Very Tough Question...What would you do if all the computers broke down, & "No Internet at all?

[Stuart G]

.....I would volunteer to help people in some form. Many years ago, I was part of a program to help people learn to read ...
English. Some were from other countries, & some were from U.S.A. somehow get through school faking it.??
...What else? Watch a TV station with constant news, or listen to the radio for music........Oh wait a minute....

.....Play some old LP records...do you know what those are? Hard to describe, let someone else.....

[riverbendviewgal]

1. Walk to the library and

Read , paint, take walks in nature ,listen to my CDs while purging my closets calling up my old and new friends.. watch sunrises.

[Stuart G]

2. That last one...Watch the sunrises..a great one. Sometimes I did that at Lake Michigan..

Last edited Sun Sep 25, 2022, 09:14 AM - Edit history (1)

I would drive to the beach in Evanston, and watch the sunrise over the lake.........(short ride, 15 minutes)

And I thought about doing this:..............Watch the sunrise over the lake, then drive around to the other side of the
lake in Michigan...and then ....watch the sunset over the lake....Yes, I could do it easily in one day.

To find a great beach in Michigan is a 150 - 200 mile drive to the other side of the lake to watch the sun go down over a
large body of water...Lake Michigan.

[Srkdqltr]

5. Watch the sun come up over lake Erie, and go down over lake Michigan. What a great thought.

[markie]

7. I used to live

near South Haven... sunsets were nice... I live in the hills of Vermont now and while the sunsets are nice, they are not nearly as nice

[delisen]

3. Initial response: get prepared for 2nd insurrection

My initial response to a total internet breakdown would be to suspect a 2nd insurrection.

After that fear was alleviated I would organize a group very locally to to relate to our common political concerns and to coordinate with larger political groups to preserve our democracy.

I would also become more involved in very local arts and science projects.

I realize, due to your question, that I really should be acting more locally now.

[unweird]

4. Well, which is it? Computing and internet connectivity are two different things

Not to be pedantic but the internet is a connectivity network while computers are computational nodes that can connect to the internet. There are other appliances that can be connected to the internet and provide utility. And computers can be used without internet connectivity. So which function is missing in this thought exercise, internet or computers? Or is it both? If both then we’re doomed as our society and economy are too reliant on and entwined with digital networking and computational applications.
But hell, we’re doomed anyway. So there’s that.

[Stuart G]

6. ..There's that?...Doomed anyway? That is not new..People said that when the atom bomb was created.

And there were movies about those possible events. Before that..there were books about the end of the world..

End of the world in the year...2000? (that was in the 50s..I remember hearing about those books, never read any.

[unweird]

8. Yep, we continue to progress toward our own demise

Meanwhile we have family and community to share with and in.

[Ferrets are Cool]

9. My business would shut it's doors. I would be up shit creek with no paddle.

It would be devastating.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

10. Read books.

[Stuart G]

12. SARCASM:.........BOOKS? what are ..........BOOKS?

[sl8]

11. See if I can find my copy of the "Whole Earth Catalog".

It won't replace the intenet, but it is very good for browsing

[hunter]

13. Take a piss, pour myself a cup of coffee, dust off my radios...

... and get some sort of world wide web back up and running within a few days, using older technology if necessary.

I've been on the internet since the late 'seventies. I don't remember a time I wasn't fascinated by telephones, radios, and computers.

[grumpyduck]

14. I think it would be fascinating

to watch all the kids who grew up with these and don't know what to do without them. Yikes, no computer games. No texting...

[DFW]

15. Not only was I 45 before I got my first computer

As far as I know, just about every human that had lived before me—EVER—hadn’t had a computer, either. And they all led normal lives. What makes me or my generation so special?

[Chainfire]

17. I was about 40 when I got my first computer and I was on the cutting edge!

I didn't spend any time on the web until about 2000. I think that I could go back without much pain.

[Chainfire]

16. I would dust off my books.

What would be a more interesting thought question was raised by a forgotten TV program I saw in my childhood. The plot was that some, and I believe it was extraterrestrial phenomena, caused everything electric to fail and to never return. One hundred years ago, about 30% of America had electricity. My Father grew up without electricity past his graduation from high school. (1929)

Of course, now, it that happened it would cause a great die-off of the population. It is interesting what the changes of one generation can bring.

Back to the original question: If the internet failed totally, I would be getting more exercise.

[highplainsdem]

18. I'm trying to imagine our society even surviving, after a very rough transition,

if all the computers broke down and there was no internet at all. There would be little or no broadcasting, for instance, if all computers suddenly stopped working. Supply chains for grocery stores and other stores? Good luck.

We'd all be too busy just trying to survive to worry much about any leisure time.

But you seem to be presupposing just personal computers and personal use of the internet ending, without widespread chaos and violence. You want to know what we'd do with our leisure time.

I'd need to get a landline again for phone calls. And a typewriter (I replaced my last Smith Corona electric with a computer nearly 40 years ago, finally threw the typewriter out about ten years ago). And an old stereo system with nothing computerized in it.

I'd probably spend more time on the phone just chatting, if deprived of the internet and email and text messages.

I'd read, and write, but maybe no more than I do now - just differently.

I'd listen to music (still have LPs, and there'd probably be more live music than ever) and make some.

I'd dig out the art supplies and replace the paints. The old pastels would probably still be usable.

I haven't used the local library much in recent years, but I'd have to go to the main branch downtown since I wouldn't be able to use the online catalog and request that books from the main library or any branch be sent to the nearest branch.

I'd probably have to look for a support group for Former Amazon Shoppers Anonymous.

[femmocrat]

19. I was without a computer for several months...

while awaiting eye surgery last summer. It wasn’t so bad. I listened to a lot of TV news instead. We are stronger than we think! LOL

[RainCaster]

20. Watch the sunrise from my hot tub

While listening to the birds and squirrels wake up. Of course coffee is involved. Then I would read a book.

[Nay]

21. #1. I'm just finishing up a quilt, so I'd just start on another one. #2. I'd keep on reading

the books I just got from the thrift store. #3. Continue with my Spanish CDs and easy-reader Spanish stories. #4. Walk outside and take my nature journal with me, plus my watercolors and ink pens.

Gee, a good part of my life is not digital. I'm gonna keep it that way. I recommend it to everyone!