Society
Plugged In
The internet as an energy source
Vince and Troy met for coffee and scones. It was a blistery cold day and even in the warmth of the coffeehouse they kept on their coats.
Troy cradled his coffee cup in his hands for warmth, “So how’s the experiment going?”
“I don’t know. I’ve gone six days now without getting on the internet and I’m feeling lost and scattered and lethargic. I thought it was supposed to feel good to detox from the internet but man, I just don’t have any energy whatsoever.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I don’t understand it. Remember when Christine went a whole month without the internet? She said she was filled with energy.”
Troy sipped his coffee, “God yes, I remember. She wouldn’t shut up about it. I went thirty whole days without the internet and without meat and now I’m freaking enlightened. I just wanted to slap her.”
Vince laughed, “I know what you mean. But I guess I took her seriously. I thought my life would get better and I’d have some grandiose epiphany or something. Yeah, right. Instead I feel like life has lost all meaning. You know what I did yesterday?”
Troy took a bite of blueberry scone without saying anything.
“Yesterday afternoon I took a three and a half hour nap! Three and a half hours! And when I woke up I was exhausted. I just don’t get it. I’m utterly drained of energy. But I told everyone that I was gonna go one whole week without the internet and I’m gonna stick to it. I’ve only got one more day.”
Taking a sip of coffee, Troy leaned back in his chair, “Well you picked one hell of a week to disconnect from the world. You won’t believe what’s going on in our country right now. Things are getting super crazy.”
“Really?”
“I mean crazier than ever! I’m not even sure we’ll still have a country much longer. Everything is totally falling apart.”
“Seriously?”
“Oh yeah. It’s historic. No one knows what the hell is going to happen next.”
“So what’s going on for crying out loud?”
“I don’t know if I should tell you. You’ll be done with your internet-free week after tomorrow then you can get back on to catch up on what’s been happening. It will ruin your experiment if you get back into it all now. Wasn’t part of the purpose of your experiment to disconnect from all the negativity?”
“Uh… yeah… uh… I guess. Okay, so don’t tell me. I’ll find out the day after tomorrow.”
“The day after tomorrow my ass,” said Vince in his car as he drove home after meeting with Troy. As soon as he got home he immediately booted up his computer. He spent the next six and a half hours watching news videos on YouTube.
After taking a bathroom break he was walking back to his computer when he realized that he was utterly brimming with energy. He felt like he was about to explode.
He paced around his home for quite a while just feeling the intense energy coursing through his body. Yes, he felt angry and confused but he felt alive again. Thoughts were gushing through his mind and emotions were spewing forth in a chaotic torrent. He felt heat radiating off his skin.
Soon he stopped pacing and sat back down at the computer. He wanted even more of that energy that he had been missing for the last six days. Those six days were like crossing a desert without any water. “Screw that internet break crap!” He found another news video that had just been posted and clicked on it.
He wanted more.
Copyright by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. Thanks for reading.
Utterly unrelated…
The Pizza Break-up. When food ended a relationship | by White Feather | Grab a Slice | Medium
(I see that the procedure for creating a link box with story title, subtitle, and thumbnail photo no longer works. I just get a printed link like above. I’ve noticed that some people are still able to create those link boxes. Is there a new procedure for that? Any advice?)
