The internet

[Drinkthekoolaid]

What would happen if the internet broke or was hacked?

Have you ever thought about it or considered it? All jokes aside about life being better without snap chat or Facebook...it would be an honest disaster.

As best as I can tell after putting thought into it there would be significant effects on our daily lives . I worry most about an EMP or major solar flare but losing the internet for an extended period of time would have many of the same end results which is unsettling.


Banking and financial transactions would cease.

Supply chains would be severely interrupted, trucks, airplanes and railroads would not get dispatched.

Store resupply would stop

Welfare and public assistance would stop

Utilities may stop or run out of resources they need to operate

Hospitals would run out of resources

Has stations would possibly run out of fuel with no resupply

Etc ...


Not good.

I have no idea how vulnerable the internet is, but losing it would create a shitstorm

 

[GOYABEAN]

Technology

 

[Toecutter]

Whole forests would be clear cut to keep up with porn magazine production.

 

[Magnus]

We’ve become so dependent on technology. Worst part of an EMP, would be all the GPS dependent people stopping you to ask directions.

 

[Mk44]

I don't use any of the social internet sites (FB SC twiter..) Never had any interest in them.
I grew up in a age w/o computers or any of this technology. I remember when we had only one black & white TV in the house & had to get up to change the TV channel by hand. Back then, there was only a rotary phones.
Yes, I'm old. I still carry and pay with cash (I'll use a C.C for a big purchase.) I don't use online banking.

With out technology? I'll get to spend more time outdoors (big game/ small game hunting & fishing.) Do some camping/ hiking. Or some wood working projects.
No technology?... Cashiers will have to learn how to count. People will have to go out and mingle in person. Ha
It's not so bad. I feel we have become too dependent on some of this technology where some people will be lost if it should go down.

When I stop at a traffic light and look around... Many other drivers are looking down at their little electronic device.
Imo, life was a lot more simple without some of this technology...

 

[freddy]

Whole forests would be clear cut to keep up with porn magazine production.

Ha ha! Good one!

 

[freddy]

Fuck the internet! It will go down as just a brief blip in the annals of history. A flash in the pan. Not a 'Modern Marvel', but rather a Momentary one.

And for certain, the loss of the internet will be the least of our concerns.

 

[Deplorable Me]

Tide Pod inventory in stores would go up.

 

[ProgSpear]

Tide Pod inventory in stores would go up.

I love serious answers to profound questions.

EDT: Also, people would be in better shape because they would have to turn their own pages in physical books.

 

[Deplorable Me]

I love serious answers to profound questions.

EDT: Also, people would be in better shape because they would have to turn their own pages in physical books.

If we were serious, they wouldn't be afraid of us. Keep em guessing.

 

[tirwin1]

It's an interesting question. What would happen if the internet and cell phone service died?

Both have gone from an occasional hobby to convenience to a necessity. All within the past 20 years. It's really rather remarkable the transformation this country has undergone. I work from home and don't have a land line. If both the internet and cell service went dark I would be out of a job and unable to call anyone to complain lol.

I agree with the OP losing the internet would be a disaster.

 

[Marine Cpl]

It's an interesting question. What would happen if the internet and cell phone service died?

Both have gone from an occasional hobby to convenience to a necessity. All within the past 20 years. It's really rather remarkable the transformation this country has undergone. I work from home and don't have a land line. If both the internet and cell service went dark I would be out of a job and unable to call anyone to complain lol.

I agree with the OP losing the internet would be a disaster.

Assuming in the hypothetical that the internet was gone for good, it would be a disaster for a few days only. Banks would just get cash deliveries. Creditors would send paper statements. You'll pay them with paper checks. Deliveries that normally go to stores will either deliver the same amount as last month or call or mail them asking for an order.

But in reality, the internet could never go away for good unless the power went away for good. That"s a different matter. 3/4's of the population would die if that happened.

 

[Darth]

Hand drawn memes again. :'(

 

[libertysnake]

Assuming in the hypothetical that the internet was gone for good, it would be a disaster for a few days only. Banks would just get cash deliveries. Creditors would send paper statements. You'll pay them with paper checks. Deliveries that normally go to stores will either deliver the same amount as last month or call or mail them asking for an order.

But in reality, the internet could never go away for good unless the power went away for good. That"s a different matter. 3/4's of the population would die if that happened.

With a distinct lack of printed media, I think we ALL know what will be most missed without the internet:

 

[Jackalope]

I don't see the internet or cell phones as a necessity. I have a couple of cell phones, and I can't remember when was the last time that I turned one of them on. Cell phone coverage in my AO is very spotty, so there's no dependence on them, they're a convenience, just like the internet. I'm guessing that the younger generation perceives the internet and cell phones to be a necessity, but it's important to realize that citizens survived without them for thousands of years. Yup, I'm a dinosaur who avoids social media, because I don't wish to give up my privacy. If the internet and cellphones disappeared tomorrow it wouldn't be a big deal for me. Time to go read a book...a real book not some file that's just bits and bytes.

 

[MoMan]

I'm old school like @mak00. When we got married we had a black and white 19" tv, with rabbit ears. We got 3 local channels, and if thing were going right you could pull in a channel or two from Canada. I can remember tuning the VHF dial to bring in WUTV out of G.I. We had rotary phones, big, heavy freakin' cars that sucked gas like a hog. Of course it helped that when I started driving gas was around .36/gal. Other than a couple of gun, and truck sites I really don't use the internet. I don't FB, twitter, or any of the other social media gigs.

It would probably take a couple of day, I'm thinking 2 or 3 for the business community to figure it our, and keep commerce moving. I'm sure there are contingency plans in place, at least I would expect there to be!!

 

[Jackalope]

WTF, why is this even under survival , prepping etc.? Only snowflakes and millennials NEED the internet. You can't survive without apps and social media? Over half the earth's population doesn't have access to the internet. Lack of internet is a first world problem.

 

[phatfarmerbob]

I would miss “googling random questions” and looking up recipes, load data, brew recipes, checking what all the Nygf fools are quibbling about, reading the uber Lyft thread, amazon prime, actually amazon anything. I ordered a item yesterday and it was here by noon today in a freeking snowstorm.

Netflix
Nutnfancy
King of random.

Butttt, I’m sure I would have gotten the February target challenge done.. wait that wouldn’t exist either.

Damn I’m putting my phone down now.

 

[Marine Cpl]

If it wasn't for the internet, people would think the .45 ACP was a man stopper.

 

[GOPerfect]

I will say this first and respond a bit deeper later.

If it weren't for the Internet, we would not be able to tell @Willjr75 how wrong he is about things as often as we do!

 

[Drinkthekoolaid]

WTF, why is this even under survival , prepping etc.? Only snowflakes and millennials NEED the internet. You can't survive without apps and social media? Over half the earth's population doesn't have access to the internet. Lack of internet is a first world problem.

Because you're missing the bigger picture.

Its not what the internet is, but what it allows and facilitates.

Without the internet society will go to hell. And it has nothing to do with losing social media .

Most people don't understand how dependent upon technology our way of life is.

Without the internet.... Banking stops. You only have the cash physically on you. Credit cards won't work.

Trucks will not get dispatched. Store shelves will not get restocked. The good supply chain will collapse. The medical shot chain will collapse. its all dependent up on the internet.

Gas stations will stop getting new deliveries and will run out of fuel.

Welfare payments stop.

Utilities (think power companies) will eventually most likely shut down if the outage is long enough.

Life will change in many ways most people are not expecting..

Etc..

 

[Jackalope]

Like I said, it would be a first world problem. Lots of countries function without a dependence upon the internet. It's a convenience, not a necessity. Yup, the just in time delivery system would be mucked up, so commerce and industry would need to drop down into a lower gear, and go manual. Yes, it would upset American society, and other first world nations, but the rest of the world, not so much. Folks are looking at the issue with an American-centric viewpoint, rather than a global overview. Yup, life in American cities would suck, but it wouldn't be the end of the world in rural areas.

I've visited third world nations, back in the bush, and many of those folks have never experienced the internet, so they wouldn't miss it. Whereas, a New York City urbanite panics when they can't find their smart phone and check their social media. Substitute an EMP strike for an internet outage and it would be a similar situation, though more encompassing. I think the biggest impact of the elimination of the internet would be the lack of instant communications. Look how the Arab Spring was coordinated through the internet, and then publicized by the mass media through the internet. Today, if a country wants to crack down on dissidents they turn off the internet. It's like a big hole in the Force, because outside countries can't determine what's going on, i.e., North Korea.

So yup, the internet is important, but not a necessity. I recommend that everyone take a weekend, turn off your cellphones, get away from the computer and enjoy life without the intrusion of the internet. Oh, and don't get me started about IOT...

 

[GOPerfect]

There is a very large picture to this. Most cannot see the trees through the forest.

The fact that everything is run through some sort of internet service.

This has very little to do with the lack of social media; hell that is one of the benefits of losing the internet. All those little turds would be lost and means less that some of us would have to take care of.

Food chains would come to a halt. Everything in the shipping world runs on line.

ATM's would be a thing of the past. Most Americans get there money through them. Even banks would be forced to close down, at least for quite some time. This is one reason that I have an ample supply of cash, coin and metal on hand in the home. (it is hidden, don't bother, you will find it)

Everyday life would be near destroyed!

 

[GOPerfect]

Like I said, it would be a first world problem. Lots of countries function without a dependence upon the internet. It's a convenience, not a necessity. Yup, the just in time delivery system would be mucked up, so commerce and industry would need to drop down into a lower gear, and go manual. Yes, it would upset American society, and other first world nations, but the rest of the world, not so much. Folks are looking at the issue with an American-centric viewpoint, rather than a global overview. Yup, life in American cities would suck, but it wouldn't be the end of the world in rural areas.

I've visited third world nations, back in the bush, and many of those folks have never experienced the internet, so they wouldn't miss it. Whereas, a New York City urbanite panics when they can't find their smart phone and check their social media. Substitute an EMP strike for an internet outage and it would be a similar situation, though more encompassing. I think the biggest impact of the elimination of the internet would be the lack of instant communications. Look how the Arab Spring was coordinated through the internet, and then publicized by the mass media through the internet. Today, if a country wants to crack down on dissidents they turn off the internet. It's like a big hole in the Force, because outside countries can't determine what's going on, i.e., North Korea.

So yup, the internet is important, but not a necessity. I recommend that everyone take a weekend, turn off your cellphones, get away from the computer and enjoy life without the intrusion of the internet. Oh, and don't get me started about IOT...

You cannot miss something that you never had,

 

[99cummins]

Welfare payments stop.

So there’s one for the pro column.

Society would eventually adapt back to how things were pre internet. Might be a bit rough until the dust settles.

 

[GOPerfect]

So there’s one for the pro column.

Society would eventually adapt back to how things were pre internet. Might be a bit rough until the dust settles.

Actually, that would/may be a very bad thing...

They have no money, they will attack. When they attack, they will come into all areas and take what they do not have. Could turn very bad!

 

[Acer-m14]

I still have a dial up modem here someplace and the software for a BBS .. i'm might have did that old gear out for a nygunsforum back up LOL ..
wounder if windows 10 can handle DOS LOL ..

 

[Marine Cpl]

I will say this first and respond a bit deeper later.

If it weren't for the Internet, we would not be able to tell @Willjr75 how wrong he is about things as often as we do!

 

[freddy]

Not upset at loss of internet:

 

[Phauxtoe]

i Hope for an EMP every day, think of all the new free time!