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Cruises were one of the last places in the developed world where people could be completely disconnected from the internet. I used to go on yearly transatlantic
by yosito 4y ago
Cruises were one of the last places in the developed world where people could be completely disconnected from the internet. I used to go on yearly transatlantic cruise vacations. As someone who works online, I never feel "on vacation" unless I'm fully offline. That's becoming harder and harder these days. While I do think this is a cool technology, on a personal level, I'm mourning the loss of one of the last truly disconnected spaces in our world.
- groby_b 4y ago"one of the last truly disconnected spaces"... that's gone for a LOOONG time. I remember remote-debugging a critical crash from a cruise ship in 1996. (Via fax. It was... an experience :)
- felipemnoa 4y agoWonder if you could make this into an interesting short story, or maybe even a screenplay for a movie using lots of creative license.
- groby_b 4y agoI don't think I could. But if you want to take it and run with it, it's all yours. (Give me a credit shout-out when you're all famous ;)
- tjmc 4y agoMH370 disappeared more recently than that. Hard to believe it could happen again though - particularly with the forthcoming phone to sat services from SpaceX and Apple.
- Someone1234 4y agoThis is very cruise dependent. Any near-shore cruises may have a constant cellphone connection. I feel like you could though, if you wanted, have an offline vacation anywhere. I know people who go camping and turn their phones off the entire time until they return.
- yosito 4y agoThat's why I said transatlantic cruises. And yes, I could, if I want to isolate myself and treat my vacation like a punishment, but I still like to socialize and engage with the world around me on vacation, so it's nice to live in a world where there are a lot of people and events and no one is online nor expecting you to be.
- radicaldreamer 4y agoLock your phone away in the hotel safe, put it on airplane mode, or just leave it in your bag. Connectivity is going to be available anywhere, but you still control your own utilization of it.
- drstewart 4y agoWhile partially true, that won't be the case for most people. And that can change your experience in a way you can't control (think of people at a concert filming the entire thing on their phone, or even everyone sitting around a dinner table on their phones).
- bawolff 4y ago> or even everyone sitting around a dinner table on their phones I mean, you can find people who share your convictions.
- drstewart 4y agoI mean, you can live in reality where no one is going to dump friends who use phones
- bawolff 4y agoSure, but people should either decide to be ok with their friends using phones or get friends who also dont use phones. The middle ground of having friends who use phones but hating them for it is stupid.
- GrinningFool 4y agoOr you can just ask that folks agree to keep their phones away for the duration. There may be less pushback than you expect.
- xwdv 4y agoIt’s not the same. Similar to how you can’t just stay off social media to avoid the influence of social media. The entire world has changed, and people behave differently because they are on social media. And their behavior affects you and the ambiance of places you go to.
- FredPret 4y agoMaybe you should take up caving!
- quickthrower2 4y agoWhat if they fine (sorry charge) you $1 / Mb to use it?
- yosito 4y agoPerfect! But as Starlink becomes more common, I expect the costs to go down.
- quickthrower2 4y agoLike prison phone calls?
- jasonwatkinspdx 4y agoShould we hold back the progress of the world, including something that's literally lifesaving in remote areas, because you don't have enough discipline to use a power button? I am very, very, sick of this purely self aggrandizing "tragedy."
- 1123581321 4y agoTry to see both sides of this rather than assuming no utility to the world from people intentionally entering an Internet-free zone for several days. As we enter the era of increased satellite connectivity, it makes sense that some cruises would offer no Internet access to passengers as a perk. That would have nothing to do with the crew having access.
- jasonwatkinspdx 4y agoHow did I assume that? It's identical to just handing your phone to someone with more willpower than you. Or shocker: you could just leave your phone at home when you go on your trip. JFC why do people have to magnify this into something when it's literally nothing? Edit: comment above made a stealth edit where my comment now appears disjoint. I'll leave my comment as is other than this warning.
- mlyle 4y ago> It's identical to just handing your phone to someone with more willpower than you. It's not identical because the rest of the people surrounding you aren't in a low-internet or no-internet bubble. I love the internet. I also like to unplug, and it's really annoying to unplug and then have a few people not bought into the idea around you.
- jasonwatkinspdx 4y agoSo go on a cruise where that's the prearranged theme. Like seriously, there is no problem here, no tragedy. When I hear what you're saying it's roughly equivalent to "I wish I could go out to bars and talk to people who don't have TV" about 2 decades ago. It's preposterous to assert this is some big deal, or that you don't have your own agency to create an unplugged environment with like minded people if you like.
- striketheviol 4y agoThere are still a number of developing African countries which can offer you what you're looking for: https://www.statista.com/statistics/725778/countries-with-the-lowest-internet-penetration-rate/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/725778/countries-with-th... If you're looking for a more familiar environment, small-town Montana will probably still suit you: https://getinternet.com/which-states-have-best-worst-internet/ https://getinternet.com/which-states-have-best-worst-interne... https://broadbandnow.com/research/best-states-with-internet-coverage-and-speed https://broadbandnow.com/research/best-states-with-internet-...
- yosito 4y agoI specified developed places. I want offline spaces, not places lacking basic necessities.
- striketheviol 4y agoA spot like https://www.hotels.com/ho1182686048/maisons-d-hotes-laguiri-maoueni-comoros/ https://www.hotels.com/ho1182686048/maisons-d-hotes-laguiri-... is staggeringly affordable, with neither wifi, nor consistent mobile reception anywhere nearby, but abundant food, water and space.
- striketheviol 4y agoThere is also the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Quiet_Zone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Q... https://wgme.com/news/nation-world/full-measure-the-no-fi-zone https://wgme.com/news/nation-world/full-measure-the-no-fi-zo...
- Cipater 4y agoYour Statista link doesn't show any data. It says that one needs to pay for their premium product to see the stats.
- striketheviol 4y agoHmm, worked for me. The World Bank data is also up to date: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?locations=KM https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?location...
- tenpies 4y agoNot sure if you're religious or interested in certain spiritual practices, but almost all organized religions have silent retreats. No phones allowed and talking is only allowed in specific contexts or times. I aim to do this once per quarter. Do your due diligence though because "silent" has quite the range.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- jesterson 4y agoNothing stops from using it, isn't it? I love cruises and do it a lot. Never use internet on it, unless it was absolutely necessary.
- ecpottinger 4y agoI go on cruises with my computer full of videos. I will relax on deck while watching a movie (usually something funny) and time and time have someone how I get should good internet streaming. Then I get weird looks because I say I have no internet access, too many people do not even know that they so not need the internet to use their machines. Worse, my single most important use of the computer I take is the deck plans of the ship I am on, it is invincible the amount of details you can find if you download the right plans. I find all the places onboard that often many cruisers do not know are there.
- bmicraft 4y agoSounds interesting, what sort of places have you found?
- Kneecaps07 4y agoYou could just not purchase the internet package?
- legohead 4y agoOne of my favorite experiences was sitting on the balcony of a cruise ship, watching the ocean go by, with my laptop on my lap. I really wanted to live and work like that for a while. Of course, I can't afford it, and the internet was barely able to pull up sites like HN. But the internet is part of how I relax and connect to people.
- chouchinhua 4y agoI see your pain. That's why I posted a related startup idea here recently. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32493174 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32493174 It's basically a villa / meditation center without internet connection. One interesting sample is in UK. https://unplugged.rest/ https://unplugged.rest/ Regarding travel, Eric Schmidt had an interesting story. I think he spoke on Tim Ferriss's podcast that once he was on a business trip to North Korea with a group of people. Before boarding the plane, he was instructed by homeland security people to not bring in any connected devices, including phones. So everyone in the group went in without smartphones. For the next 2 weeks "everyone in the group became best friends" and they "had so much fun and many interesting conversations." (I'm paraphrasing) But once they return to airport and got their phones back, "we all immediately sunk into our phones and stopped talking to each other." Maybe your best bet is North Korea? Seriously though, I think more and more people will see the benefit of occasionally entering into an "internet free" zone, by themselves or in groups. Preferably the zone is designed specifically for offline experience, not an augmented one relying on the guest's own "will power" to resist the pressure of internet.