Casual Conversation

First, if you're in an area where a government deems as needed internet shutdowns, I think entertainment addiction will be the last of your concerns.

Now, if services go down for another reason, like a very bad storm, a car hitting where cables pass, a DNS server blowing up, etc., but in all cases if energy is still active, I strongly suggest that you preemptively go DRM free digital, DRM free physical and/or physical with local DRM check (e.g. DOS and earlier Windows games).

At least legit and digital, games and music are the easier to find, books and comics are a mixed bag, movies and series are rare, and trying to remember if there are any groups I missed.

As for physical, if/as you start collecting, I suggest you also buy hardware that can back them up, in cases it's possible.

Though for both native digital and physical back ups, both will be taking an horrid amount of storage, specially if you apply redundancy, so also consider buying external HDDs.

And regarding social interactions, maybe buy a set of walkie-talkie radios or similar to keep between you and your local friends? Some form of LAN communication might be possible too.

I mean I'm a book hoarder 🏴‍☠️. If the internet goes down, I have literally thousands of pages of books stored on my cellphone. Like as long as I have access to a USB power supply I'm good forever 😆

I realize I kinda have an internet addiction problem

We know. It's OK. We do to.

like entertainment-wise…

I think in Iranian case entertainment may not be their main concern at the moment.

But as far as I' concerned most of my 'leisure' are offline/analog: reading (print books, magazines & newspapers), sketching, listening to music (CD, downloaded files) and watching DVD. Most of my other activities are offline too, I even write longhand before I even consider powering on a computer for the final edits/revisions.

The one game I regularly play is chess and I prefer playing it offline and against people IRL if I have the option. I willplay against a chess engine on occasions, but I don't need to play it online. Heck, I even carry an old 1988 pocket computer chessboard. The onboard engine is weaker than weak compared to even, the worst modern chess engine but why should I care? I mean, I'm no Magnus Karlsen or Kasparov ;)

I feel like a drug addict lol…

I can't tell if you are addicted but what I can tell is that, a few years ago, upon realizing how heavily I was relying on online services and tech I decided it was essential to move back offline (and to analog/low-tech) as much of my activities as I was able to, and at the very least to not GAFAM-controled services and tools. That was a huge factor in me moving back to low-tech, even more so when combined with my growing concern with the many attempts that were and are still made to spread that erosion of our user rights toward our citizen rights (like ending any right to encryption and privacy, for example). If I can't trust tech, I will do my best to not rely on it and to not use it.

Switch to physical media. Buy books, DVDs/blu-rays, download media and store it on a physical storage device. Stop relying on subscriptions to companies that don't allow you to own your media.

Your post really made me think. We actually had a small taste of this in my household a while back.

In my village, our internet cable is tied to the electric poles. One day, the electricity company took down an old pole to put up a new one. They didn't reconnect our cable; they just left it lying in a field. I didn't even know it was there. Months later, a farmer cutting grass with his tractor accidentally sliced right through the cable on a Saturday. When I called for help, the company told me they couldn't come until Monday.

Suddenly, our house was very quiet. No scrolling, no movies, no gaming (steam) no streaming, no quick searches, no podcasts. That first evening felt strange and empty. We didn't know what to do with ourselves. We slpet before 22:00.

But the next morning, we all found other ways to fill the time. My mother went back to her garden. My father rested more. My brother met up with friends to play cricket, cinema. And I started reading my brother's old books - real books made of paper, which I hadn't done in years. It was only for a one day, and it was inconvenient. But it also reminded me that there's a different pace to life without that constant connection. It was hard at first, but also a little peaceful. We managed, and in a way, it was good for us.

Your post made me remember that time. It's funny how something so frustrating can also teach you something. Btw i prepared for next disconnection. ,

I started getting into Meshtastic recently. It creates a p2p mesh network with other Meshtastic devices and you can send text messages through them. It seems good to have in case of emergencies/disasters.

Also, I recently discovered Bitchat. It seems similar to Meshtastic, but works over Bluetooth, so much shorter range. Might be useful in crowds or apartments though.

If you can find a way to disconnect from the Internet for several days, you might really appreciate the experience. Maybe a camping trip, or some sort of vacation like a cruise.

The first day or two might be a bit rough (it really is like an addiction), but once you get through that part, it's amazing — in my own experience, anyway. It's like all anxiety just melts away. You literally can't worry about anything that would require Internet access to find out about.

Haven't to me in Sudan for a me, and yes it is an addiction, but you do cope, its just you keep reaching for the phone, sometimes without realizing it.

Also it's fucking boring

I’m not bored without internet. Certain reference information and current events are an issue though

The library is a good option where I am. No shortage of manga there. I think I’d be fine, but I grew up before using the internet for every form of entertainment. I still have a cd book.

Anyway I think it’s not bad to learn different ways to enjoy life. Read books, search for and buy music and movies/tv in different formats, board games, hobbies including the arts, leaving the house for a while…I do recommend it.

I think I'd be fine, I have a massive offline media library on my Jellyfin, endless game backlog, meme folders spanning content since 2014, YT videos from my favourites playlist (like 2k of them), endless projects to take on, and I have an offline backup of Wikipedia (both as kiwi reader and official tar with the offset file iirc) so if I need to look anything up I can do that there. Last time my ISP's BGP shat the bed I just had a really chill day reading, chatting with my gf and playing some games during the workday, then making some music and portscanning my ISP's upstream gateway (only thing I could actually reach lol). I loved it, and frankly even during power outages I'm very good at keeping myself entertained even without all that. I also have some Roland boutique synths that are battery powered so I could always just make my own music if I was really desperate for some entertainment and things got apocalyptic.

I also have dozens of books, manga volumes and more I've been meaning to read, lots of physical cassettes and a late 90s cheapo walkman to listen to them on to and some charged batteries I'm always able to throw in the walkman there.

Not meant as a flex, but more as a comparison for what solutions I have and a demonstration of what someone without an internet addiction of any kind might do if the internet went down.

I am an actual drug addict though (I have ADHD and receive a medication on prescription via the govt health service), because of amerikkkan pharma kkkartel rules I can't build up a stash, only 30 capsules per month, only one month at a time, so I'd need to switch to my backup DNM amph to tie me over, though amph w/ds are very chill, you just feel stupid and sleepy for like a week or so. Procuring nicotine and estrogen might be more problematic though.

I don't care, I just do other things. My bf is miserable and will just go to bed, usually.

Legit, find what you like to read. Go strait for the stuff people talk about most like Tolkien, Herbert, or Asimov.