[Ibon]

Down to no more than 30 minutes per day on line. Quick browsing of the news, coming here to PO.COM, taking care of correspondence related to our resort, and then I turn it off. No television. No radio. No twitter. No Instagram.

To be honest, the content of what I see is so banal and mediocre that I can only retreat.

Some of our discourse keeps me engaged here at po.com but mostly I am emancipating myself from the digital world, the little that I use it, except for the functional aspects of our business.

Is anyone else feeling like these venues are getting tired and old and designed to be dominated by nefarious manipulations?

Here is an exercise. Watch yourself as you start your daily routine logging on to your various digital venues. Watch the energy level in how you engage. Ask yourself, is the experience opening your mind or lulling you into a passive catatonia not all that much different than television does after a long day of work.

Be honest.

[jedrider]

I don't know Ibon: We're in the age of 'Self-Driving Scooters' now. You don't want to know about that?

[Newfie]

I spend too much time online. One on the other stuff. There are 3 forums I visit; here and two sailing. I check a couple of news channels and scan realclearnpolitics for interesting articles.

I keep having this feeling that I should go online for some kind of reward, but is missing. A conversations are interesting but that’s about it. I like the talk here, some anyway. Helps me bounce ideas off others.

But also I do a LOT of research in line. Looking up parts and finding how to do things. Great for that.

[jedrider]

We had a whole day of emancipation from peakoil. Yay!

[EnergyUnlimited]

Customers are making bookings online so have to check and reply.
Ordering items for construction of my different projects as well. Plenty of orders related to my PV project which I am assembling myself. So a lot of learning too, mostly online, despite of fact that I am rather well versed with electricity and wiring rules despite of not being professional electrician. PV has its own specifics...
There are also other projects. Tracking purchased items. Also selling unnecessary stuff.
Observation of various markets where I have some investments.
Emails (private & business).
Little interest in politics and internet is more informative than TV (I do not watch TV at all, no TV in my private living quarters - particularly helpful to keep brain of my wife working).
And of course from time to time I will have a ride on decadent progressives here on PO.com
But taking it all together - internet is useful.
How much time do I spend?
About half up to 1 hour a day when nice weather outside and maybe 2 hrs a day when rainy and windy.
But I often keep my laptop online even if not used.
Avoid Google products as much as I can (don't even use their search engine for last year - my policy is that "if there is no alternative to Google to find some information then you don't need this particular information at all"), no Facebook account, no Twitter, no Instagram and no other similar s#it.
No watching entertainment films on the net either (few years ago have made an exception for Hunger Games though), only documentaries by Black Pigeon, Michael Snyder and similar other creators.
Try to benefit of the net, not just waste time on it.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Try to benefit of the net, not just waste time on it.

Yup. It's a tool, just like a screwdriver is a tool.

Many people rely on the internet to do their jobs. Technology and information is a big deal in today's world. Go figure.

OTOH, you can decide how immersed you want to be. No smart phone, TV, or radio for me (I loathe commercials). No Facebook, Twitter, et al. If killer apps DO arrive for Smart Phones for ME, I'll re-evaluate, for example.

As with most things in life, it's all about balance.

[DesuMaiden]

Try to benefit of the net, not just waste time on it.

Yup. It's a tool, just like a screwdriver is a tool.

Many people rely on the internet to do their jobs. Technology and information is a big deal in today's world. Go figure.

OTOH, you can decide how immersed you want to be. No smart phone, TV, or radio for me (I loathe commercials). No Facebook, Twitter, et al. If killer apps DO arrive for Smart Phones for ME, I'll re-evaluate, for example.

As with most things in life, it's all about balance.

Facebook is cancer. It is a cesspool of epic fail.

[Pops]

Well, my excuse is that when I'm working the internet and email are my link to the world so I can't cut off completely.

I don't really do much social, other than PO, which is enough; I do look at my relatives pics on on FB a couple times a week while trying not to read anything they post or repost too closely. I read a lot online though. MSM news sites mostly, some lefty opinion, some apolitical prepper, homesteader type sites occasionally. I also use a web-based free library. I used to spend lots on books and magazines, now I spend lots on broadband.

Like Newfie said I love that I can type in the model number of whatever and know everything about it, troubleshoot it, rebuild it, buy parts, watch some guy on youtube make the mistakes so I don't have too, LOL. Ditto construction: advice, examples, codes, ideas, buying fixtures and stuff, fantastic. I shop the big box stores for commodity stuff online, and online specialty stores for just about anything you can imagine, it's great.

I like the debate on this site, usually, sometimes it gets over the top and I abstain. I like when people post more than just their knee-jerk opinion and have done some thinking and research rather than just regurgitated some winger talking point, or banal conspiracy, or More Cynical Than Thou platitude or Doom/Not Doom or Peak/Not Peak ping-pong. Some folks are so repetitive they go on ignore just because they only have one thing to say.

Posting gives me the excuse for navel gazing that I don't really have anywhere else. My wife and I talk about most everything but she doesn't usually sit there while I go read 10 sites and stare at the ceiling trying to figure out what's real or how I feel about it.

We have Amazon Prime for movies, and broadcast that we really only turn on when there is bad weather. And no cable because it pisses me off to pay for access and be forced to sit through ads too. LOL