Imagine a life without the Internet for 24 hours. Could this even happen? Yes and even if just for a single day, the prospect sounds terrifying. Imagine a day without email, Twitter, and Facebook. No Google to search for assignments or research, no You Tube to enjoy – in many ways, it seems synonymous with life halting for a day, doesn’t it?
You get to the office, turn on your computer and you find no Internet connection. What if it’s the last day to book your flight to the company conference? Or what if you haven’t yet emailed your colleagues in several countries to inform them of the latest changes the board has decided on? You can’t. So you probably have to ask your assistant (if you have one) to call them via IDD because even your VOIP is down. No teleconferencing today. Business is halted.
You stay at your desk but you can’t check the news. If you happen to live in CA or anywhere near the Ring of Fire and you feel a slight tremor, you can’t access the latest CNN, FOX or Earthquake News reports online. Instead, you switch on cable TV in the pantry and since there are bigger issues than that small earthquake you felt, you find nothing out. If Twitter was accessible, you’d ask your “tweeps” – “did you feel that one?” but even that’s not an option.
Worse if you have an online job and you have to submit work. The assignment is ready except theres no way to send it via email. Life without the internet is tough! You think about faxing it but it’s a long doc file and you doubt if you have the right fax number. Where’s the nearest Kinkos anyway?
Superseller on Ebay? You want to know bids on your items and how many opted for the “buy it now” but there is no way to check. You are stuck. Anxiety mounts! Selling services and products online? Frustration mounts as you wonder how many orders you’ve received today. You know customer service issues are mounting, yet you have no way to respond to your customers. You don’t even have access to your contacts or schedule, since both are on Google –all in the cloud!
Life without the internet makes frugal living a challenge. No coupons for today. Savings.com is down and you can’t see the latest Rite Aid promo. No coupons means no savings — you think to yourself, as you add up how many dollars you’ll overspend at Target. You decide you’ll shop tomorrow; today you’ll relax over a film, until you realize Netflix won’t do.
Life without the internet for a day… what would we do? I have no idea but I’m sure a lot of people would need therapy “the day after.”