Do you think people would open their eyes and become more neighborly? Would it free people to actually talk to their friends, go to actual events in person? Or is everyone already entrenched too far?
And yes its ironic im posting this online. However I like to think of how the world would react if we could disable the internet for a few months. Besides the chaos of banking and airlines, I think it would be a net positive on humanity.
Until then, ill go back to being mostly disconnected on weekends. Its great.
There was a power outage in the Modwest in 2003 or so. It lasted a few days.
Businesses were mostly closed down, so everyone basically had a few days off. There was a life to the community that I had never experienced. People with generators were visiting old friends, running their fridges for a few hours at a time, and the parks were full. People were generally friendly and helpful to each other. Then after a few days, the power came back on and life went back to normal.
If we destroyed the internet, I wouldn’t expect the same thing to happen. Businesses would readjust, and life would find a new normal (perhaps looking a little more like the 90s). But I doubt it would change much with how neighborly people are.
What seems to trigger that sense of community is a shared experience, especially hardships. So if things keep going downhill, a silver lining will probably be a renaissance of community.