A World With No Internet

“Two weeks! Tanya’s mind spun over what she had just heard. Two weeks of no internet and electricity. What is she supposed to do with her life in these two weeks?

(This is an excerpt from an e-book, A World without the Internet by Ivan So.)

 

International Internet Day is celebrated on October 29th. On this day, the world remembers with gratitude this important human invention that has transformed our way of living. It is difficult to envisage an internet-free world. But again, the internet is not the Alpha and Omega of our existence. A break from the invention now and again would do you a world of good. 

A few decades ago, or at least when I was growing up, every schoolchild worth his salt needed to possess an atlas and a dictionary. We cut pictures from magazines and newspapers for school projects, looked up encyclopedias, and stocked up on stationery. Mom and Dad regularly patronized stores for groceries and stuff.

Today, the internet takes care of it all. Could you envisage waking up to a world without the internet? Hardly. From e-commerce portals to social media, we rely on the internet to survive.  

 

How a world without the internet would impact our lives:

 

Communication:

·       Social media would be non-existent. Nobody would check their phones on waking, which, anyway, we are told is a bad habit, but we are a mixture of bad and good habits. We would be living a life without emails, WhatsApp messages, Instagram, and other online platforms. We’d go back to telephones, handwritten letters, telegrams, and face-to-face interactions.

 

· Entertainment:

Theaters and popcorn would make a comeback, as would CDs, DVDs, and record players. We wouldn’t hear or know of streaming platforms or virtual gaming portals.

 

· Finance:

Writing cheques and physical deposit and withdrawal of money is what we would be doing. Online banking would be nonexistent.  Some seniors are more comfortable making cash payments and prefer physical withdrawal or deposit of money.

 

·  Shopping:

Keeping in mind the opening and closing times of brick-and-mortar stores, we would have to get off the couch and head to shops to make our purchases. No Amazon Prime Day or Flipkart Big Billion Day sale here. 

 

· Education:

The internet has helped make learning more accessible. Again, the physical classroom and physical classroom teaching would make a comeback. Libraries would be popular as online learning resources would be absent.

 

· News and Information:

Newspapers, magazines, radio, and television would be our sources of news. There would be no digital information available or no heated virtual discussions.

 

·Travel

Asking for directions and using paper maps would become commonplace again.

 

Benefits of an Internet-Free World:

 The internet has undoubtedly changed our lives for the better in numerous ways, but how would an internet-free world benefit us?

 

· Stronger personal bonding

An internet-free world would bring family and friends closer. Connections and relationships would probably be deepened.

 

· Enhanced privacy and security.

Your personal information would be secure, thereby reducing the risks of cybercrime.

 

·Simple Living

People would have more time to engage in outdoor activities, enjoy lower stress levels, and get closer to nature.

 

Used wisely, the internet is a boon, but as always, too much of anything is not a good thing. Balance is the key. Fun can happen outside the internet, too.

Yes, fun can happen outside the internet, as young Tanya discovers. The 40-page book is available on Kindle.

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Image credit : Pixabay.