If the internet suddenly crashed today what would happen

originally posted by: captaintyinknots

originally posted by: FlyersFan

originally posted by: alldaylong
So how did we cope before the internet? Man has always adapted to any situation that arises. That's why we are still here today. As i said, the internet going down is the least of my worries.

The point is ... everything is on the internet now. We can't just 'go backwards' to the way it was and expect things to run the same as it is now on the internet. Data will be lost .. shipments can't get made .. there isn't enough paper on the planet to keep things moving via paperwork. We couldn't go backward without taking a big hit. It isn't that simple.

The internet going down IS a big deal.

Im kind of shocked at the number of people on here who dont think the internet is used for anything but their web surfing.

People would be in for quite a shock.

That's an understatment!

Shocked?........traumatized and horrified would be more like it.

I'm completely astonish at so many taking the electrical grid for granted. It's the absolute basis for contemporary civilization as we know it. The dark ages would look like a sunday school picnic if it went down. Those brutes were used to it.

What would happen if the internet cut out en masse? Other than internet & network dependent infrastructure tanking for a while. Like the ordering and delivery scheduling of goods and food, for example. That would have the potential for mass panic until alternative methods of doing that business get hammered out.

Tech addicts would go bonkers. I guarantee it. Technological contact between people has become mainstream & preferred over face-to-face contact. A lot of people, primarily the younger folks. wouldn't find first-person conversations very easy. I imagine it would be an emotional & anxiety-laced powder keg of sorts while people figured out how to re-establish those skills, assuming they ever had them in the first place. I doubt it would constitute the end of the world, but for a week or two, emotions would be riding high while everyone settled in to that type of communication, without the benefit of hiding safely behind websites and apps.

Most phone communication would be gone, as most companies now use voip over the internet. No copper phone lines anymore!

It would be time to, as the survival forum calls it, "bug out" or "bug in". Because we would be ~3 days from complete pandemonium.

I might get some work done for a change.

Everyone seems to forget that there was a world without internet before it was invented. Jesus, some of you act like the internet is part of the Book of Genesis, and we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the net.

We'd all go outside and get some fresh air.

originally posted by: boncho
Everyone seems to forget that there was a world without internet before it was invented..

Those of you who keep repeating that line have forgotten ... this isn't the world before the internet. NOTHING of infrastructure or substructure or business or distribution etc etc is in place from 25 years ago. I've already stated what wouldn't be here. I'm not going to repeat myself anymore.

a reply to: uninfluenced

Ever heard of TCP/IP

designed to withstand a nuclear attack.

The Internet is safe.

The Internet, or, more correctly. the TCP/IP protocol that overlays the entire thing, was developed by the military (DARPA) to survive a nuclear war by being able to circumvent outages and route around nodes that were not functional--for any reason. It does that as a matter of course today. The "what if" scenario proposed by the OP does not seem to take this fact under consideration, therefore he is oblivious to what it would actually take to truly take the Internet down entirely.

If a disaster of that size actually happened, the answer would be:

Who cares?

I would be most unhappy! I get 100% of all my business from the internet. I get all of my weather forecasts from the internet as well. I would be back to flight services for all the weather info, ugh.

To top that off I would have to stop buying everything I currently buy as I always shop the web to get the best deals. All of my news and entertainment come from the web any more...

What would I do? Find the person that ruined it for me and kill them.

originally posted by: FlyersFan

originally posted by: alldaylong
There are far more serious things to be concerned about than the internet going off-line.

I dunno about that. EVERYTHING is run by internet now. Medical necessities are kept track of and shipped via internet. There are people out here that wouldn't get medication as required. And grocery stores only have a three day supply of food on hand (average). Without the internet, there would be no deliveries.

I'm thinking it would be a VERY big deal.

I tend to agree here, it seems too many still view the internet as a playground and a distraction, not as the vital piece of infrastructure it really is. Similar to how the out-of-touch took forever to realize computers and technology were not simply the realm of geeks and nerds but the future of the entire populace.

Downplaying the importance of the internet is like downplaying the importance of vehicles because some people have cars they only use as toys.

originally posted by: Mamatus

What would I do? Find the person that ruined it for me and kill them.

I suspect the asteroid would self-destruct on impact, so you won't have to go to the trouble.

I would have a heart attack.

originally posted by: boncho
Everyone seems to forget that there was a world without internet before it was invented. Jesus, some of you act like the internet is part of the Book of Genesis, and we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the net.

There was a world before ANYTHING.

At one time humans had sticks and stones and nothing else. We survived through that. What is your point?

If you remove something that people have become reliant upon bad things happen. That's a simple fact. People have become VERY reliant on the internet, obviously more so than you are aware of. It has absolutely nothing to do with people being able to surf the web and order their trinkets online. It has to do with the fundamental foundations that support our day-to-day lives depending on the internet and the quick transfer of large quantities of information it provides.

It doesn't matter if you browse the web or order anything online, because anything you interact with on a daily basis is going to have the net intertwined with it somehow.

There was a time when nobody had electricity. That time is gone. Are you telling me in the power grid turned off tomorrow everything would be fine?

Once a country is reliant upon a national power grid, you cannot just turn that off and get along fine.

Once a country is reliant upon an information network, you cannot just turn that off and get alone fine.

Nobody is suggesting the human race is going to disappear. But if you cut the net in the US people being bored from lack if web surfing is the farthest thing to be concerned about. Cutting the net would cripple this country in a similar fashion to cutting the power grid.

If the internet suddenly crashed today what would happen

I'd read a book.

originally posted by: olaru12
In 3 days the store shelves would be empty, people would be hungry and desperate. Chaos and anarchy and darkness would be a place of evil.

I'm not one of those "preppers" getting ready for doomsday, however on the other hand I think anybody worried about going hungry if store shelves go empty in 3 days should re-evaluate their emergency preparedness strategy. Having a week's worth of food and water on hand is a good idea, and a month's worth is even better. Sure you can't store that much fresh produce but you can store items that store well and you won't go hungry.

We could have a repeat of the Carrington event which could shut down entire electrical grids which it could take days to get back online. Hurricanes, and severe winter storms can also make over-reliance on grocery stores a problem if such a disaster hits your area. Others have to worry about Earthquakes.

its a scary thought that 20 years ago that me and no one i knew even thought about computers and now they basicly control every day life,20 years ago oasis released definitely maybe,to me that seems like yesterday,its scary how quickly 20 years has gone by.

On a personal level I would be delighted if the internet went offline..why?
As a kid I often wondered what was happening in the world, but I didn't really know except flor those moments of real crisis...they were discussed even in my house...Berlin wall...Russia in Afghanistan...etc...
Then came the internet, and suddenly I had to have an opinion...I am not always qualified to have an opinion. Sometimes I wish I could opt out of the world debate but i can't ...because I have so much information, which in turn makes me form so many opinions, that sometimes...I would rather not have the info...just my opinion

A lot of people do not see what the internet has become. As others have said it is now just like power. Ever walked into a store when the lines are down. Very few can count change even. 15 years ago I worked for a trucking company in the US. If a truck dropped off the map due to even power failing in the truck it was a mad house. We lose it for longer then a few days, everyone would notice. As for taking it down..... That would be interesting but to take out a country would not be that hard with a DNS poison attack. Most people don't even understand that www.google.com = 75.125.239.145.