If the internet stopped working, could it lead to an economic crisis?
Internet, also called, "the network" is a worldwide system that connects to other networks or devices, such as computers, cell phones, etc., in order to share information; therefore, it is basically the global information system.
Internet is a privilege of avant garde life for the modern human, it is the greatest means of information, accessible to anyone who enters from anywhere in the world, but what makes the Internet different from other inventions is the period of time in which It was used by millions of people, since the period was insignificant.
It was created in 1969, during the cold war, when the US Agency for Advanced Research Projects, ARPA (computer network), together with the United States Department of Defense (the Pentagon) connected four distant systems in a network called ARPANET, whose mission was to maintain communications in case of war, in order to keep a private communication line, to ensure this, it was built using a backbone that passed under the ground.
Technology, along with the internet, have advanced impressively in the last two decades and both have allowed, not only to improve areas such as medicine, agriculture, space research and others, but also permitted mankind to create artifacts that give us the possibility to go much further in all areas of life, since we know that we can develop our professional work life from anywhere and at any time.
Let's not forget that the internet has been a great tool to improve the economy of companies around the world, being a great accomplice in globalization processes, facilitating open communications among countries, thus benefiting their own economy and as a consequence, without any doubt, the internet is the most important major and transcendental technological development that is taking place today.
The same way, the internet has benefited the human individual, creating faster communication tools, which have helped us to evolve because of its appearance, bringing out an increasingly dependent being, thing which is preventing the evolution of a person's autonomy, which is somehow reflected in the societal behavior, carrying out conflicts due to its misuse, whose main associated problems are addiction, cyber bullying and identity theft, as a result from data robbery.
In the 90s, studies started talking about internet addiction and ever since, many more researches on this topic have multiplied and worldwide spread.
Today, all people or the vast majority live with Internet and use it daily, whether on their phones or computers, technology has advanced so much that we can know anything with just one click, making life easier because we can communicate with our friends and loved ones, who might be long distances from us, but through these advances, we can feel them close to us.
It is difficult to define exactly what are the causes of this dependence on the Internet, and some studies consider that it is the nature of the Internet itself that makes it prone to produce dependence when used for long periods, while others argue that it is not the Internet alone which causes dependence, but interactive featured applications.
The impact on the behavior caused by the Internet is due to several causes or particularities of it, such as:
ease of access, content diversity, the low cost, visual stimulation, autonomy, anonymity, and interactivity.
Of course, all these variables add up to the user's personality, since the connected time depends on each person. So, excessive use of the internet has some symptoms, as to say:
need to be more and more time online for self satisfaction, inability to reduce internet usage, lying about the time we stay connected.
We live in the XXVI century and we depend on the internet to perform our daily tasks, from common users to large companies, although many use the network to have fun, hang out, or to run away from problems, relieve a state of anxiety such as depression or discomfort, the internet has become an indispensable tool for working in companies because it allows them to stay connected, have access, and share information, and even organize daily tasks.
Imagine the most important video conference for the future of a company which is about making a crucial decision, since the very time when it was created, and at that moment…. nothing, the connection fails, and with it, the opportunity to close that important business which is gone along with its internet because it has become our best ally, one that not only fulfills an interactive function, but is also paramount in advertising and helps develop entrepreneurial basis.
Since you know the impact that internet has on life, we could give ourselves an idea of what the lack of it would be. Let's be honest, when the power goes out or we don't have internet, we get stressed, we get bitter, or we look for a way to have it, like using data. We depend so much on the internet that sometimes we think about “what would happen if it were stopped and didn't exist anymore?”
If a failure occurred on the planet and we stopped having this communication and work tool, the world would go into crisis, since the work of millions depend on it. The government would look for a way to recover it, but what would happen in the meantime? would we have to go back into the typewriter? Or would it be a fall back into obscurantism?
Gmail, the most popular source on the network, would stop working and we would return to letters, so the mail must go through, no matter what, imagine having to wait days, even weeks, to receive a response, large companies would go bankruptcy, readings online in the morning at work, while having coffee, would end, we wouldn’t know the weather forecast per minute, Mondays would be longer, we would not be informed of what is happening in the world.
However, not everyone would regret going back to the past, but at work we would return to the era of the caverns, the meetings would have to be called by telephone or fax, we would live less communicated, and in absence of social networks, the only way to socialize would be again, the old one, but in a more local area, we would lose contact with some loved ones or childhood friends; moreover, life without internet would be hell for those prior connected, but a relief for those hypochondriacs always looking for causes for their mental unhealthy lives.
Just thinking about it, this is scary because the global crisis that this would produce would be immense, companies and banks would experience grueling times, since their information is largely managed from any website, it might be lost, so we would have to return to the past. We are adapted to the fact of always having the internet, but we have never thought of plan B in case of the loss of the network.
The internet has become a huge part of our lives, in all aspects. Young people no longer know how to study without the Internet, they don't know how to look for information in a library as it was styled before. Nowadays, all our main forms of communication work with the Internet, so there would be many deaths due to young people and adults who have an obsession with the internet that would not know how to adapt to the situation, but remember that one of the characteristics of human beings' intelligence is the capacity of adaptation to diverse conditions.
But what about it when we get used to it?, wouldn't it become much better? We would stop procrastinating and living life more realistically, having true conversations without having to stop because of being on the cell phone, we might be going more outdoors, not being locked up on the web.
It is not necessary to discourage the use of the internet, but many people recommend the moderate and conscious use of it, it is an instrument of work and leisure that became indispensable; despite it, is important to understand that this tool should be used in such a way that its use does not negatively affect our life, to avoid addiction.
Without the internet, we would definitely be a little more uneducated, less efficient, we would live more alien to our surroundings and work, personal relationships would change radically, it would be definitely like a permanent vacation from everything we know so far, but ... think of it for a little while, would we live better or worse than now? I will check it on the internet.
By Giselle Rico and
Adriana Butrón, Step 10
