So this image was posted on my company's FB page a few weeks ago and received some blog-worthy buzz. Comments from the netheads included 'Where do I sign up', 'Easy' and 'Anytime.' Okay, but what about the true internet junkies out there who value their connectivity to the world wide web higher than most? Well their remarks about the post went something like this: 'Absolutely no. I would die,' and 'Are you out of your freaken mind?' I'm not paraphrasing here, folks.
I ask again. Could you do it?
Before you think of your answer, let's break it down right here and be made painfully aware of what we will live without.
No cellphones. No social media. No computer access. No wi-fi. No connection with the global network for 3 months. That's 13 weeks, 91.3 days, 2191.45 hours and 131,487 minutes. And if you make it to the end, you'll get one million dollars. Cash.
As much as I would like to buy a million dollars worth of organic chocolate and bathe in it for a year, I sincerely doubt I could not do it. I imagined myself as being one of those 'Where do I sign up' individuals and when the first three day rolls up I'll know exactly how a 5 year heroin addict on his first day at a drug rehabilitation center would feel like.
The first thing I do when I get up in the morning before even relieving myself is to log onto Facebook with my phone and browse the latest insipid statues updates and the endless assortment of baby pictures like a good Netizen.
Yes, I hear you. It is one million dollars. There's a lot you can do with a million bucks besides immersing ones self in delicious, herbicide-free chocolate. But let's also recognize the ramification of interconnect disconnect.
If your occupation requires you to use a computer, you wouldn't be able to do your job, right? You might as well go live in the wild with all the furry little creatures. And what if you had one of those fancy smartphones that gives you the power taking pictures of ones self while posing? You would have to find another way to pursue self-exploration and to boast about it.
This leads me to another question. What would we do if we didn't have the internet and cellular phones? What if the 80's said hell, I like how the world is right now? Think about it. Without the internet we wouldn't be able to practice self-expression or be able to mold this digital interpretation of ourselves - it being true or not - on a global standpoint.
Maybe on the more positive side, without using any instant messaging platforms like Whatsapp and FB messenger, we are forced to interact with actual human beings and not a portable device that has no soul. Good or bad? It depends on your perception of social interaction. But that's a different topic and this proves that this subject can be split into many others.
So let the world now your thought before you decide to sign up for this crazy idea.