I deal with the Internet for a living. Some days it's fun, others it isn't. Running CoasterBuzz.com in particular has been somewhat of a drain on me in particular. Between the kids (and adults) who have no social skills online or off, and the constant "what's in it for me" attitude of some people, it grows tiresome.
Stephanie and I made our way to Orlando for five days. The original intent was to spend some time at the IAAPA trade show, but that turned out to be a dud. I left pretty much empty handed as far as material to use on CoasterBuzz, but I didn't care, especially when my ancient laptop started giving me shit. Not even the "journalist bug" was enough to get me into covering the show.
So I said "fuck it." After being unemployed last year and generally being without quality free time, we decided to live it up as best we could. We did theme parks, drank heavily and partied in the hot tub. Best of all, I left the Internet behind.
For five days, I didn't touch a keyboard or a mouse. No e-mail, no Web sites, no forums... nothing. It was liberating. It gave me much needed perspective about where the Net fits into life. It not only made me see how much I enjoy human contact in the real world, but frightened me in that there are so many people who spend an unhealthy amount of time with the Net. I mean, where does it end? E-mail, instant messages, forums, these narcissistic journals (OK, you got me there)... it's no wonder that half the people I meet in real life are social retards.
I'm trying to ease my way back into the electronic world, but it just doesn't have the same appeal that the real world has. Sigh.
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