I was recently 3 months without a phone and laptop. Went walking in the countryside. Listened to old vinyls on a record player. Read books. Magazines. Watched movies. Played guitar. All the stress in my shoulders and lower back disappeared. Amazing experience.

I miss the days prior to social media and youtube. Life was so much richer.

Whoops, wrong Paul Miller

If there was no internet, I would be sleeping right now

A year offline: I started to write/reading Started to sleep well/waking up in the morning Started to eat in a healthy way Started to going out and hangout with some friends Started to think to my own 'private' life.

Hey this isn't the Paul Miller I was looking for

Facebook is ok, but mostly shit posts, ads, and memes. Twitter is garbage. Instagram is kinda unnecessary. Snapchat is useless. KZfaq is better than tv though.

The internet is just a very complex library, use it well.

A lot of the comments are saying "hur hur hur this video is ON THE INTERNET dumbass" as if the point of the talk was Internet-bashing or decrying the Internet...evidently the people who wrote these comments did not watch the video.

Deleting instagram was a great thing to do! Most toxic social media for your mind always seeing those "perfect" lifes. You totally lose your empathy bc no one is posting about sad moments..That's sooo antisocial. And to everyone reading this: Have a nice day and enjoy your life to the fullest!

I believe him. When I stopped watching TV, not only I save money, but I started to truly enjoy life. I skydive, kayak, travel, concerts, and etc. I spent most of my time out doors. I got sick less too.

19 yrs old and I deleted my facebook 4 yrs ago, don't use snapchat, tumblr, kik... I only have an instagram and twitter but barely use it...Though, one thing I do use ALL the time is KZfaq. I'm addicted.

I shut down my Facebook page and instantly felt better, and looking at old movies makes me jealous of that time without the internet.

This concept needs to be made into a film. There are two significant worlds in this one world we live in, it's very scary.

Nobody remembers your birthday once you're offline...you realize who your actual friends are...Only your family!

I love how I searched for him online and could not find anything new of him. All I found were things of Paul Miller that were uploaded 8-11 years ago. That makes me happy. Because I know he's somewhere just chilling 😊❤

one of my best friends randomly quit social media when we were in 11th grade (2 years ago). He was a fantastic photographer so his Instagram was beautiful, he was extremely funny so his Twitter feed was hilarious; but one day he just quit. At the time I was so confused. "how could someone just quit social media" I asked myself, as if us as humans were obligated to use it. 2 years later im now realizing why he did it, and now I plan to do it.

I stopped using the internet 8 yrs ago haven't looked back since

I was a late bloomer to smart phones (i'm 40) and only got my first cell 4 years ago; so I know life before and after. The past 2 years I got hooked on social media, IG, youtube etc. At first it was like a new romance, "why did I not plug in sooner?".......but now I realize how addicted I've become. My focus used to be quite stong; now its being held by a thread. Please take this as a loving warning.

I miss the time where internet was only available on my desktop. Having it in my pocket is way to tempting

i deleted my instagram account recently and its the best thing i ever done !!

One time I left the internet 8 hours. I slept in.

Internet detox is essential in everyone's life. I agree with Paul on this.

Back in 11th grade. We got poor and couldn't afford smart phones so I had to go with a flip phone for a whole year. One of the most memorable year of my life. Grades shot up from bad to good too

Two years ago, I decided to desactivate my Facebook account to create a New one. But at the moment I desactivated the account, I had that same feeling of freedom he's talking about. I ended up not having Facebook for 2 years. Ok ya it's not a big deal for some of you but I insist on the sensation of freedom I had that day.

A great tip to any of you reading this: Whenever you want to really do something with 100% of your attention and focus just turn off your internet and phone. I usually plan my days in the evenings. Before going to bed I sit down and think what are the most important things I should do tomorrow. And during the time I do them I just go offline. It helps a lot! Try it and you will never fucking regret doing so!

“KZfaq isn’t like other social media. I use it only for learning”, says Tim 24 who has an exam in a week but he’s up at 3 in the morning watching a KZfaq video he didn’t search for.

great message :-) I agree with Paul's thesis: being 100% online isn't the answer, and being 100% offline isn't either. It's finding the balance. The internet is an amazing resource and it's not the internet that determines our productivity. It's just the scapegoat that some people use to avoid personal accountability for the actions we choose and don't choose to do. :-)

It's called the world wide "web" for a reason...

I’ve also realized that when you meet people in person for the first time you have a deeper connection than if you were to meet them online. You tend to hang out with them more in person as well. I’ve met ppl online who I’ve never seen in person lose contact and eventually never speak to them again. I’ve met ppl in person talk every now and then but the connection is still there without social media being the middle man. That’s what social media really is the middle man between the real world and the virtual world.

WOW! Social distancing 7 years ago! These people were truly ahead of their time

Man, if you quit the internet only to play videogames instead then you missed the opportunity to truly grow and learn the right lessons

I'll have a month offline, not because I want, it's because I don't have money this month to pay the internet! So I'm here just getting ready. ;)

This was very refreshing....loved the honesty. Something I'd been wondering about for awhile...should I go offline. The internet is a master at distraction, but I like the realization he had that we are the ones who need to get better at being present in our life because there is always another distraction, whether it be tv, video games, a dvd collection, magazine subscriptions, gossip, or our own thoughts that can twirl and repeat and get lost in. Here's my plan: I need to set goals and boundaries...especially if I have a big slot of free time...so I don't squander it in "free information" indulgence. I literally have to set the timer on my phone for 20 minutes or whatever before checking my email, to remind myself to get back on track and pull back my attention from the internet. Otherwise, 2 hours flies by in a blink. Thank you!

That's nothing! Try going offline for 27 years my friend. Up until, I was 30, I didn't have a cell nor home internet access. Those were the best years of my life.😎

i deactivated my Facebook last year for 6 months and enjoyed the time. if you have a good real life, then this virtual life is nothing, u can easily get rid of it.

18 minutes??? All that had to be said was (a) I got offline (b) what I learned was that - no interruptions - less stress but bored - interactions w/ people were more intense - missed important notifications - get time to hang out with kids Summary: Find balance between offline and online. Saved you all 17 minutes.

This dude is almost a decade ahead of his time nowadays. Real life is escaping from this internet and AI world. This world is so distracted, which is good for business and creators but bad for consumers and viewers.

I delete my Facebook and dint used it for almost 3 years now. I will tell you it's the best feeling. you actually don't need it.

A year? Big deal, I spent my first 40 years offline...

Playing video games as a substitute kind of ruined it for me. It was replacing one addiction for another. It was a good presentation though, regardless. I can admit, I'm addicted to the Internet, who wouldn't like the Internet? It's awesome! haha. Here's the cycle: If I got rid of my desktop computer, what would I do? I'd research and play on my laptop. If I got rid of my laptop, what would I do? I'd watch more TV. If I got rid of my TV, what would I do? I'd play and research on my phone. What if I got rid of my phone? I'd read more books. What if I got rid of all my books and never went to another book store or library? I'd probably start working out. I'd probably build up to working out 6 days a week for two hours each day. I'd probably get into CrossFit then into triathlons and marathons and hiking and rock climbing and so on. It seems no matter what many of us do in our day to day lives, we become addicted to it. Be it drugs, alcohol, the Internet, poker, or even working out. Everything comes back to balance. Paul's Orthodox Jewish friend said it well, he experienced off line so he can share his experience online. That's it, I'm out, I'm unplugging! Oh look...a TED video about why we ask questions, that will be my last one. Promise.

Man that feeling of disconection in relationships has been soooo present... Like always in the backgrownd of every talk, every shared moment with family, friends, people... What he says about being just 10% there and the rest of my attention revolving around social media, things that I want to do, to acomplish, to show, to be... This is over now. I've been needing this for a looong time. The only thing that I will pursue to be, is to be present. Not only for my family and friends, not even for me, but for life. Thank you for your inspiration 🧎

Paul Miller is my hero

That's sad but it's true 😕 how we became internet slaves !! And when we're bored we just grab our phones and start traveling from app to an app just to waist the time that we don't know what to do about it 😔

Where is before and after picture???

I can relate to this man's description of boredom and utter solitary. When the power goes out in our apartment, my immediate concern is the lack of internet, never mind the lack of electricity to cook food or heat/cool the apartment, but my lack of connectedness. Using my phone without internet is just amazingly different. It's almost useless.

Wow. The problems he talked about associated with the internet are things I didn’t imagine would exist in early 2010s, like being in our own world in the phone, losing face-to-face people skills, social media doing more harm than good etc. This is prophetic, he understood early the harms of internet and ten years later we still struggle with this.

I use KZfaq to listen to things (TED talks, Howard Stern interviews, live shows, etc). I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends who are out of town. I use Tumblr to get inspired for my artistic endeavors. I use Pornhub to...learn........education about.............................gottagobye.

Exacty today I'm one year without facebook and 3 months without instagram, strava, running apps ect.. It feels great. I just use KZfaq to watch what I want and when I want. The space om my iPhone is filled with music, not apps I don't need. I still regret the times I was checking facebook instead of looking at my son when he was talking to me....that will never happen again.

Life was much simpler back then, small things gave us happiness..

This is the correct answer, balance. I spend a lot of time online, but I also go outside, go to an event every now and again, and talk to my family and friends face to face. I've been using the 'net since 2000 so I've managed to figure out how to use it without it being who I am. It's my main source of entertainment and information seeking but it doesn't dictate my life. If I get internet fatigue I simply walk away and recharge. That's the key to using the internet and life, listen to what your body and mind are telling you.

unlike other experimentalists turned experts in happiness i kinda found this guys talk refreshing. i loved that the over-arching thought was (to paraphrase) "i don't know. It didn't change me as i thought it would. I still haven't figured it out. I only learned that the internet isn't my problem. the problem goes much deeper than that." I think its pretty brave to do an experiment like this, not get the results you had hoped for and still tell your story. Very few seekers will ever share some portion of their path until they felt they had already truly arrived. I love that this talk leaves you to discover your own answers. It leaves you with questions and something to think about rather than a monotonous 5 step prescription for happiness. I wish he had done an experiment in going 100% screen free and rather than sitting in his apartment had planned a full year away in communities that don't have the internet. I think he may have gained greater insight in that kind of environment. sounds like he didn't have an opportunity to "cleanse" fully from screen distractions + there wasn't enough there to fill in the void and support him in making new life discoveries. One thing I don't feel he gives himself enough credit for is "trying". At least he tried it, sat still and withered away. I have a feeling the insights he gained from this year will one day come to fruition and serve him greatly as he discovers more of who he is in the future. Seems like a decent guy. Hope he discovers more of what he was looking for down the road.

Everyone commenting"This is boring" is going to shut the hell up because you are proving his point

free paul

I went a whole 2 weeks without a phone, and I don't have a laptop. One of the most relaxing times of my life ever

Ironic that he posted a video on the internet telling people to get off the internet.

Ironically, while watching this video in the Internet about how distracting the Internet is, i had a hard time following because i was distracted by other tabs.

I just deleted facebook and instagram, thanks for convincing me

This Paul Miller: ⭐️✨🌈💫 The other Paul Miller: 🤡💀🖤⛓

he starts at 5:24, thank me later

There's a big difference between accessing the internet on a desktop PC compared to a smartphone. I used to have a smartphone and then I lost it and decided to get a brick. The difference is huge. I think this is a good way to achieve that balance that he talks about.

I was one of the first kids on my block in 90s to get the internet. It has changed my life. I guess it’s changed everyone’s life but the amount of music, films, books, art, photography, knowledge and information I’ve gained from it can’t be denied. Facebook and Instagram has put me back in touch with old school friends and family members who I now see and hang with in person. I like staying connected and keeping up with the news and the world. I like seeing what everyone is doing and posting on their social media. I also love making films and content and sharing it with others. It’s all about perspective.

I love how sincere he's talking about himself and interpreted his experience.👍

Well done. I have actually felt like this a lot about the internet. People are only negative of this video, because they video is their mirror, just as it was his.

I think this just changed my life.

Free Paul Miller

I'd like to know how can we use internet in a healthy way when everything is designed to be addictive.

I dont remember what I got onto KZfaq to find, but iI ended up watching this video instead.

i want to quit the internet. I hate the grasp facebook has on me.

I didn't know I needed this video which was posted 10 years back. Thank you.

The political division and hate for each other comes from writing things behind a screen that we probably we wouldn’t say face to face . We are fed my algorithms and the need to be visible by creating perfect lives online . Taking breaks from Social media connects you with yourself and those who are really important

i hate ted talks when they're like this, not because of the talk but because of the comment, it's something so many people take so damn personal " oh no i love the internet, i have no problem at all, i choose to be on it blah blah" like just listen to the message and stop trying to justify and defend your self, fucking christ.

valuable insights. I think the internet hands-down makes us the smartest generation. It's up to us to focus our unlimited knowledge into productive energy instead of throwing it away.

My homie needs to change his name💀

boredom is a sense of needing to be distracted from yourself because you have grown accustomed to being distracted. in these moments when boredom arises you need to use a technique to bring your concentration/awareness back to yourself and hold it there for a time. repeating this process surely will slowly rewrite your concentration and awareness patterns to be directed towards yourself and away from distraction.

I need to to get off the internet too. I mean I find a lot of good educational content but its mostly a distraction and takes up too much of my time. I think a better idea than just quitting the internet is to only use it on certain days or at a certain time each day. or maybe limit it to an hour a day. Infact starting today I'm going to limit myself to one hour per day and I'll let you know how it goes as an experiment. I know I've needed to do this for a long time and this guy has inspired me to act now. Soo..peace!

I stopped watching when he said he played video games in his year off!!!That is basically in the same category of the internet

One of the best and most genuine story by an ordinary person. Not by some celebrity. This is what Ted should be

i quit watching tv for a year....instead i watched netflix thank you for coming to my ted talk

"I was so *high*... on life" Suuuuuure.

"what you own ends up owning you"

He is SO RIGHT! You don't just delete all your social medias, close the laptop and voila! you're the most productive person ever, which is what I thought he was gonna say when I clicked on this, thinking "what am I doing wrong?" I was SO bored and even more unproductive! Balance is key! If you don't want to do something you will find any excuse not to do it, the internet is just one of them. I'm glad he clarified that the internet isn't bad, we just need to learn when to use it.

gypsy Crusader the good ending

funny how everything tends to show we need balance

Tedx, where 50 people watch you talk, and 200,000 watch you online

I never had the internet until I was 15 (I guess my parents were super-old fashioned considering I'm a millennial) and I don't think there's anything wrong personally. But a lot of people these days become over involved with social media like crazy. Then there's pornography and using Google as a substitute for using your brain (ie not working out a quick math problem but typing it in your iPhone), and the issue of becoming self-centered. But there's a lot of good out there, It's all about leveraging the internet and avoiding the evils. And hopefully one day the internet will be a safer place for everyone (especially for younger people), but it's really just about self-control.

Just deleted all social media, well besides KZfaq of course.

I think what this guy did is really noble and compelling. We are all so jacked in most of us don't even realize it. A really useful talk.

Part of the issue is that the newer generations don't have a basis of comparison when it comes to living with or without the internet. I was lucky enough to have grown up without the internet. We weren't board. We were highly creative and made up our own games and projects. I now attempt to hire young people to come and work on my farm. I'm sorry, but the majority of these young people are slow, lazy, and have no work ethic. It's a sad thing to watch. Few, if any, of them have mechanical skills to fix fence, drive a tractor, or care for animals. They aren't tough. Most of them are wimpy, inappropriately dependent on family, and are not realistic about the world around them. The internet has its benefits, however, it hasn't improved humanity, it has digressed it.

oops wrong paul

I really do belive that if we all just turned off the internet, cell phones, TV's, and went outside and got to know one another personally, face to face, surrounded by people alike, the amount of hate in the world would significally lessen.

how do you even turn off a computer?

I am watching this video on the internet.

I knew Joker was based, but not THIS based!

not...not the paul miller we know

2:50 I'm sorry, Nicholas WHO?

Facebook is shit !! - Facebook user

I wanna be able to use the internet without it using me

You know, when this guy mentioned how you need to be in charge of your life, I'm thinking of abstaining from social media during the weekends, so I can focus on my schoolwork more, as well as do more fun stuff during the weekend. I should also be setting priorities more often, so I can improve on my math.

I agree with what Paul Miller said. I’m also very involved in social media and I cannot imagine going through a day without it. After hearing from his experience, I learned that we should be in control of our lives and not let the internet dictate us. However, going totally offline from the internet may not be a wise choice. One thing I admire and ought to learn from him was his determination to have control over his life. After going offline for a year, he was able to interact with people in a more intense and personal way because he doesn’t have a distraction that will interfere his conversations with others. I applaud his perseverance because I know it is really hard to get off the internet when we are already so used to it. Another takeaway from his experience was to strike a good balance between coping with ourselves online and offline. It is not good to be a 100 per cent online or offline because we are definitely going to miss out on one aspect if we were to do that. The most important thing is to know what our priorities are and to set it right. (200 words, Jolanda Goh, CMM/TB02)