Well, my blog has been very quiet for a long time, and of course in the world of blogging and freelance writing that is not good, if you are not seen, or readers and social network contacts message you but you never answer, then you are soon forgotten .However, what do you do when you do not have access to a working computer?. Is it possible to live without one?

Jane Austen, The Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, and so many other greats of literature wrote with a feather!! I remember when I was at school , what a big deal it was to me when my teacher decided that I was ready to graduate from writing with a pencil , to writing with a pen , so why was it that I went to pieces without a working computer ?

This set me wondering…is it possible to live without being online? Certainly one friend of mine would say yes, she has never taken to the idea of a computer and never intends to try. However, it is not possible to be without one if you are one of the increasing numbers of people who make a living online, e.g., the freelance writer. You cannot write a blog post and earn money from it, or sell an article to an online article directory, if you cannot get online.

Even if not working online or planning to, the world of the job seeker has changed so much from the days when many could walk out of one job in their town and straight into another one, as many years ago people in my own town were able to boast. Jobs are not so easily found in the newspaper or on cards in shop windows either. More and more job seekers, even older ones who may ideally like to avoid technology, are having to get used to online resumes and CV’s , a job seekers profile and an account with online job boards such as Indeed, Monster and Total jobs …plus many, many more . Even the jobcentre now as good as forces benefit claimants to use the Universal job match board, that the claimants Jobcentre adviser can also log in to , to see if the claimant has applied for enough jobs and to post jobs there for them to apply for , with severe penalties if they do not , including benefit sanctions .

On a limited income, it is actually often cheaper to make any essential purchases, or get a deal for such things as utilities or a service contract for the boiler, online rather than in the stores. It is recognized these days that the best deals are online.

So, what do you do when the computer packs up and you cannot immediately afford another? …can you live without one?

It is said when weighing up the pros and cons of an argument, that one of the best ways to make a decision is to make a list of the pros and cons of your options. In the case of do you need a computer or not, the starting point is what do you use it for? I use mine for job hunting and looking for freelance opportunities certainly, and for word processing, most letters and certainly my CV’s and job applications. I use it for shopping, since it is cheaper to do a large shop online and have it delivered than it is to bring heavy, bulky shopping home in a mini-cab. I use the computer for making purchases such as the new laptop I am using to write this. I make many of the purchases that even I on a very limited income need to make, through an online fundraising site, enabling me to get donations from the cost of my purchase to a charity very dear to my heart

I read many books online and get a lot of them completely free as Amazon downloads, especially information books about such things as job hunting, social networking, making money from home and starting a home business. I get advice and current information on things that matter and are of interest to an older person with disabilities looking for work. Campaigning on social issues has become as much an online activity with the increasing reach of the internet, as going on marches.

It is not only children who use the computer to study, it is now possible to study online for a degree that you may well have missed out on earlier as well as many other , even free online courses .

Last but most certainly not least, is contact with my wonderful online friends, with whom I, somewhat isolated with health issues and financial limits, share so much and would not want to be without. Yes, remembering that I grew up in a home where we could not even afford a colour television, I am sure I could manage without a computer, but life is certainly much better and easier with one.