World, Writing, Wealth discussion
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Time on the internet: well spent or badly wasted?
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Well I feel I enjoy talking to my virtual friends a lot more than those I see face to face.
It's a matter of time management. Seriously, I watch the clock. It's fun to be online and amazing how much time can spent, but it does take away from writing, so I limit the time and confine it to what is most interesting.
I try to limit myself, like my parents used to limit the time I spent watching TV, to about 2 hours a day, unless there is something specific I need to do, like sending out a CV or responding to someone's e-mail. I don't always manage that, because I like to listen to music, and most of my music is on my computer, which often leads to me opening up the computer, hitting 'play', and then leaving it in some far, inaccessible corner of the room...I'm sure it's different for some people, but it's very difficult for me to concentrate and focus online. I couldn't read a novel online, for example. I'll even be typing a short response like this, and next thing I know I'll have four tabs open for no particular reason. It's disgusting. I don't think that's good for writing or human relationships in general. The way I've started to think about it is that just as some people can't have just 2 or 3 drinks, others can't go online "just" to type an e-mail or look something up.
I'm on my computer constantly. It never ceases to amaze me how much knowledge is at my fingertips. I love information and now that I'm an author research is even more important for me. Every now and again I'll read or watch something entertaining online but not very often. As a confirmed geek, I'd much rather be learning something new. The internet is great!
Useful, but I have to eb carefully it gets out of hand and I don't do enough of what i am supposed to be doing.
This is my only social networking site, so at some point I will have to work hard at networking once my book comes out, if ever lol. I would always rather be reading or writing than being on the net, but that's not always possible with a 2 and 4 year old running around.
I always do a lot of research for my ebooks, and the Internet is a precious tool for me. One specific tool on the Internet that I found extremely useful is Google Earth. With it, you can visually research and examine any point of the globe in great detail. For example, when I was writing a spy novel where the action was in Spain, I was able to use Google Earth to detail a small port, choose which warehouse would contain the goods (weapons) and find how many lights there were around the warehouse, along with the location of the various doors, and this without the need to visit Spain for my book. With its 'Streetview' feature, Google Earth will even give you a ground level view of a specific location, from all around if need be. How can you beat that as a research tool?
Michel wrote: "I always do a lot of research for my ebooks, and the Internet is a precious tool for me. One specific tool on the Internet that I found extremely useful is Google Earth. With it, you can visually r..."Sweet
Mehreen wrote: "Well I feel I enjoy talking to my virtual friends a lot more than those I see face to face."M.L. Roberts wrote: "It's a matter of time management. Seriously, I watch the clock. It's fun to be online and amazing how much time can spent, but it does take away from writing, so I limit the time and confine it to ..."
Ian wrote: "Useful, but I have to eb carefully it gets out of hand and I don't do enough of what i am supposed to be doing."
IKR. goodreads can be so distracting. ^_-
Alex G wrote: "Mehreen wrote: "Well I feel I enjoy talking to my virtual friends a lot more than those I see face to face."M.L. Roberts wrote: "It's a matter of time management. Seriously, I watch the clock. It..."
Yeah but enjoyable.
I would like to modify the question slightly by not considering business, such as if you are an author, loading or marketing books, or ordering covers, etc, and I would like to remove research.Now, the modified question is, is the rest of the time sent on the internet well spent of partly wasted? I will confess that I enjoy some of the activities such as these posts on GR, but sometimes I think I do spend too much time on this sort of thing at the expense of something more productive.
Ian wrote: "I would like to modify the question slightly by not considering business, such as if you are an author, loading or marketing books, or ordering covers, etc, and I would like to remove research.No..."
Yeah I think spending too much time sometimes takes time out of writing.
Good discussion thread. Here's my two cents (quarters, silver dollars?): I don't travel as much as I used to, so the internet allows me to have long-distance friends I can chat with often, many here on Goodreads, of course, but also Facebook and via blogs they run. Putting content onto my FB page and my own website's blog (op-ed about current events and writing topics, book and movie reviews, and author interviews) has become fun and just part of my writing life. Maybe it's the blarney in me?The business end can be a bit annoying and I don't do it well, but most of that would also be impossible without the internet. The old-fashioned tactics of book fairs, book signings, and personal appearances help only in a limited fashion these days.
r/Steve
I'd like to add, that any time I spend on the internet is not wasted, but is very time-consuming. When I log on with the purpose of writing, I get side-tracked with time spent in Goodreads or the occasional shopping. By the time I'm done interacting in the forums, OMG, where did the time go?Like right now, I'm supposed to be working on my blurbs and books, but what am I doing?
And also, when my internet goes down, I don't know about everyone else, but I feel lost. What in the world did I do before internet?
Nik wrote: "So, a waste or a gain?"Probably both. For me, I spend too much time trying to promote my work, but if I didn't I would get nowhere. It is great for research. For scientific facts, provided the fact came out following 1990, you can get access very quickly, although wading through the dross served up by Google is depressing. One recent and bad development is if you want to know something about something, Google emphasises selling it. Recently, for doing my tax return, I wanted to know the currency values on March 31 (the end of the NZ tax year for most) and Google wasted about 3/4 of an hour with links that sent me to more links that ended up with currency traders wanting to trade. Last year it was easy. So time wasting is increasing. Thank you, Google.
I'm doing some work on my house, and the Internet is very helpful, especially YouTube. You can find a video about just about anything you want to do and become something of an expert if you're willing to put in the time. Come across an unfamiliar word? Definitions and examples in context are at your fingertips. I remember having to spend hours in the library searching for the information I needed: now, I find what I want in seconds. Miraculous, really. So, time on the Internet for me is well spent. This is the only social site I use, and that's about once a week. I consider that time well spent, too, as I learn something every time I'm here.
This is an interesting topic! :-)Pros a/k/a Gain:
The internet has become a tool for everything we want to know without leaving the comfort of our homes. It connects us not only to information that we seek, but it connects us to loved ones and/or friends that we do not see on a daily basis.
Cons a/k/a Waste:
The bad thing about the internet is that time can slip away from us and things do not get done. It is so easy to get caught up on "surfing" the net that we just let everything else go.
On the other hand, it detracts from writing or doing something immediately rewarding.
So what would be the right proportion, if there is such a thing?