Jake “Topiary” Davis, the mastermind behind some of 2011’s crazy internet assaults, is out on bail with one obvious condition: no internet. Now, 12 months later, he’s detailed his experience and his new internet-free life in a piece for The Guardian.
It must have been a massive change of pace to go from running a frenetic, overactive hacking group to not being able to touch the internet at all. But Davis says the change has been good for him. He writes in The Guardian:
…I can confidently say that a permanent lack of internet has made me a more fulfilled individual. And as one of many kids glued to their screens every day, I would never before have imagined myself even thinking those words. Before, the idea of no internet was inconceivable, but now — not to sound as though it’s some kind of childish and predictable revelation spawned as a result of going cold turkey — I look back on the transcripts of my online chats (produced as legal evidence in my case, in great numbers) and wonder what all the fuss was about.
That’s not to say the total depravation has been easy. He also mentions being annoyed at not being able to search for things on Google, as well as admitting that life is a little more boring without the internet. It’s interesting to hear the thoughts of someone who was once practically grafted to the internet but is now completely detached from it. You can read Davis’s entire article over at The Guardian. [The Guardian]