If you were going on an internet fast......

[augoldie]

Top five websites that you would make an exception for. I'm thinking blogs, christian sites, self education, home making resources, homeschooling sites.. etc etc.  

 

My attention span and thought life have suffered over the last couple of years and I want to move away from all my internet "research". I want to make a couple of exceptions maybe 2 or 3 for personal growth that I would check once a week. So what would they be for you......

[Garga]

This is the only website I go to just to see what's there for fun. The only other time I'm on other websites is if I'm looking up something specific in google.

 

That's not counting websites I use consistently for school. But those are part of the curriculum: national gallery of art for art class, sparknotes for literature, etc.

 

I guess that doesn't help you really. It sounds like you follow a few (more than 5 I'm guessing) websites consistently, as I do this one, and you're trying to pare back to just 5. Maybe you could do as I do? Only use the internet when you have a specific question?

[regentrude]

This one. But then, if I allow the WTM boards, it won't be much of a fast, since this is the major place where i am wasting time online.

[MerryAtHope]

If I was doing an internet fast, I honestly wouldn't make any exceptions. Let it be a true fast for however long you can afford to be offline. I would only make exceptions for sites I *had* to visit (and define *have to* very narrowly--maybe you are waiting on communication from someone important, and it can only come through email--then I'd check email ONLY for that person, otherwise not, etc...) It's too easy to spend just as much time on your "exceptions" and not truly unplug, kwim? (If I allowed a blog, I'd end up reading all that blog's archives just to be online, for example).

 

I think the most benefit comes from truly unplugging, whether that's a day, a week, or a month. And I think you realize what sites are important, and which ones are fun and helpful versus which ones are truly a time-waste, when you fully unplug. 

[amyc78]

I would have to set a time limit- like one hour a week maybe? I've done this in the past and kept a running list of what I wanted to check during my internet time, then I would have to narrow it down to what would fit in an hour.

As far as top 5 sites... Probably Amazon, GroupMe, Facebook (it's a total time suck but it's also how I keep up with so many people), SimpleHomeschool and Amongst Lovely Things

[Janeway]

Top five websites that you would make an exception for. I'm thinking blogs, christian sites, self education, home making resources, homeschooling sites.. etc etc.  

 

My attention span and thought life have suffered over the last couple of years and I want to move away from all my internet "research". I want to make a couple of exceptions maybe 2 or 3 for personal growth that I would check once a week. So what would they be for you......

I probably only ever go to 5 sites, so that would not be an internet fast for me. 

 

I think, for me anyway, a better internet fast would be, if I could not do it 100%, would be to cut the hours back. Maybe give 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at the end of the day. That is enough time to check email, pay bills, see the news, etc.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Except for here, I don't spend much time on-line.  I do use the Internet to look up stuff.  Anything from local information to random things I wonder about.  So I couldn't really come up with a top five either.

 

I do find it comical that you are asking for advice on the Internet on how to cut back on your Internet use.

 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Sites I absolutely "need" (as in they serve a function for me even if I really could do without them):  1.  my e-mail  2.  Sparkpeople (weightloss/health tracking)  3.  Fitbit (ties in with Sparkpeople)  4.  Khan Academy 5.  The WTM board because it is my support group, main adult conversation outlet and to a lessor degree teacher education.  As much as I love the WTM board though, it is less important in function than the other 4. 

[73349]

I'd have to make an exception for

• the weekly veggie order page,
• my local Buy Nothing group (I'm the admin) [which uses Facebook, not my choice],
• the local weather forecast,
• my primary email, and
• the library catalog/request page.

Anything else, including mother culture sorts of things, would suck me in and lead to wasted time, such as right now when I am on WTM when I should be cooking dinner. :leaving:

Edited April 30, 2016 by whitehawk