Today, almost the entire life of many people is spent on the internet. There they study, work, meet with friends, relax and discuss. The global network has already replaced reality for them.
The internet is a place where you can live your life and an important communication on which many systems are built. Disabling it will lead to not very pleasant consequences.
Several sectors of the economy will not be able to work
This is not even about online stores and other services entirely tied to the global network and do not have offline offices or points of sale, but about more serious players, such as large grocery chains. It is impossible to place orders; you cannot transfer them to the delivery service.
The economy will be hit hard
Communication between industries will be disrupted, leading to a collapse of the economy, at least for the duration of troubleshooting. If the internet cannot be restored within a few weeks, other interaction methods will have to be re-introduced. And if it seems to you that there is nothing wrong with the absence of a global network, remember how many millions of dollars a day it cost companies the inability to get into the Suez Canal because it was blocked by a ship.
In addition, stock markets will collapse because they have long been focused on transactions in the global network. The stock and bond market economy will begin to choke until the old telephone, and fax communication methods can be restored.
Most communications will become inaccessible
Nowadays, most people use social media or internet calls to communicate. If the internet stops working, we will have to return to regular calls and SMS over mobile networks. Would you say that there is nothing wrong with that because we could easily do without the internet on smartphones ten years ago?
The problem is that providers have gradually reduced the share of equipment for telephone communications, giving preference to the development of the internet. When millions of people rush to call and write through such networks, they will collapse due to overload.
Many people will not be able to get medical advice online
In our country, there are polyclinics literally at every step. The quality of service is another matter, but you can always make an appointment with a doctor without using the internet. In most countries without a legacy in the form of many clinics, it is easier for many people to consult with an Internet specialist, especially in mild cases like ARVI.
But when the internet stops working, all these people will begin to fill the already overcrowded clinics and hospitals, which will lead to a deterioration in the quality of service and an increase in the spread of diseases transmitted by airborne droplets.
The store shelves will be empty
Products don’t appear in grocery stores by themselves. This is the responsibility of logistics, which allows supplying small points from a large center. But for the goods to be delivered to the store, you need to apply for the lack of those on the shelves. And applications are submitted via the internet.
Considering the congestion of telephone lines, it will be difficult to make an application even by phone, which will lead to the rapid emptying of the shelves, especially against the background of panic.
Part of the population will lose their jobs
Many professions today are engaged in their activities on the internet. These are freelancers and all kinds of custom-made cake makers and people who work on the staff of large companies.
Programmers, designers, marketers, salespeople, and people of other professions that depend on the internet will go out on the street if his absence lasts more than a month. This will lead to an increase in social tension and an overcrowded labor market.
There will be a shortage of some resources
Again, with digitalization, many things have faded into the background, and their production has declined. For example, much fewer paper and pens are produced today than a couple of decades ago because most communication is done over the internet. There will be a shortage of at least paper and stationery.
Humanity will be deprived of much entertainment
What are the most popular entertainments today? Online games, audio and video streaming services, chat rooms, blogs, and other digital services. Without the internet, all this entertainment will not be available, which is why we will have to go back to basics. But maybe it’s for the better because of the internet we have become too sedentary.
Newspapers and TV will be popular again
Previously, people got all the information about the current state of affairs in the world from news columns in newspapers and stories on television. Today we can select news from different sources, written by people with different points of view.
But, having no alternative, you will have to return to newspapers and television, which in most countries of the world are represented only by government sources of information.
Have to go back to using cash
Modern cashless payment terminals communicate with banks via the internet. So you have to use paper money and coins. But where to get them? The fact is that ATMs also communicate with banks via the internet and will not be able to issue money. The only way to get cash is to go to the bank, and at first, due to confusion and lack of access to data, the banking sector may face an influx of a huge number of people who want to cash out electronic money.
This, in turn, will deprive banking structures of the ability to conduct financial transactions because, for this, they use electronic means, which will lead to the fall of many, even large banks.
As for cryptocurrencies, if the internet falls, they will become just numbers on computers because all transactions are settled on the global network.
Intelligence will face difficulties
In the 21st century, the sophisticated intelligence methods used during the Cold War are no longer needed. It is enough to go to the page of some ministry, and it will tell about its affairs, where it is located, and who works for it. When the internet collapses, intelligence services will lose one of the main channels of data.
