Heavy internet use can cause mental overload and distraction, so I drew on some public health ideas to create a long-term digital shelter for just over a tenner.
Maybe a fifth of people now say internet-linked technology use causes them some sort of problem, something we might call “internet use disorder”, for want of a better term.
Some researchers have called for a WHO surveillance system like the one for alcohol, but significant national and international action on the issue seems a long way off.
Nevertheless heavy internet use seems to be a contributing factor to attention deficits, anxiety, depression, relationship problems, loneliness and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
And internet overdosing is clearly an occupational hazard for those of us working full-time in information-heavy fields, like academia, research, policy or programming.
Journalists and other communications people are involved in incentivised doomscrolling, as well as having messaging, social media and web sites to monitor and administrate non-stop.
But digital harms can affect people who are not online for work too. Being noobs leaves us more vulnerable because we lack the experience and knowhow to avoid the perils.
Internet overdosing should be no surprise given the huge resources invested in keeping us scrolling. The trillion dollar corporations are only likely to get better and better at it.
Commercial actors will increasingly blame “irresponsible users” in their bid to avoid regulation of their products and the internet itself. But it is not in their interest to help us.
Our environments typically have internet accessible everywhere for almost nothing and it is promoted non-stop as a practical necessity and source of entertainment.
Few want to go completely internet-free, and this is typically not possible anyway, but we surely want the internet to serve us, rather than the other way round.
Rather than flipping between unsustainable “digital detox” and unsustainable retox the goal was to have an internet use pattern that works well long term.
There is currently no law or gizmo that is going to swoop in to do this for us. But solid public health precedent suggests we should focus on changing our environments to make it easier.
Downtime denied
Having our communication channels open day and night places a huge demand on us. We cannot be ready to react 24-7. Surely nobody deserves to be always available.
Keeping so many channels open means we have a host of things to monitor. The distraction this task causes makes it harder to develop our thoughts and projects.
The ways we communicate online are inherently taxing too. Text messaging causes a great deal of divided attention, confusion and discord alongside the communication we want from it.
Finding reliable information sources is notoriously difficult. But even choosing what entertainment to consume from a vast range of alternatives is a challenge.
The internet also fosters rivalry and sometimes conflict in work, politics, culture and our social lives. This can have upsides, but it also involves effort and stress.
For my part I am quite sure I have been online more than I needed to be and likely suffer some harm from it, mostly in the form of wasted time, fatigue and distraction.
Going off grid
It can seem like we are trapped in cyberspace, even if we see its flaws. The internet’s technical and social tentacles have a way of drawing us back.
Many–like me–have long stepped back from some online formats, like social media. This can help, but useful messaging apps like Whatsapp stepped in to sap our attention.
The compelling qualities of messaging were well known even before smartphones came along. There was a reason why the BlackBerry was nicknamed the “CrackBerry”.
Mobile phones are often seen as the biggest culprit, being the internet device we find hardest to ignore, with a niche market for pared down “dumbphones” promising an escape.
But dumbphones cannot replace the phones we use to log into our bank accounts or work IT systems. We may simply end up managing two phones or wedded to our laptops.
I created the imaginary “1” phone, the ultimate minimalist communication device, retailing at “just” €599 to share my doubts about dumbphones as a solution (see image).
“Screen time” is not a good metric for what I want to curb. Spending undisturbed offline time writing or being absorbed in a film or computer game are positives.
Apps to put apps out of easy reach have helped reduce fiddling, but were only partly effective. But apps which block other apps for a time simply brought a fresh distraction.
Mindfulness methods are recommended too. Maybe they can help, but they are likely to be more effective if we have an environment better suited to mindfulness.
One step further
For me the first step is not to target certain hardware, apps or seek inner peace, but to remove internet access for long periods. This makes a substantive environmental change.
Behavioural changes come more easily if we have changed our environments to suit first. Why constantly have internet on tap all day when we would not have bottomless beer or Coke?
Not keeping alcohol or sugary products at home, for instance, can likely help reduce harms. We can also benefit from avoiding pubs, alcohol aisles and alcohol ads.
The same approach seems likely to help with internet, effectively creating a bubble with raised internet price, and lower internet availability and marketing exposure.
Being fully offline eliminates all internet distraction and its ability to promote itself. And it gives us time to make this increasingly unfamiliar state feel normal again.
Restricting internet time will almost certainly reduce our internet consumption, reducing the problems from higher doses of internet, as with alcohol and unhealthy foods.
Making it happen
How can we impose such a restriction? One way is to put home wifi on a timer, costing about €11 ($13/£10) each. It turns my home internet off at 9pm and on again at 9am.
This 50:50 split of online and offline time seems a fair compromise. It is both a massive reduction in time with internet access and also far more internet than necessary.
To seal off mobile internet access I set my standard mobile to wifi-only and aeroplane mode as my self-imposed default to avoid being online after the cut-off.
Having the system automated makes the limitation an environmental factor rather than a choice needing further thought. It is easiest to simply deal with the curfew.
Offline time need not be fully analogue. It is not all woodcarving, crochet and plainsong at mine. One can still download content in advance, like films, music and e-books.
Does it work?
This is only a casual one-person experiment, but it has been highly effective and cheap. At the very least it seems very unlikely to make matters worse.
Adapting to the restriction has required almost no willpower, even at the start. And continuing feels more like common sense than a sacrifice.
I often extend my offline time in the morning to avoid interruptions. It is often 10am or 11am before I go online. And when I do I typically just blast through a shortlist of tasks.
I have broken the curfew only once or twice: once when my train was cancelled late one night and once when I needed to double-check the details of a meeting. That is all though.
I have also absentmindedly picked up my offline phone first thing to check my messages or email, forgetting the curfew. It probably helps to put the phone beyond arm’s reach.
I am grateful to get online and also offline again. The internet is an incredibly valuable resource and source of fun, ideas and information. It is just not a great place to be all the time.
A couple of weeks of limited internet have made offline feel like the normal state of affairs and being online something abnormal. That seems like the right way round to me.
Email, messaging and work socials are still a distraction when I am online. But having 12 hours-a-day without any of them helps me ignore them for longer more easily.
So now what?
Full-time internet immersion began years ago, so adapting fully to being significantly offline again may take a while, with some effects still to appear for me.
I would welcome getting more attention span back. And I hope a better focus will bring more ideas, more appreciation, and also help me get more things done.
It is likely I will see some changes in my social relationships too, as I would if I cut back on alcohol. People can shun non-texters or social likers in a similar way to non alcohol drinkers
For now my improvised internet barricade is holding firm and provides a welcome, nearly-free solution to a long-term low level nuisance. Hopefully it might do the same for others.
More broadly it is a relatable example of how making a simple environmental change can make healthier consumption habits far easier. Policy makers might usefully take note.
Policies to avoid internet overuse are not on the cards yet, beyond school mobile bans, but it is possible that policymakers may need to offer more help in time.
Curfews on wifi could be put in place where people share a home, like families or student dorms. People could still go online after hours with mobile internet, but it is their call.
For the foreseeable future most of us will have to rely on our own ingenuity. We are likely to find that changing our environments can make it easier. ■