Culture, Events, Pulp Media, Society
by Joe Wilcox

Take the Pledge and Stay Off the Internet This Saturday

You spend too much time online. Take a break from the Net on November 14th. Show us all that you aren’t a connected device junkie—that you can step out into the real world and enjoy fresh air and sun, and prove your ability to talk to real people face to face (pack the breath mints!).

Aren’t your thumbs tired from texting and Facebook Liking? Don’t your eyes need a break from squinting at flat-screens? If you must stare at a screen, make it a big one—catch an early matinee. Take the pledge to give up the Internet for one hour. You could even go 90 minutes. Turn off the PC, smartphone, or tablet. Join others taking the challenge. Let’s everyone start at 8:45 a.m. PST and commit to staying offline until 9:45, or later. You’ll feel better for it. 

While you’re out experiencing the real 3-dimensional world, not that which is simulated by cheeky computing interfaces, I will think fondly of you and offer silent thanks. San Diego Comic-Con preregistration starts at 9 a.m. PST on Saturday, and your absence will increase my chances of snagging one of the limited passes.

Last year, Comic-Con didn’t validate my press status, and for the first year in seven, I stood in the virtual line like everybody else. I don’t mind paying to attend, just to be assured attendance. I was lucky to get a four-day plus Preview Night pass during SDCC 2015 early registration. Nothing is guaranteed for 2016. I have submitted verification documents for press participation, but being ignored this year makes me nervous about next.

So, please, take the no-Internet Saturday pledge. Be one of the few, the brave, the foolish, who abandon any chance of snagging a Comic-Con pass and increase my chances to attend. I don’t go there for myself. I’m not much of a comic book fan. But I do chronicle every Con. Some years by video, others by photos, and from 2013 I wrote ebook Comic-Con Heroes: The Fans Who Make the Greatest Show on Earth, which released into the public domain as SDCC 2015 started.

Not to tempt you to try and get a coveted pass, but here’s a taste of the Con from my Flickr albums:

And my ramblings during this year’s mayhem:

Now do you understand the importance of staying off the Internet and resisting the pull of my photos and posts to try for your own Comic-Con 2016 pass? Trust me, the anxiety takes years off your life. Your fingers will blister, or bleed, from pounding keys in desperation to get into the waiting room to maybe win the privilege paying out hundreds of bucks. Take the pledge instead. Get offline, and let me stress and suffer in your stead.