When I need to do something and don't quite know how, I go to the internet. I need to change my phone number to a new phone. Site says, just text a number to... and do this. But my text works sporadically so I can't do that. So I chat a bit more with robot and ask if I can talk to a human and they gave me a phone number. What if humans are not available? Speaking of phone numbers, there are people who don't know phone numbers any more--even their own. That was almost the first thing I was taught, going into kindergarten. Worse yet, what if an emp actually does happen. I saw a guy in a Batteries Plus store who had MELTDOWN because they were going to have to send his phone out for repairs. Will the world go bonkers, even more, without the internet for a few weeks while they repair a satellite?
No, not necessarily. I was just thinking how dependent we are. Man needs food, clothing, shelter... and now internet.
Oh, OK. I'm not so sure that the internet is equal to food and shelter, though. My sister and BIL live in the boonies in south Georgia and have never had internet; they don't miss it. When we visit I have to walk outside their house and around the farm to try to get a phone hotspot.
How much of our food and shelter depends on the internet? Our elder son spends his working hours at home on the internet. He works for a company in NY that helps corporations solve IT problems. He seems to be very good at it.
The problem is that there are no more Yellow Pages. Without the web or a phone book, there is no way to find sources for goods & services. Regarding cell phones...I really don't like having that single-point-of-failure for my phone service. Land lines and Rolodexes are durable. I noticed technology eroding my skill set when auto-dialers came in. I can still recall the phone numbers to several of the businesses I bought from early in my purchasing career (1977) because I called them so often, but after than when auto-dialers came into being, I could not tell you a single one. I've met a ton of people here who have never had internet. A friend has headed a very active non-profit for decades, and they have dial-up. There are still lots of folks in my county who cannot get a decent cell signal at their homes.
My son has a cellphone but he only uses it to text or to make/receive calls. He doesn't have a computer and has never wanted one, which seems odd because I was one of the early people to have a computer, while he was still living at home.
I assumed the thread was more about individual's use of the internet than supply chains. I spent nearly 30 years in IT so I'm fairly well versed. No doubt that total loss of internet connectivity would be devastating.
I am a little like that, @Ken Anderson. I had computers quite early, and I finally got a smart phone because it was so hard to get a flip phone that handles 4G. I primarily use the phone for calls and some texting. It is too difficult to use it for much else with my fat fingers and dry skin. I probably would have high-speed internet by now, but the original reason I got it installed was because my job required it. Only DSL is available here. There is some cable around, but I don't knwo of anyone hooked up to it...if it is even functional. The fiber optic cables are there, though. Most everything is available in the cities here, but many rural areas have to rely on satellite hookups if they want internet.
Will the world go bonkers, even more, without the internet for a few weeks while they repair a satellite? Yes.
All my life the healthiest teens I've seen, for that matter any age persons, are the ones with no television, no computer and no phone. They are the most honest, respectful, hard working, at home and outside the home if the job is out there, and remain the healthiest of all people I've ever seen and never have to worry about cvd or any epidemic or fake pandemic or the like at all, God Willing so far. /except for the harmful gov actions, mandates and laws that might or do affect them/
He didn't want a driver's license when he turned sixteen either. We were living in Anaheim, and he said the bus would get him anywhere he needed to go, and he did know his way around the Orange County and Rapid Transit bus systems. He later got a license when he needed one for work, but driving wasn't important to him. He was in his twenties before he got a license.