One year, no internet- what’s reasonable?

It's an interesting concept. Clearly, you shouldn't use the internet at all. There's no point in writing this book if you're going to cheat.

However, you have no way of proving that you have done that. As a reader, I would probably assume you had said one thing and done another, so I wouldn't want to pay much money for the book.

There are plenty of people, particularly the very elderly,for whom this is simply how they live.

Only interesting thing about it would be a younger person's perspective and suddenly realisation about just how excluded (and borderline discriminated against) people who cannot / will not use the Internet are.

And just where did she get the phone number from?? no yellow pages anymore (not here at least).

it is impossible to function now without the internet. Too many things cannot be done off line.

@Mustlovebronte Sorry I'd rather watch paint dry than read about this. And doubly so if you're not actually doing it properly. Going internet free means just that, not 'once' a day or only for xyz or asking a friend to do something for you,

What you are suggesting is using an internet-connected device to take messages sent across the internet and printing them out. That is not abandoning the internet.

I think this sounds interesting, and providing you have an engaging writing style, this is something I would read.

It would be very, very difficult to manage without a phone, though! Not a mobile - I don't feel OP should use one at all but, if she does, it ought to be one that only does phone calls (they're still made, and very cheap). Landlines may be running on the internet now, but a house phone is a house phone however the service is delivered.

And faxes! I was looking at some that can deliver to the recipient's computer, but didn't bother checking up whether they have to be running some special software - come to think of it, they would. So forget faxes 🤷‍♀️

Turnip I'm not sure what you are getting at, I'm quite long in the tooth and the internet was very much in its infancy; very few people had a personal computer let alone a mobile phone (and definitely no smart phones) when I started driving, so you either rang different companies, made notes, and then rang back the company you decided to buy insurance from OR you used an insurance broker, who you could phone or book an appointment and see them in person. I mean obviously you can still phone up some companies and get quotes, but given how long the telequeues are, I think OP would spend hours of time on the phone, which presumably would have to be a landline, as WiFi calling is still using the internet (If the OP wants to be completely offline).
Nb when I phoned one company for a quote (can't remember which one as it was a couple of years ago, I was told a quote could only be done online, I think it was at that point I came kicking and screaming out of the internet 'dark ages' and finally got online most things, having resisted for many more years than most; it just got to the point where it became overly time consuming and difficult to do things 'the old fashioned way!'. I still have no social media (apart from mumsnet). I know some friends get really frustrated that I took myself off WhatsApp as it means they have to text me. But the constant pinging did my head in. I've also avoided having a website for my buisness, although finally conceded I probably should have one if I want the business to grow.

The general timbre of these replies shows why I think it would be interesting, if OP's a good storyteller. Since I am as old as that mouldy thing over there, more of my life has been lived without internet-enabled tech than with it. Sure, it's completely taken me over now, but I know how to do all the things without it.

It's more effort, basically, and slower. Some things that were useful have gone - phone directories and payphones; teletext; high street banks; ticket offices; classified ads; probably a few more. But it's perfectly do-able. People still use noticeboards, there are still advertisements, maps still exist. The interesting aspect will be how it affects the writer, the changes she makes, and whether it alters her relationships both personal and business.

Do we need a middle class writer to tell us how hard it was for them without Mumsnet and Ocado deliveries when there are people who are genuinely excluded and experience real problems that can't be solved by just putting their iPhone back on charge?

Well using the internet at all would be cheating so posting on here would be the same

Heaps of people have done it even post on the internet at the same time as 'not using the internet' so what is the point?

But no one needs permission to do it

As other have said there are two options for your proposal.

1. Giving up social media - closer to your comparison to ultra processed people, could be of interest in terms of impact on comparisons and self esteem but probably harder to gather interest in (we know it isn't good for us already). The infiltration of AI into these areas would be an interesting tangent.
2. Giving up the Internet (no emails or whatsapp). Unlike previous posters, I don't think it is just going back to how we lived 50 years ago, as so many areas expect you to use the Internet. Could be an interesting piece on digital inclusion/exclusion, and the challenges of going without all the handy tools we have. E.g. in the last to order a takeaway I would have looked in the phone book, no I would be reliant on a leaflet being delivered or walking over to them to get the number. Would be interesting to have snippets from other with no or limited access (e.g. doing job applications at the library) and reflections on changes in habits (would you really have more time for hobbies, be more productive, have a longer attention span, spend money less impulsively?).

@TunipTheVegimal24 re insurance we went through a broker , in an insurance office and they then found you the best option .

The conceit isn't that you live like a hermit. It's that you don't use the internet. What I suggested is essentially a way to convert emails to letters, but it doesn't do the reverse. You'd still have to write or phone in order to reply.

If you really wanted to be a purist about it then you wouldn't be able to use a landline phone either. BT have been converting the landline network to run over the internet for years, and that work is nearly complete.

I’d struggle to even find phone numbers for places without the internet let alone medical appointments , household accounts , travel insurance etc

How DID people get insurance quotes before the internet?? Smartphones were commonplace by the time I had my first car. Ring them up maybe? Presumably they had people on the phones in the past then? How did the people the other end know what deals they could give you...? 🤯

So much is now done online that I really don't think we can put the genie back in the lamp, unless there is some kind of cataclysmic event. Pretty much all bank stuff is online, especially given the amount of bank closures. Do you shop around for insurance quotes? How do you propose to do that without the internet?
Unless you have an active community and get trades in by word of mouth how will you check reviews if you need some work doing?
If it's just social media, I don't think you'd get a wide enough audience. If you were totally offline, I'd definitely be interested, because unless you live completely off grid, I'm not sure how easy it would be to just be offline, but if you looked at your emails, then i'd consider that cheating!

If you're an engaging writer with plenty of 'emotional honesty' and a good instinct for what people love to hear, it could be a goer. I mean, one of the all-time blockbusters is a guy moving to the South of France and being constantly surprised by how French it is 😂

There are still quite a lot of people living off-grid in the UK, never mind the one-third of the world that still has no connectivity (or only 2G mobile). You'll have to do it for real - unlike Hari - or they'll all be out writing proper letters to the papers, which they read in physical form. There will be some challenges. Have you even got a cheque book, for instance? I reckon you could do telephone payments - if you can still get a landline (or buy a satphone??) and you can use your bank cards, as the shop's using the internet but you aren't.

I've been thinking lately that I ought to go back to writing letters by hand, on paper. You're post's raised my enthusiasm - I might make it a NY resolution!

Yes, totally offline (sorry!). The Super Size and Super Slim me people went all out and committed, which is what made it interesting. If the Super Size guy had a homecooked meal, instead of McDonald's, when it was more convenient, you wouldn't be able to see how the effects on his body were exclusively coming from the fast food. So in your case, say your mental health would be improved by being offline (for example), you might not experience this, if you're still looking at emails. So your findings would be "invalid", as much as an anecdotal experiment could be valid or invalid.

You’ve got to do it completely or what’s the point? Can we live in 2025 as a working member of society without using the internet? I’d be surprised if you could do it so if you did manage it then I’d read your book. But if you are checking emails every day - nope. No interest from me.

You will spend half the time trying to find ways to do the things you use the internet for, instead of in writing this book.

And of course you can't check emails or WhatsApp if you're offline, so you'd need to ask all your clients to call you instead. You wouldn't be able to send clients contracts or invoices by email, they would have to go by snail mail, which would eventually cause cash flow issues.

Have you thought this idea through properly???

It would be easy for the writer to fall into the trap of cliches. You do see articles where journalists have given up their smartphone for a week, or stayed off all social media, and frankly, if you've read one, you've read them all. OP could really do with some kind of 'angle' for her project.

The irony if your book becomes available as an e-book or downloadable audiobook.

No, that's obviously cheating. The conceit is, you make no use of the internet. The problems it causes you are the meat of the book

The answer is, it depends.

If you write an interesting book, it's a good idea. If you write a tedious book, it's a bad idea.

There's nothing intrinsically good or bad about your idea as such, although if you do it you need to commit to it 100% or what's the point. The fact that you didn't realise that doesn't make me confident about your instincts to write a good book.

You need it for bank accounts, for benefits, for tax, for shopping, for taking cash out, for getting the lower prices at the supermarket, for booking doctor's appointments, paying for prescriptions, for getting test results, for work, for leisure.

Some of those would depend on whether you 'count' a third party using the internet to facilitate you using a manual service. E.g.

Withdrawing cash over the counter in the bank (where the bank will be using the internet to provide that service).

Shopping - if you count the shop's till using the internet.

Doctor's appointments - can book by phone but will go on online system.

Prescriptions - can get a paper one and pay cash, but see tills above.

How far do you take it? Say you said you'd only shop in markets where the cash gets shoved in a cash bag rather than put through a till - but somewhere in the supply chain and accounting chain, the internet will be involved.

To be completely free of the internet you'd probably have to be self-sufficient or join a self-sufficient commune.