A year without the Internet – One man’s fast

Paul Miller, senior editor for The Verge, went on a 365-day Internet fast. He described feeling less overwhelmed after he made the move to disconnect from the web.

It’s almost unimaginable to think of a day without the Internet. It’s something we all rely so heavily on each and every day, but what would happen if we removed ourselves from all the tweets, e-mails, and the day-to-day clamor that is the world wide web?

Most of us probably wouldn’t survive 24 hours let alone a year without the net, but Paul Miller, senior editor for , went on a 365-day Internet fast and said he felt less overwhelmed after he made the move to disconnect from the web.

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“After I left the Internet, my mind calmed down a bit. I think there’s a lot of noise that the Internet introduces into your mind,” Miller said on Friday’s The Daily Rundown.

Miller said that while his Internet free days did result in a clearer head, in the end he discovered the Internet may not be the thing to blame for his lack of concentration.

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“I turned out to be the same person [without the Internet],” Miller said. “Yes, my mind was clear enough to read a book, but maybe I didn’t want to read a book.”

So how did Miller survive a full year without hilarious memes, videos, and tweets? In the end, he says he didn’t really miss that stuff. What he missed the most were the connections the Internet allows you to make with people.

“The loose ties of Twitter, the stronger ties of Facebook, the really strong ties of Skype and FaceTime,” he recalled, “People are on the Internet and I really missed out on that.”