Play this scenario out. No internet for a month. No cell phone for a month. For everyone!

I think bicycle and car messengers would pop up everywhere to help people stay in touch.. after the initial rage and craziness died out.

Would landline phones still work?

 

Since I do corporate IT networking for a living, I'd be looking at 20hr days until it got fixed.

 

Well, all of the credit card facilities in shops would stop working, as would a bunch of ATMs. That would freak a few people out, surely.

 

For me personally, no cell phone would mean some inconveniences, but no serious problems....except for what we're going through with my MIL (details to be posted in another thread). The internet is another story. All of our bills except the house note are done online. I do a lot of research online.

I could see many companies not being able to gear up fast enough to go back to "paper." For payments there would have to be some extended grace periods.

We're definitely techno-reliant. Thirty days could be disastrous.

I remember when some solar flares disrupted cell phone service for a day or two. Many people were "lost" without their precious cell phones. This happened before just about everybody and their three old kid had a cell phone. If it happened again tomorrow............

There was some talk at the time the next great World War wouldn't involve weapons of mass destruction, at least not at first, but satellite sabotage.

Dr. Evil, "I will activate the Satellite Freeze Ray unless I'm paid thirty trillion dollars."
World Leaders, "We won't let you extort money from us!"
Dr. Evil, "You really need to give that some thought. Seriously."

 

Borla, I believe you hit the nail on the head. the citizens of Cities like Tulsa all around the country would panic.This deals directly to Humanity. I am sure it would look like Ferguson only a hundred fold. there will be the preditors and the prey. we can see it everyday in a somewhat stable society. The panic of New years eve 1999. running out of food water and no services cause the police would be protecting their own. people seldom pull together with someone they don't know, too much dis-trust. it would be the end of the world. now for thoughs of us that live in the country....well we stock food and supplies, and take care of our neighbors and carry guns...I believe just like in the Bible, the city is no place for man.

 

95% of my job requires me to use the internet for some reason or another. I'd still go in because I don't have a month's work of paid leave. BabySquirrel could come with me though and we could reorganize my desk over and over again.

I wouldn't have enough cash on hand to pay for anything, so I'd probably go-a-looting for essentials. We do have a stockpile of diapers and wipes, so we'd be good there.

 

Man, there'd be so much boredom sex.

 

I would worry about the money an credit card thing. I don't live anywhere close to my credit union branch office.

But, I went without cell phone, TV, or internet for almost 3 weeks last Summer and I survived. As long as the food was in the grocery store, clean water to drink, and there was power to cook food, I think things would continue and not descend into anarchy.

 

I don't expect society to fail just because cell phones and the Internet stopped working. We were able to survive prior to the internet. It might be a good thing to get people reconnected with their neighborhood and do stuff around the house.

 

I guess my question is are we looking at major side effects like stock market crashes (or at least having it majorly fuX0red), people not being able to access money (especially getting paid if they work for companies that do everything electronically), or getting sent home from work because of all the jobs that are based on needing the net.
I'm no saying society would crumble but I'm pretty sure it would be pretty messy even after things got back up and running again.

Me, I'd survive.
It's kind of weird in that for the first time in my life I don't have a land line but for the longest time our landline was through out cable wouldn't have mattered anyway.
I've got a bug out kit and plenty of books.
Plus I live in a state with a bunch of survivalist friends.

 

Fuck no. We've got people in this country that do nothing sit at home on welfare waiting for an excuse to loot a gas station food mart. Something-something entitlement complex.

It's a well-known fact that if you combine extreme boredom or flash hysteria with stupid people, you get trouble.

See: Guns & Roses and football hooliganism.

...

The funniest thing about this ZOMGTEOTWAWKIWROL scenario game is that it's merely a lack of cellphones and internet access. Nobody would act a fool over that, would they?

I mean, no TV leads to riots. No power leads to Thunderdome stuff. But cellphones and internet? Probably increase interpersonal interaction across the board.

Bonus: The whole legion of barking fat guys at Reddit would be completely lost for words upon emerging from their moms' basements.