What if Wednesday – no Internet?
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Welcome one and all to this weeks What if Wednesday. This weeks question comes from Fragileheart who is a very regular visitor to my blog and I thought this question was appropriate considering the nature of this medium that I publish on.
“What if the internet was never invented?”
Now is time for you to have a good think, by all means have a read of my thoughts below but most of all I want to hear your thoughts. What would this mean to you if the internet was never invented, what sort of impact do you think it might have?
My Thoughts
Well I have to say this one is a doosey. If the internet was never invented I would not be able to be doing what I am doing this very moment. I would not be blogging (and dare I say it, probably would not be writing at all).
It would affect me directly in that I would be out of a job, as all the systems that I work on currently are Web-Based and it would take away a lot of my hobbies too (like the aforementioned blogging).
I guess on the grander scheme of things I really have to say things would be vastly different, the internet has assisted a new age in knowledge gathering and dissemination. When world events happen, you can guarantee that there will be details or footage up on the internet before you can even blink.
I guess I am stumped on this one, as I really cannot live without my internet /hugs his modem. I wish I could give an answer with more substance but I really keep coming back to one point… life without the internet would be dull, difficult and less filled with knowledge at my fingertips. (OK… ok a slight over dramatisation but you get the point).
What are your thoughts?
Stuart 
I would have so much more time to relax, watch TV, read, be more physically active and I wouldn’t miss it if we never had it. I would probably use my phone more and I’d have a little more space in this room–no printer, printer computer desk! My husband would definitely see more of me and my cats would have more interactive playtime.
On the other hand, I would never have met as many people as I have through blogging and participating in social website forums such as Shelfari and My Space. Nor would I be able to play games anytime I want against other people like I can do on pogo.com.
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Yay! My question was first
I think you gave a great answer. I don’t think I would be the same person if it weren’t for the internet either. In a strange way the internet gave me my life/confidence back.
It also helps me keep in touch with many people across the seas (having moved from Dubai to Canada means I left a lot of friends behind), since I’m so bad at using the phone!
Great start to What if Wednesday’s Stuart!
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@Karen – I hear ya I have so many computers around me now both at work and at home haha I guess the internet has a role to play in that. And I have to agree that the new ways of networking with people over the internet has been invaluable. I cant believe I didn’t mention it in the original post but that is how I met Erin hehe.
@Fragileheart – *blushes* sorry hun it was second hehe I had one what if wednesday last week which you can see here. But it is awesome to hear that the internet helped to give you confidence, and I know that blogging really does have the ability to do that for a person.
Thanks so much to both of you and remember if you have any more ideas just drop me a message on my Contact Me page.
Stuart
hmmmn I would be sleeping all night I guess
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I blogged about this as well on “Can you survive without the internet?” I would like to recommend this site too! The story on it really sums up what I want to say.
That is a good question. I have no idea where I would be if there was no internet. I probably wouldn’t be as fat as I am (yes the internet made me lazy lol). Maybe I would be outside having a real life and not a cyber one. I know I would be writing online and more than likely using a lot of paper. I can see myself still writing just by hand without the use of a computer. I probably wouldn’t even have a computer either. I can’t really imagine my life without it since it has always been in my life (well as far as I can remember).
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@Melai – LOL I know what you mean silly intarweb keeping me up all night long.
@Ravon – thanks for the links I will pop on over and have a look.
@ImitationAngel – The internet makes us all lazy, LOL why go and look at the ancient white/yellow pages when you can just sit at your desk and get all the info online. And I am the same, so much of what I do day-to-day is on the computer… /hugs his puter and internet once again.
Stu
@Ravon: Wow, nice site and I found it both funny and sad.
I personally think that I wouldn’t be able to maintain my social life if there was no internet right now because it would be hard to keep in touch with my friends who are all over the world right now. Also, I would’ve taken a different course in the university and probably ended up with business or engineering or something.
If there was no Internet, I don’t think that the world would have achieved (or be achieving) globalization as quickly as it has (or is doing) so we might not have learned about other people’s cultures, economies, languages, events and so on, much less probably even cared about.
keithmaxxs last blog post..Fall 2008 Anime: A Slow Start
It is a bit scary to think now what it would be like without the internet. It has become such a massive part of our lives. I used to keep in touch with some people through snail mail but it is so much easier to keep in contact and find people now. It’s had made information so much easier to access. Of course, without the internet I wouldn’t have met my Stuart, which is a very sad thought.
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@Keithmaxx – So very very true, the ability to learn about other cultures is one thing that I adore about the internet. I found it particularly helpful when I was doing high school assignments.
@Erin – Hehe I thought you might be dropping by soon. What can I say, meeting Erin is a big one for me so I say bring on the intarweb!
Stuart
Can I suggest that without the Internet we might revert back to the good old fashioned ways of communicating, including talking to people. On the other hand where would I be without it? I would miss it if you took it away but if I’d never had it well……..
Hi Mike,
Of course you can. And a good point, I am the same (as I mentioned above) without the internet, my job would be non-existent. But even things like email may day to day jobs so much more efficient.
At the same time though Mike, instant messaging has made talking to people overseas so much easier as well. Food for thought…
Stuart
I think I need to hug my modem. I may have been taking my internet for granted. Then again after seeing some of the other comments there are good things that happened due to having internet along with bad things. If we didn’t have the net we would be right back where we started. Seeing as how we’ve become so dependent and reliant on this technology it may not be such a bad idea to go without it for a while.
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Hi ImitationAngel,
no no NOOOO you cant take my modem /hides it away from you *hehe*.
But it is true that I could probably do with a little less internet too.
Stuart
I’d probably be ALOT more active, take the kids to the park more, exercise more, read more… but on the other hand I wouldn’t be able to earn pocket money online while surrounded by my kids, I wouldn’t be able to google them all the answers they want to know to things I have no idea about, I wouldn’t have met some great people and be able to fulfill my curiousity about the world so easily.
The internet is great, but yes it’s also a bit of an evil when it comes to neglecting “real life”
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