My boss was musing on the idea of no music day. Unfortunately this musing turned into an idea, an idea that would see me giving up one of my biggest addictions for a whole day. I should really start with an introduction. Hello my name is Ryan and I’m an internet addict. Not your ordinary need to check my e-mail every day addict, but the sort of addict that gets panic attacks at the very thought of being away from the net for more than a few hours.
This is, in part due to the fact that since leaving school, every job I’ve done has involved working online, all day. Mainly though, it’s because I’m a geek and have a real passion for the internet. So you can imagine my reaction when my boss told me I was going to be disconnected for 24 hours to help research an article on what would happen if there was no internet. My first reaction was to start typing my letter of resignation, but I quickly thought about my wife and the pain she would inflict if I quit my job over something as “silly” as the internet, and closed Word. Then I tried talking him round and convincing him that other people would be much better for the job – this failed – so now I’m facing 24 hours without my lifeblood, I’m going to be offline for a whole day. There is only one exception to the ‘no net rule’. I’m allowed to logon to our content management system so I can carry on doing my job but I can’t visit websites, use iTunes, talk on messenger or, and this is the hardest part, check my e-mail.
Normally I start my day by turning the computer on first thing in the morning. I use this time to check my e-mail, have a quick glance at the weather and news headlines and then update my podcasts. Then when I get to work I check my e-mail and have a more in depth look at various news websites to see what’s happening in the world. I’ll read a few blogs to get an idea what people think of the stories I read that morning, and then look around a few Jersey websites and message boards to see what’s happening in the island. Throughout the day I’ll be using the net almost constantly to research stories, find out information, answer questions and generally do my job. Then when I get home my life online continues. I’ll listen to a few BBC Radio shows on demand, update my podcasts again, check my e-mail, browse news websites for the latest stories and maybe watch a few TV shows on demand. I’ll chat to friends in message boards, chat rooms and post comments on their blogs, I’ll read things on Wikipedia or other ‘information’ sites to expand my understanding of a subject and then I’ll just look for stupid things – just for fun.
On top of all the things I do on a daily basis, I’ll book flights, buy music, books, and gadgets, find information on holiday destinations, bills and general lifestyle things online as well. When I re-install Windows on my computer, or set a new one up with Windows or Linux the first thing I do is get the internet working. Then if, for some reason I can’t get it working, I have a panic attack. I keep spare broadband modems, dial-up modems, WiFi cards and WiFi routers just in case one breaks and if the problem isn’t one I can fix I’ll constantly call everyone at every level of my internet providers service chain until I get it fixed. So you can probably already guess how hard this is going to be for me. But in the interests of a good story I’m going to give it a go.
 | | 'E-mail seven arrived...' |
The idea is that by going without the internet I’ll get an idea of some of the issues the world would face without that connection we’ve all become dependent on. So keep an eye on bbc.co.uk/jersey and I’ll let you know when I do it. The article is going to be more of a light hearted feature than an in depth look at the crash and burn the world would likely face without the internet. I'm not an international economist - I'm a journalist with a passion for new media, so it’s going to come from a consumer inconvenience angle. But it should still be interesting all the same. | 
