Wi-Fi Diet Day 2: Not finding a gas station

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012 Zoe Paknad, Program Mgr

It seems that I have finally hit some of the biggest obstacles in my challenge to use only Wi-Fi and eliminate cellular data usage for a week.

As usual, I left my home in the morning in a hurry, with the overwhelming feeling that I was forgetting something. I hopped in my car and got on the freeway, and about halfway to work, realized what I had forgotten—my gas tank was completely empty. No matter, I thought, I’ll just find the nearest gas station.

At best, I have a general understanding of the area between where I live and where I work. I am limited to recognizing the buildings that I pass on the freeway each day.  So I pulled off the freeway and did what any Silicon Valley girl would do: I “googled” the phrase “nearest gas station”, and waited for Google to pull up an interactive map that would drop a pin on my location and the locations of the nearest gas stations. Alas, Google could not process my request. My empty gas tank wasn’t the only thing I’d forgotten about this morning– I had also forgotten my Wi-Fi diet.

Without internet connection, I was forced to do something that many people of my generation have never had to do—drive around and physically look for a location as opposed to mapping it on my phone. Blaming my poor directional skills on my lack of modern technology, I accepted defeat and decided that I’d risk it and try and make it to work, where I’d use the Wi-Fi to locate a gas station on my map in advance and stop by it on the way home.

This story in the larger scheme of things is strikingly unimportant. We can live without our phones. If I had searched for a gas station for ten more minutes, I almost certainly would have been able to find one. It’s not a question of whether or not Chris and I can survive this Wi-Fi diet, but more a battle of willpower. It was easier and faster for me to search for a gas station on my phone and have my GPS direct me there, than it was to just look. Being constantly connected via my phone doesn’t just enable me to be lazy; it validates my laziness.

Unlike a real crash diet or trendy juice cleanse, I think I actually stand a chance on the Wi-Fi diet. Sure. I am addicted to having a constant connection (Don’t believe me? Check out the picture of my usage meter from yesterday, July 10^th. I had such a craving for data that I used more Wi-Fi than my past Wi-Fi and cellular usage combined, coming in at almost 80 Megabytes in one day, my personal record. To put that in perspective, if I had been traveling and had used that much cellular data under my current plan, it’d have run me about $1,600 for one day of usage).

I am always on my phone, involved in social media and checking email. But I have so many advantages with the Wi-Fi diet that I have no reason not to succeed. I am lucky enough to have strong Wi-Fi both at home and at work, and of course, I am running the iPass Open Mobile Client on my phone.

Can I complete my Wi-Fi diet and finish out the week using only Wi-Fi? I think so. But between you and me, I can’t wait until Friday after work when I can turn my phone off Airplane Mode and bask in my constant connection.

Tags: wi-fi access