If you could flip this switch would you?

[CloudsInMyFrap]

If you could flip a switch and everything in the world was the same except the internet didn’t exist, would you?

Don’t bother saying “my job wouldn’t exist then so blablabla” - you’d obviously have a different job.

So. No email. No smartphones, just mobile phones. No google, no Wikipedia, everything done by telephone and post and catalogue.

I think I would! Can’t even justify it, but I feel I would welcome a simpler way of living.

Heck no. I remember vividly how much harder it was to do everything. How much slower, how much more uncertainty, how there were fewer options. Getting information was a chore. Phoning around for ages.

Before Internet I had people be nasty to my face & encourage their friends to be nasty to me. I STILL say that I'd rather be slagged off on social media 5x/day than deal with the daily nastiness I had (for years) from peers in primary school.

I watched 6 hours+ of TV daily in 1970s. My increasingly disabled dad probably watches 12 hrs/day now. Netflix is good thing for him.

Political populist nastiness? How did fascism dominate so many political systems in the 1930s again, without an Internet?

I read this as if you could flip a sandwich... was thinking it would be too hard to eat with filling on the outside.

Hell yes!!
I really hate social media! I hate the way it hooked me in all those years ago, even now I find myself reaching for my phone and scrolling due to habit, it bores me silly, and is bad for mental health, but still, I can't seem to break it completely! If I cut down on Facebook I seem to spend more time on here!
I don't want that for my DCs! I'd love to flick that switch!

Oh fuck no, not a chance.

what would you do to entertain yourself? I suppose I could read a book a day, but can't afford that so...

Definitely not.

I have family overseas and the internet makes it SO much easier for us to stay in touch. I've also made some incredible friends via the internet over the years - some of whom I've met up with IRL and we've been in touch for 15+ years now.

Yes

Yes but I’d flip it right back to 1990 in general.

Absolutely. It has fed the culture of celebrity (which is mindless and vile), encourages trolls and nastiness, turned shoppers into idle gits who sit at home waiting for everything to be delivered, destroyed town centres, seen many small businesses buckle because they can't compete with greedy bastards like Amazon, and had a seriously detrimental effect on the environment.
I'd limit everyone to two round trip plane journeys a year too- everyone.

No. It makes life easier. I remember the days of doing homework and the only solution was to go to the library and take out a book. Now all the information we need to know is at our fingertips. Plus I can waste time googling pictures of my crush. The Internet has it's bad points but the good outweighs the bad.

No it would cut me off from so much of life, hobbies, friends and independence to do things for myself as I cant do phone calls. Makes my life so much easier I would never give it up.

Absolutely no way. Life is immeasurably better with it. It has its downsides but you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. For many disabled people it is a complete lifeline. The internet is a tool, the problem is people.

I absolutely would. No qualms.

No I love the Internet and I only really used it when I started work at 21. Before that it was dial up and emailing on a Hotmail account. I love personal GPS too. So much easier than having to think about where you're going.

I don't use much social media, apart from mumsnet. What would I do with my time?!?

Did you know any different though?

Holy moly. We used to do so much. We were so much more relaxed. I long for this

Absolutely but with the caveat that the internet dating site I met my dh on would be converted into a blind date set up by friends!!

I wish the internet - gaming and social media didn’t exist, can we keep emails tho? So handy…..

No - and I am retired and in my late 60s. I am currently fit and healthy but that may change and, in any event, things are only going to go one way.

When my parents lives became challenging because of physical limitations they struggled far more than I need to with internet access.

Dad's sight became very bad. He could no longer enjoy tv. The only option he had was books on tape. My sight is fine but I listen to audio books at bedtime with auto switch off after 15 mins.

They had to have alarms round their neck in case of a fall. I can just shout Alexa and get family or friends to respond immediately.

I can watch any programmes via broadband when there is nothing on to watch or I am up at silly times.

I order my prescriptions online and have them delivered. - and can do the same with practically anything.

So many things that I will have even if/when my health becomes limited.

The generation growing up with it now will learn to cope with the crap that comes with it - not by turning the clock back.

I'm surprised how many would. COVID lockdown without the internet would have been a much worse experience for many. Working from home? Not possible in most cases. Want to see granny? Nope, pick up the phone - but remember calls would be very expensive compared to what we are used to now, so keep it short. Studying during covid? Forget it. Libraries and bookshops are closed, as are colleges and universities. Need some food, but you are isolating/vulnerable? Good luck, no online ordering for you! Hopefully you have good neighbours or a friendly local shop that has the time to pick and deliver your shopping. Need something to do? I guess you could watch tv. Or if you are lucky and have other people in the house, play cards or Monopoly. There's no gareth Malone's home chorus or wicks workouts or Sophie's kitchen karaoke etc to entertain you. Want to keep up to date with what's going on? I guess you'll need to wait till the news is on, and hope they cover what you want to know.

To those voting to get rid of "the internet", what exactly do you want to delete?
All of it? Or do you just mean social media or porn sites? Because there's a huge difference between BBC Good Food and Twitter!

Without "the internet" you wouldn't have access to tutorials - need to change the locks and can't afford a locksmith? Want to learn to knit but there's no-one local to teach you? Struggling to understand your uni course work? Go on YouTube, watch a video, and learn.

Without "the internet" many students wouldn't have access to research material (the library can only hold so much and supply outweighs demand for hard copies anyway) and text books are very expensive to buy.

So did I. I'd rather not go back there.

I don't think there's much stopping you if you wanted to give up the internet though is there? Just don't use it.

No.

Out of interest I looked up drug deaths in Scotland on Google, I'm in Scotland, someone said drug problems were rife in ireland in the 1990s.

Drug related deaths in Scotland (gov stats)
1979 339, 1980 306, 1981 307, 1982 265, 1983 212, 1984 201, 1985 242, 1986 223 1987 250 1988 238 1989 264 1990 275 1991 275 1992 311 1993 372 1994 422 1995 426 1996 460 1997 447, 1998 449, 1999 492

1,339 drug-related deaths were registered in Scotland in 2020

Looks like they've gone up roughly four fold.

No I would not, and part of this based on my internet based job, it’s the best one I have ever had and it’s kinda what I wanted when I was a teenager but I didn’t know how it would happen.

Also the internet makes my life so much easier, banking and shopping I life in a village so I like being able to get stuff without travelling to town. Not to mention online gaming! And the ease to find information much better.

However I am not a massive fan of social media and use it very little and don’t share much about myself.

I was a teen in the 90’s loved it but wouldn’t go back.

No! I'm pre mobiles and internet, everything is now so much easier. The one thing I think I would get rid of is social media. The internet is great for things like paying bills, banking, research and finding stuff out, but I think sm will change the way we interact with each other, our behaviours and beliefs forever

No. It's very useful in many ways and I think gives more than it takes

I don't think the internet has turned nice people into nasty people.

I think it has exposed nasty people who feel they don't have to pretend they are nice people because they think the internet doesn't count/ they believe they're anonymous.

It has shown those people that didn't already know it exactly what a lot of people are hiding under their nice neighbour friendly person kind friend disguise.