Monday, August 18, 2014

Reversing Our Internet Decision

On a previous blog, I talked about my and Jerry’s decision not to have Internet service at home. On this blog, in a recent post, I said that we had changed our minds.

Well, we changed them back. I can’t say whether we will stick to this decision indefinitely, but for the foreseeable future, we will not have Internet service in our home. The reasons are several and varied.

1. Cost.
Decent Internet connection – and the only kinds available here are wireless and satellite – costs at least $50 a month. That’s $600 a year. That’s almost an entire month of groceries for our organic-eating family.

2. Connection. 
If we have Internet service, we will be YouTube watchers (especially B). Neither wireless nor satellite can be depended upon in these mountains to maintain a good enough connection for online video viewing not to be an exercise in frustration.

3. Addiction.
I might set a strict Internet-using schedule at home, but I’m not even sure I would stick to it. Understand, I’m not one of those who has to spent the first hour of her day on Facebook, or check her Twitter account every fifteen minutes, but it’s easy to get lost in a maze of clicking links and reading blog posts that don’t pertain to anything I’m doing, or want to do.

Then there’s J, who would spend hours at a time reading political news articles and forums if I let him. B, of course, could – and probably would – begin demanding more and more YouTube viewing. Internet in the home is a great temptation to waste time and engage in unhealthy behavior - namely, spending much more time inside than out. 

Keeping our Internet usage to three or so hours a week at the local library (while B watches an educational DVD) may drive some of our friends and family crazy. I have one friend who wasn’t happy when I told her that I don’t do Facebook. (WTH?!)


But guess what? We don’t base our lifestyle decisions on what our friends and family – and especially the world at large – think. We base it on what we feel God is calling us to do, and our goals as a family.