school and the neglect and isolation after that was bad. So a lot of my PTSD triggers happen to be internet related. I'm not sure the word addiction would apply, because a lot of it was pure survival mode. How I coped with only being able to talk to my mom, dad, and brother (who were all abusive) was by typing to strangers on the internet. When I was 19, I found my now husband on there and got out of there. It's a relief to not have to rely on the internet for communicating to people. Haha, then COVID-19 isolation happened and I am NOT okay.

I have done 8 months without internet, phone or anything. It was fantastic. This year I did 6 weeks again it was amazing. I am going to travel without the internet and possibly won’t be using my phone 📱 to be honest, I don’t like it, I want it gone and reformed. It’s destroying our species, wish me luck with travelling ❤️

I didn't bring my phone with me to order some coffee this week and found myself patting myself down to search for it, I felt so awkward just being in Iine and seeing others on their phones I realize I used it too look "busy" for situations that don't need that look! If small talk happens I'll just let it next time I don't want that anxious feeling anymore 🤦‍♀️

The real problem I face each time I attempt to quit is that I get really lonely , using social media is the only way I get to express some of the interests I don't happen to know anyone irl to share them with

Well I just finished watching this, and will now spend the rest of my evening internet free. I KNOW I always enjoy my time spent on hobbies - playing music, reading, and writing, but it's so easy to constantly fall back into the habit of checking your phone and wasting away hours on nothing at all. So thank you for the reminder to switch off! 😊I hope I can remind myself more often!

Try adding a dash of milk into your tea. Yorkshire is the best brand, as an English man myself. Tea with milk is how we drink it here

“The internet is just a tool, it’s not a part of us and it shouldn’t be a part of us”

The internet just requires self-control. You can have a life, very much like you've described, with the internet up and running. Extremes often force old habbits to re-appear, and with the way the internet is implemented in everyone's daily life, it is probably best to learn how to live with it, rather than remove it all together. Using a phone usaged notification, and removing certain apps from your phone is the best way. But then again, being 22/23, I feel I was the last generation of people who experienced the pre-internet-dependent world. Sad times.

As someone who is isolated due to disability, internet is essential to me, but I do try to make a habit of just shutting down my wifi-router and phone for an hour or so regularly. I do tend to keep my computer on when I do, because I don't have a separate stereo, but listening to music or maybe watching a movie (one I've already seen a ton of times lol) is pretty much all I would use it for without wifi, so it still helps me disconnect for a while.

The nearest library is like a 2 hour drive from my house. And the state library is pretty much next to ur apartment? So lucky man

I actually hate having a cell phone cause I realise for myself how much time I waste on it and how my brain suffers from it. But somehow I just cant get rid of it.

Window lighting is great. Maybe it give the video more of a dark academia look.

I love cooking meal time without being on my phone. I find it so calming

Living without internet makes you more social but also nosy maybe that's why we have so many gossiping aunties and uncles

Been off instagram for a while now and it feels great. I prefer youtube because the user gets to choose what to watch and has control over whether to complete or switch to something else meanwhile using instagram and twitter basically consists of mindless scrolling this being exposed to stuff I like and don't.

Thank you for this video Robin, makes sense for my current plight!

I am 16 years old and now while i have lockdown im constantly on the internet. I am trying my best to read a little or play violin but its so much easier to just open youtube and listen to covers och watching youtube. I also play a lot of games online and talk with a lot of people online. For me the internet is both a blessing and a curse. Most of my friends and best friends i cant speak to in "real life" so the internet is verry helpful in that way. There are a lot of bad things too but my whole life, in school, outside of school, living with smartphones, having internet everywhere, i cant really imagine what i'd do without checking social media when im bored or direcly when i dont have anyone to talk to, i would listen to music. I would love to have a reason to not be online but most of my day and life ive only known internet so i guess it would be a verry hard addiction to overcome. I somethimes get jealus of my sister getting born 10 years before me because she never had internet, games or youtube and was playing and having fun with people OUTSIDE.

Great perspective. I'd be really interested to see the experiment continued, only with two people. See how their interaction with each might change. How they might depend on each other more than they otherwise would for entertainment and company.

I used to live w/o the internet for MONTHS, when I was 6-8. Well, I didn't use the internet anyway, I just kinda played iPad games until I got bored with one and switched onto another. I played entirely offline, but it was still with electronics n' stuff.

At the beginning of 2020 I had no internet or smartphone after I moved out on my own. And I must say I was more productive, content and my mental health was better. Then I got WI Fi and a smartphone and life changed and not in a good way. Watching this video is making me think of taking a break from the internet to see how it makes me feel. I have already deleted social media, but might try life without the internet altogether (now, you got me thinking!)

The world needs more people like you. Great video as always.

I loved the pockets of insight! The winter term just ended for me, so I have been yearning to “live deliberately” and reduce/get rid of my internet distractions. Slowly but surely I’ve been replacing my screen time with reading, cooking, hiking, (and hopefully soon some painting). I’m reading Walden right now, and I find myself wanting to build a small cabin in the woods and grow my own food. A girl can dream. Anywhoozle, loved the video!!

Amazing insight!!

Thanks! Needed to be reminded of all this 👍

Even though I’m having exams watching you really helps calm me down

Hey you probably wont read this anymore. But i wanted to thank you for making this video and sharing it with us. Because i realised that, what made me grow the most as a person was cutting back my usage on the internet. I hadn't touched my computer in about a year, and i focussed so much on other area's of my life and that made me grow. Your video made me realise that i was slipping again to my old habit of mindless browsing.

I am going to be switching off our internet service at home, and my kids and I will have a big adjustment to make in doing so. They are homeschooled and the dream has always been to live a more enriched, fulfilling life in our choices. This is why I searched for this video. Thank you!

I really enjoyed this video - super informative and spot on. It's also really refreshing given the society we live in, where no one takes a break from their phone

I really want to try this. I’ll see how this goes. Thank you for talking about this and sharing what you have learned. I think I can really benefit from taking a break from the internet.

I love being off the internet when I have the choice, if my wifi cuts out i’m going to be mad, but if i’ve made the choice to get off that thing and just drop into what really matters to me, I feel ten times better. The creative output and input is more fulfilling and less harsh on me, I did this a lot last summer, went into hermit mode every other month and I loved it. But as I’m working on trying to grow an audience online, it’s hard to find a balance, it’s either full hermit or full robot

you're such a reasonable person. I look up to you. thank you for this video! I wish I'd consider implementing things that you do into my routine (it's not a complaint in any sense but the circumstance). have a great life ❤️

I just love about your videos that I happen to experience some sort of epiphany (if that's an appropriate term to use here) whenever some specific sentence drops. And then my heart suddenly starts to race a tiny bit and I want to try things and just feel this urge to change something radically in my life. Your videos are like windscreen wipers that clean my sight from some strange mess of thoughts and make some things a bit clearer. Very enjoyable :)

This is something to try, but Waldun, ONLINE CLASSES! hahahhaa

People asked me why I wake up at 4 to read and I tell them it’s just how it is. My relationship with the internet is complicated. I have to use it for work and research but mostly for communication since I am living abroad, away from family and friends. I tried having no facebook and instragram for a week and it so great. I just deleted my facebook app on my phone. However, I need to post something every Wednesday and Friday for our writing club and that’s it. Hoping to cut down my internet usage more. Great content as always. Please keep going. 🤍

Thanks for this video! I also really love the way you speak and your voice is SO smoothing :)

I think the best compromise I've reached in my few years trying to find a lifestyle that works for me, is that I have an internet router, but it's always turned off. I only turn it on when I need to use it, or when I want to watch a specific channel on youtube right now, or need to look up something obscure that would be hard to find a book about in the library. That amounts to usually less than an hour a day of internet usage, and my life is considerably calmer. Not necessarily better, just calmer, and less rushed, time feels longer now. People in my life know to call not text, so I am not isolated from my circles.

This is getting me really inspired to wean myself off the internet! Thank you. I have always considered myself a heavy internet user, but I don't have data and try to keep all of my internet life at bay at home only on my computer. I deleted most of my social media, but still make art and post it which is one of the links I'm not sure if or how I might sever/deal with. What you're describing is incredible and is much more aligned with the life I have wanted at this stage in early/mid 20s. The internet is so overwhelming, and I usually leave feeling very....empty? I'm not totally sure how to nail this feeling but it feels like every time I really passively browse random stuff I don't care that much for, I feel like I've just forked over a morsel of my soul. That being said, plans with friends always take a huge priority and are always top priority over the internet. Yet, I find these spaces of free time in my day that I'm not sure what to do with and end up just returning to the web. Do you have any advice for getting over these types of urges in my free time? I've got a lot of hobbies, but can't really pursue them all the time so I struggle to find what to do with that free time when I am at home. Anyways awesome stuff thanks!

I needed exactly this video

I only log in to social media for like maybe 7 ish days in whole month,doing only what is useful and watching creative content and whenever i get that feeling like i can't control it and that it's spiraling then i try to remind myself what i truly want more in my life,basically it comes down to improving myself VS wasting days mindlessly and getting detached. I'd rather prioritise reading and learning over wasting time watching random videos,in the end when you see how much it impacts on your own thinking process and how you function,you literally never want to go back to that slouchy and mindless state of mind. Besides always consuming we need to produce something and get creative and crafty,anything is better than overload of useless social media pressure on you,news etc. You have to set priorities and that's all to it.I love your videos man,very inspiring as usual.

When it comes to creativity, I’ve noticed that I’m far more productive when my internet access is limited, especially if I’m in the process of writing a rough draft of a book. Almost every summer, my family goes to a fishing cabin in a very remote part of Canada. International cellular data is very expensive, so my father is usually the only one who has access to the internet, and the cabin has absolutely no WiFi. It can take a few days to adjust, but I find that I’m far more creative when I’m staying in that cabin. I don’t feel the need to do countless hours of unrelated research. It’s just me, the lake, and an old-fashioned notebook.

I relate to this so much and find it very interesting to hear! Especially the point about how you wouldn't go to bed before around 1am, because of the internet and your idea of being a late sleeper... this is completely me, but I find during those rare times when I detatch myself from technology a decent time before sleeping and engage in those other activities you mentioned, like making food, or a hot drink, etc. I get a good night's sleep which I enjoy more, and my sleep schedule does not have to be so late. I want to make the change of living more in that intentional mindset that was mentioned, but it is not easy with the ready distraction and the ties you build with the internet.

I love seeing your videos! I feel that I am talking to a close friend! Please don´t stop making videos.

i deleted tiktok about a month ago and instagram about one and half week ago. with tiktok i realised my addiction when i couldnt move in my house without having tiktok opened and have that noise in bakround. with instagram i deleted it for completely different reasons than realizing my addiction and it was supposed to be for only two weeks but now i'm so happy without it that i dont really want to dowload it again. but the dilema is that i still want to make some book content on there, so i'm thinking downloading some app lock that will allow me spend only half an hour on there per day. but getting rid of these distractions really makes you feel more free and happy

first video i’ve watch from this channel, and i really enjoyed it. looking forward to more!

If you really think about it, the internet hasn't existed for very long in comparison to how long the world has existed, yet people are so obsessed and dependent on it and they think that nothing can be done without it, yet everyone forgets this fact - people have survived without internet for thousands of years.

I really enjoy your videos. This was a great one.

Really valuable video, thank you!

I once had to stay a day without the net and I noticed that I can fall asleep easily too I thought about staying for a month at my grandma's house just to have some time without it, because during quarantine it became more than distraction, I was obliged to send works regularly and redo some stuff so it started to become stressful Sometimes I really enjoy a long chat and there are parts of the net where I feel like home, so I want to be there sometimes or text someone when I feel bad. So it would be interesting to see how it goes if I have a month without the internet and any major obligations. I think I'll draw and have walks more often, and that's closer to life I want to live than what I do now.

This vedio has revitalized my will to live. Thank you R. C.

Wow, this has inspired me greatly

Life is better and more peaceful without the internet.

Here in the states we call that Slow Living... taking the time to slow down and appreciate simple things like making food or reading without a rushed feeling. I got rid of all my social media that wasn't for my work, except youtube, and stopped watching TV. Now I don't have much free time, but I do have SOME which is more than I would have said before. Because I wouldn't have classified browsing Facebook as Free Time.

Thanks a lot man. This video showed me another way of eliminating the internet as a distraction. Up until now, I've been looking for ways to deal with my devices. When it might be way easier to deal with the source of the problem, my router. I'll figure out how to manage its activity.

I am transitioning my relationship with the internet, only treating it as a tool for research or education purpose and connecting with my love ones from different places because i also think that i will be more focused on myself and path that i am going cuz it reduce distractions..idk maybe even completely remove unnecessary actions or decisions and so i can spend more of my time working on myself and my goals in life, and to have some quality time with my family and friends. Also another habit that i wanted to have is reading books. Instead of picking my phone and scroll through social media whenever i have the urge to do so, i grab books and read. I've been successfully doing it for quite long time. I'm starting to changes on my life since and i am so glad i took the first step to it:)

Fantastic video🎉

Such a bliss to be able to go to a library that beautiful whenever you want to

this channel is my safe space

When I had summer break, I would visit my mom in kansas coming from Florida. I had no internet. The only source of entertainment was the library that we wood go too regular. The most I would ever learn came from that building.

The “ Ritual “ part was literally spot on. Love this video.

wow! this vid is incredible

This is amazing thankyou I will be doing the experiment too , I will tell u how it goes

I enjoy you vlogs very much.

Love this!

Thanks R.C for this video. I used to be a heavy internet user, Up until I read the book deep-work. Then I quit social media and reduced my internet usage.

I have done this for a period of time and ended up sliding into my internet addiction again because I just couldn't find a thing to occupy my time with. Guess I need to make a checklist of things I should do and whenever I ran out of ideas, I should just refer to that.

I loveee this!

I really want to be free from the internet for a while. But my problem is that I use the internet a lot to explore the subjects I want to learn. Although the internet is hard to limit, I will give it a try. And thanks for sharing your experience. Your channel is one of my favorite utube channels💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

I liked the lighting of the video...just throwing that out there

I have a very tight relationship with my tablet. It has it's up and down for example watching to many videos (it addicting especially TikTok) but it does I been subscribing to a lot of KZfaqrs who are their to help me when I need it.Btw this is my first time watching one of your videos and thanks this is going to help me a lot when I'm bored in the house. Thank you so much 👍🏿 keep up the good work.

I tried this with instagram and it helped me improve my state of mind. Gonna try again soon

Your voice is soothing...

i think its poetic how the background changes as the video goes :))

Been off of FB and IG for more than a year now. It doesn't lack anything in my life. On the contrary, with time, I started to get into activities like exercising and cooking which I didn't know I was into. It really changed my life for the better and I'm a whole different person now. I can only recommend to reduce the daily intake of digital content. Offline life is really recompensing and enjoyable. You only have to find out in which way it is for you.

Seems like an interesting challenge. I will definitely try it when online school finishes.

Internet for music and gaming mostly... I dont use social media much like Instagram or Facebook...

I'm 48, so I remember life pre-internet, but still am finding it hard to make that call to cancel it. I feel I'm addicted to the distraction of it. It's one of the first things I do each morning, turn on the PC and go to youtube, then I sit there for at least half my day just watching random stuff, and in the evening, I watch Netflix. But I have an entire CD and DVD collection, and books I have bought and not read yet, and a library within walking distance where I can get (possibly better) educational input, plus, I'd really love to save $85/month seeing as I currently have no income. Glad to see a younger person thinking along the same lines, and your video has helped me to make that call.

I hope I could share my thoughts to you privately. You are really a good adviser robin.

Amazing experiment