Pulling the Plug on Internetland

Alice

It's only been a few days but I already can see just how much of my time Facebook was consuming. Unlike a forest that can be replanted after it's been decimated by a fire or greedy developers, when Time is gone, it's gone. There are no seedlings that will grow it back. So suddenly having more of it is a good thing.

Still, I am not 100% free since the remainder of the gigantic and seemingly infinite Internet beckons. Though I struggle to resist, every morning I check my email, get directions, research my latest health scare or follow an intriguing headline -- or two or three -- down a rabbit hole with my  morning coffee. It's truly a vast Wonderland, but like Alice, most of the time I feel lost there.

I'm hoping to eventually quit Internetland entirely, if only to recapture the euphoria of authentic interactions in the real world formerly known as Wonderland. I remember it as being a pretty good time, involving the exercising of free will and the refreshing individuality of everyone you met. Most of all, there was some mystery to life: questions tantalizingly unanswered, hypotheses to be tested. No more; now with Wikipedia a click away, wondering lasts only until someone pulls out a cell phone, making modern life the opposite of Wonderland.