Trumans Matrix; Connective Dependence

If the internet went down globally, the impact would be enormous, affecting nearly every aspect of modern life.

1. Communication Disruption

• Email and Messaging: Most communication channels, including email, messaging apps, and social media, would be inaccessible.
• VoIP Services: Voice-over-IP services like Zoom and Skype would be unavailable, hampering both personal and business communications.
• Traditional Communication: People would likely revert to traditional communication methods like phone calls (assuming phone lines aren’t reliant on the internet) and in-person meetings.

2. Economic Impact

• Financial Markets: Stock exchanges and other financial markets rely on the internet for real-time data and transactions. A shutdown would freeze trading and create chaos in global markets.
• E-commerce: Online shopping would come to a halt, affecting businesses that rely heavily on online sales.
• Banking: Online banking services would be inaccessible, potentially leading to panic as people try to access their money.

3. Business Operations

• Supply Chains: The global supply chain, which relies on the internet for tracking and managing logistics, would be severely disrupted.
• Remote Work: The rise in remote work, heavily dependent on the internet, would come to a standstill, impacting productivity across various sectors.
• Customer Service: Many customer service operations, especially those that rely on online chat or ticketing systems, would be disrupted.

4. Social Impact

• Social Media: People would lose access to social media platforms, which are primary sources of news, entertainment, and social interaction for many.
• Misinformation: Without the internet, misinformation could spread more easily through word of mouth, leading to confusion and potentially dangerous situations.

5. Infrastructure and Utilities

• Smart Devices: Many smart devices that rely on the internet for functionality, like smart home systems and IoT devices, would be rendered useless.
• Power Grids: Some power grids and utilities rely on the internet for monitoring and management. Disruption could lead to power outages and other utility failures.
• Transportation: GPS systems, which many rely on for navigation, would no longer function, causing confusion and potential accidents. Transportation networks that rely on real-time data could also be disrupted. Online maps, which we are currently dependent on, would become obsolete.

6. Emergency Services

• Coordination: Emergency services often rely on the internet for coordination and communication. A shutdown could hamper their ability to respond effectively.
• Healthcare: The healthcare system, including electronic health records and telemedicine, would face significant challenges, potentially endangering lives.

7. Cultural and Psychological Effects

• Isolation: People could feel isolated and disconnected, especially those who rely on the internet for social interaction and support.
• Psychological Stress: The sudden change could cause significant stress and anxiety as people adapt to a world without instant access to information and communication.

8. Potential for Crime and Exploitation

• Cybercrime: While cybercrime would be reduced without the internet, other forms of crime could increase as people and organizations scramble to adapt to the loss of digital security and communication.
• Exploitation: Opportunistic individuals or groups might exploit the chaos for personal or political gain, leading to further instability.

9. Long-Term Consequences

• Innovation: The long-term loss of the internet could slow down innovation in technology, science, and other fields that rely on global collaboration.
• Rebuilding: Rebuilding the infrastructure and restoring the internet would be a massive undertaking, potentially taking weeks or even months, depending on the cause of the outage.

In summary, an internet shutdown would cause widespread disruption across nearly every aspect of modern life, leading to economic, social, and psychological challenges. The extent of the impact would depend on the duration and scope of the outage, as well as the resilience and adaptability of individuals, businesses, and governments.

An internet shutdown could push people closer to an “off-grid” lifestyle, particularly if the shutdown is prolonged or becomes permanent.

1. Self-Sufficiency

• Food Production: Without access to online services for shopping or delivery, people might turn to growing their own food, similar to what off-grid communities do. This could mean starting gardens, raising livestock, or bartering with neighbors.
• Water and Energy: Those who rely on the internet for monitoring or controlling their water and energy systems (like smart home setups) might move towards more traditional, independent systems, such as rainwater collection and solar panels.

2. Communication

• Local Networks: With the internet down, global communication would be severely limited, leading people to rely on local networks or in-person interactions. This is akin to off-grid living, where communication often happens within a close-knit community.
• Radio and Other Technologies: Some might turn to ham radios or other non-internet-based communication methods, which are common in off-grid communities.

3. Information and Entertainment

• Analog Alternatives: Without streaming services, social media, or online news, people would need to rely on analog alternatives like books, newspapers, and radio for information and entertainment. This shift is a hallmark of off-grid living.
• Reduced Consumption: The constant flow of online content might be replaced by more traditional forms of entertainment, such as outdoor activities, crafts, or community gatherings.

4. Economic Shift

• Local Economies: The disruption of global supply chains and online markets could lead to a greater reliance on local economies. People might trade goods and services within their communities, similar to how off-grid communities operate.
• Barter Systems: Without easy access to money through online banking, barter systems could become more prevalent, as people exchange goods and services directly.

5. Lifestyle Changes

• Simplification: The loss of internet services could lead people to simplify their lives, focusing more on essential needs rather than the convenience and entertainment that the internet provides.
• Community Focus: Off-grid living often involves tight-knit communities where people support one another. An internet shutdown could encourage more community-oriented living as people seek support and resources from those around them.

6. Skill Development

• Manual Skills: Without the internet, people might need to develop or relearn skills that are essential for self-sufficiency, such as gardening, carpentry, or basic mechanics. These are skills often associated with off-grid living.
• DIY Culture: The inability to easily order goods or services online could foster a do-it-yourself culture, where people learn to repair, build, and create things on their own.

7. Resilience and Adaptation

• Adaptation to New Norms: As people adapt to life without the internet, they might adopt more resilient, off-grid-inspired practices that emphasize independence and sustainability.

While an internet shutdown could lead to challenges in managing and distributing electricity, it wouldn’t automatically result in a complete loss of power. The extent of the impact would depend on how reliant the electricity infrastructure is on the internet and how well-prepared utilities are with backup systems and local control methods. In most scenarios, electricity would likely continue, though there could be disruptions or inefficiencies in certain areas.

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Life without Internet: could this be possible in our world?
Although you can’t even imagine it, that time existed. These are ancient times, when everything was rural. Kind of like the’90s, sort of.

At that time there were already such malevolent machines, certainly created by some demon, called computers. But, although it may seem crazy, they were all disconnected from each other, as if they were living in isolation, and they were only used for nondescript tasks, such as writing texts or working (although video games already existed).

Thankfully, a few years later everything changed. The internet came into our lives, cities grew, water irrigation watered our fields and the world was filled with light and colour.

But what would it be like to live without the Internet? Would you dare to live such a terrible scenario? Let’s have a look at this terrible scenario.

Imagine that scenario. You want to buy a USB (for example) and you have to get off the couch, get dressed and go out on the cold street. And on top of that, you have to do it only during opening hours, because outside these hours the shops are closed. Would it be worth living like this?

We would need to look at maps to get to the places in a life without Internet
You may be lucky to live in a time when maps are no longer needed. But those of us who have used them, we know the horrors of them.

These were the days when it was necessary to look in a book (hundreds of pages) or a map (which was always creased) in order to find a way to reach another city or, even worse, a specific street. And there was no one to understand that, no voice to guide you on your way. Some people, who were desperate, were even reckless enough to ask other passers-by about the best way to reach their destination. As we said, it was horrifying.

We’d be much worse informed in a life without Internet
Today, Google saves our lives several times a day. But imagine if it didn’t exist. You’d probably try to take your own life instantly. Luckily, you couldn’t do it because, without Google, you wouldn’t know how to do it.

Luckily, we have access to all the information provided by the Internet, so we can easily read Immanuel Kant’s complete works, learn more about Planck’s constant or find out what our cousin Segismundo, who has a coffee shop in Cuenca, had for breakfast yesterday. Oh, thank goodness!

We’d be so very bored in a life without Internet
Imagine that you have to take a train ride and you don’t have a smartphone with signal coverage. Okay, don’t get your thumbs up. We already know how bad you are every time you lose signal, so imagine that scenario 24 hours a day.

Have you passed out? Well, I hope you haven’t, so keep reading. There was a time when things were like this and to cover up the idle times we had to amuse ourselves with strange and unthinkable tasks like reading books on paper or looking at pedestrians. And people were happy! The survival capacity of human beings is almost limitless…

We should be talking to people face to face in a life without internet
Now, imagine if social networks or Whatsapp didn’t exist.

Before you have a nervous breakdown, let me remind you of that time. Dark times in which we had to use instruments such as the landline telephone (there were no phones either), letters, carrier pigeons or even personal contact (argh!) to communicate. Luckily, God created Tim Berners-Lee

Everything would be much more difficult
Work, communications, leisure… everything would be harder, more uncomfortable, more difficult and even dirtier.

There are, however, those who argue that some things would improve. We would enjoy more time with our friends and family in person or we would spend more time in the countryside, while enjoying nature. But who wants those things?

The Internet is undoubtedly an absolute must nowadays. It has changed our lives to the point of turning the previous era into a fuzzy and terrible historical period, similar to the Middle Ages (or even worse). Luckily, all that was left behind and happiness entered our lives for good.

And thanks to the Internet, as we were saying, you have access to universal knowledge, as if it were a story by Jorge Luis Borges (if you want to know who this man is, you can look him up on the Internet).