Imagine this:you wake up one day and find that you have no notifications on your phone. Odd. You turn on your computer and try to go on the Internet, read your e-mails or connect to Facebook, but nothing helps, the pages are simply inaccessible . When we talk about the apocalypse, we often imagine the same thing:the world being invaded by hordes of zombies (or other creatures) or nuclear explosions in large numbers. But another kind of apocalypse (perhaps more real? Or closer?) could occur at any time. What would happen if, overnight, the Internet were to disappear?
What if the Internet were to disappear tomorrow? Would you be able to navigate a foreign city without Google Maps? Would it drive you crazy to no longer be able to place orders (or pay your bills) on the Internet or consult your favorite sites? Stop sharing memes with your friends ? This may be when "digital detox centers would see the light of day, and teach us to reuse our eyes, forced to leave the screens, to re-engage in real conversations with each other. Some of us would also discover that mobile phones also allow… to make phone calls.
According to the American company Cumulus Media, which analyzed statistical data to find out precisely what people do on the Internet in a minute, here is some information that emerged:It turns out that every 60 seconds we send millions of emails, messages. We post hundreds of thousands of tweets, poll Google with multiple questions and much more.
Here is some information about what is happening on the Internet around the world, every minute that passes:187 million e-mails are sent, 481,000 tweets are posted, 38 million messages are sent via WhatsApp, 3.7 million requests are made on Google and some 973,000 connections are recorded on Facebook... And all this data is only a tiny sample of the submerged part of the immense iceberg that is the Internet.
Of course, if the Internet were to disappear overnight, the world would not collapse. In reality, you should know that at present, nearly 4 billion people do not have access to the Internet at all , so more than half of humanity, who would not even notice that he disappeared. But for the rest of humanity, this disappearance would be noticed extremely quickly.
Perhaps if the internet were to disappear, social media users would phone each other to catch up, or organize outings (when physically possible). Some might even write letters again, and send them by post. Of course, if the Internet disappeared, we could also forget to carry out any computer file transfers (excluding USB keys, external disks, CDs, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi), because without an Internet connection, it would simply be impossible.
You may also like:Study confirms that a global quantum internet network could indeed be functional
It will soon be 30 years since the Internet appeared. Indeed, it was in 1991 that the World Wide Web (hence the www.) was officially announced. In just two years, the number of websites online has grown from a few hundred to several thousand. Very quickly, the Internet has become an entity of extreme importance for very many people, companies, institutions and countries around the world. What if all this disappeared? Would we be able to return to our old habits and infrastructures of the pre-internet era?
Some of the consequences of a world without the Internet would be felt more by certain generations. An 85-year-old individual would most certainly find this disappearance less serious than a teenager today. Indeed, an elderly person would be more comfortable using a traditional telephone to call their grandson, rather than sending him a text message.
Note that text messages (via WhatsApp, Telegram, or any other application allowing communication by text with other people) are currently sent by the tens, even hundreds, daily by very many individuals. So, no more messages sent through the Internet, and no more social networks either!
On top of all that, we need to think about the economics of losing the internet. Note that financial data is usually stored on servers, so banking services simply depend on the Internet!
All electronic transfers would simply be impossible. This means that your credit and debit cards would be useless, and would turn into vulgar pieces of plastic. We should therefore also completely rethink the way we make payments.
In reality, electronic transfers would be totally erased. People would be forced to write rent checks, for example. Of course, very many financial losses would be felt for many companies around the world. Major companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon would go bankrupt, losing their combined revenues of nearly $440 billion.
In fact, any business that sells online would suffer terribly. All companies that use the Internet as a means of advertising would also be affected. All news sites (like Trust My Science by the way ) simply could not survive without the Internet. In addition, people around the world could no longer inform themselves independently, regardless of the topics.
Some countries that rely heavily on the Internet to contribute to their growth and economic stability would be slowed in their momentum, and could not progress as they would like. As for the developed countries, they would lose entire industries and face an economic crisis. Even countries that have a weaker internet presence would be affected, as international trade is dependent on the internet.
The same goes for global transit. Indeed, without internet access between airports, planes, ships, trains and trucking companies, we would have to revert to paper-based cargo tracking. Of course, because of this, it would increase the market value of the transported products, since it would be more complicated to deliver the goods to the stores.
More generally, would a world without the internet be possible? And if we had no choice, how long would it take for us to adapt to this new world?
Did you know that some countries have implemented a “Kill Switch” ("kill switch") of the Internet? In order to stop all Internet communication if deemed necessary. Namely that the concept of an Internet Kill Switch is based on the creation of a single point of control (i.e. a switch) for a single authority of control, allowing the Internet to be stopped in the purpose of protecting the Internet itself, or its users.
Of course, "shutdown" the Internet as a whole is more complicated than cutting a few cables, or pressing a series of (physical) server shutdown buttons, or any other emergency shutdown system. The Internet is the global backbone of many other computer networks:and it doesn't all depend on a single machine. Indeed, even if a part were to be disconnected, others would still remain functional.
In any case, it would be the end of the world as we know it today. Of course, it wouldn't be the end of the world, but it would definitely be the end of an era. We would have to adapt, to relearn how to live without the internet. Indeed, the demise of the Internet would instantly change our world as we know it.
Right now there are measures in place to ensure that this scenario can never happen, but… never say never. We are never safe from such an event. We don't know what tomorrow brings.
Moreover, after having tasted the magic and the infinite possibilities of the Internet, would we really be able to live without this technology? Would we be able to return to the model of the pre-Internet era? Indeed, it is very predictable that after enjoying so much technology and knowledge, we would like to return to a similar model as soon as possible.
Did you know that there are "mesh networks ”, which are already used today in the event of natural disasters or internet censorship, in certain countries in conflict? These mesh networks (i.e. mesh networks) are networks of computers used to communicate during natural disasters or crises, and can be a solution for keeping in touch with people on the ground. This type of network is also of interest to individuals concerned about cyber surveillance.
Indeed, mesh networks allow independent communication between computers , telephones or closed circuit communication terminals. In addition, thanks to its local character and its closed circuit, a mesh network thus prevents any surveillance or potential espionage (because the only users are the “nodes” of the network, and only they can access it and intervene). So this is one of many possible solutions. A kind of hybrid, halfway between the pre-internet era and the one we know today.
And you, what do you think? How would you live without the Internet? What would you miss the most?
