A flight without entertainment and internet
Throw back to the old days of travelling by plane, when there were no personal televisions (PTVs) installed in every seat.
I remember I always longed for inflight entertainment, but since PTV has become a standard I no longer use it even on any long-haul flight.
Maybe we already have smartphones and even iPad, in which our own personal entertainment systems like MUBI, Netflix, Apple Music, Spotify... are already in the palm of our hands. We can have it anytime anywhere before getting on the plane.
Of course some people still find the inflight entertainment valuable especially when they don't subscribe streaming services. Content curation (with exclusive movies and programs that you can't watch online) is another reason why this service is still valuable for some passengers despite having their own devices.
How about free unlimited internet?
Onboard Wi-Fi used to be expensive, slow and limited with text only, but [some airlines have started rolling out the free high-speed internet](https://www.airbaltic.com/en/extra-services/fast-and-free-internet-on-board) to all passengers. So there will be no excuse to disconnect, isn’t it?
Technological development is inevitable, and network effect is a serious issue so we have to learn to reject if we don’t want to use, and set our own boundaries. Technology should be treated as more options that we can choose when/what to use or when/what to NOT use, not a game changer that everyone should follow.
Inflight connections will bring some benefits. 8 years ago when I was back to Hong Kong from Stockholm, I decided to use the internet onboard to text my parents that my flight would be diverted to Taiwan due to the typhoon hitting Hong Kong. Think if MH370 had free internet we might have some clues of what happened.
Don’t forget we have choice: don’t let technology replace offline lifestyle, and we can have both.
I hope airlines will be like Korean Air almost two decades ago establishing inflight library (see the picture below) to remind us of the choice to be offline enjoying the books and the beautiful sky from the window, although we can also provide ebooks and e-magazines through apps installed on our devices.
