Could you handle a world where you no longer have the internet?

[Jayson1]

I kept my accounting textbook just in case I ever do need to brush up on the pen-and-paper method.

It's useful to know. I'd barely finished my accounting course before I got drafted to take over the Exchequer (treasurer) position in the local branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism.


Scoff if you want, but at least I've got the original, purest version of the original Star Wars trilogy before Lucas started "improving" it. And I've got tapes of TV series that I've never seen offered on DVD or even posted anywhere online.

And some people actually did walk 2 miles in snow to get to school. I didn't have to do that, but I did it once in a cross-town hike home from college one day.

I thought the original uncut versions were released on DVD? Also I know people did do things like the 'walk through snow." stuff. I mean I use to walk to school all the time as well, even when it snowed. I recall once when I walked to school and then stood to long next to the heater at school and kind of fainted. It's not that they aren't true I think it's true that people like having these kind of memories. It's part of the stories we like to talk about. I don't see anything wrong with it.

PLus sometimes when you listen to a old song or watch a old movie or some old sports game or whatnot it's almost like time travel. If I listen to "Stay" by Lisa Loeb for example I feel like I am teenager again just a little bit instead of a 42 year old guy.

Jason

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Wait what? The stories about walking to school in the snow are TRUE?

Was the Ark true too also the dinosaurs, were they aliens

 

[Jayson1]

Wait what? The stories about walking to school in the snow are TRUE?

Was the Ark true too also the dinosaurs, were they aliens

They got to be since kids use to walk to school all the time, at least they did when I was kid. You walk to school and then you walk home, but sometimes you don't even go home. Basically if you make it home before it turns dark outside then everything was fine. Not sure if they still use the term but I was also a latch key kid I think it was called. My mom worked and my dad lived in another town so you basically just let yourself in and you have the house to yourself until she gets off work.

Jason

 

[rahullak]

I could survive from a personal life angle. But without the Internet, the whole offshoring/outsourcing disappears. Which means I'll most probably lose my job and would have to start from scratch doing something else. My MBA helps maybe, I could work at some retail store. I would no longer be able to reskill myself through MooCs or just watching Youtube.

Also, millions of people employed in outsourcing businesses across India and the world would be out of a job. Governments relying on this to up their jobs numbers would be screwed. Government services would have to go back to the old days, which means much more graft than currently exist. Information brokering would be a huge thing again and graft, black money, money laundering picks up big time. No ride-sharing/uber/ola etc.

All in all, it would screw up most developing economies that rely a lot on technology to solve problems that have already been solved elsewhere.

 

[Mudd]

Yes. The Internet as it is now has not existed for much of my lifetime. One might as well ask "could you live without a cellphone?" Sure, roll the world back twenty years? Right now that doesn't sound horrible in too many ways.

 

[MacLeod]

I hate to say this (especially since I majored in accounting while in college), but...at this point, I've become so dependent on my bank's website that I couldn't balance a checkbook even if I put it on the bathroom scale.

And I freely admit I would be rather lonely without access to this board, because I have met some very dear friends here and I wouldn't want to be without them. They know who they are.

What's a Cheque book?

You'd be hard pressed to find a major retailer in the UK that still accepts them, most cheques written in the UK are either to tradesmen who work for themselves or personnal cheques.

 

[John Clark]

What's a Cheque book?

You'd be hard pressed to find a major retailer in the UK that still accepts them, most cheques written in the UK are either to tradesmen who work for themselves or personnal cheques.

On a personal basis, I don't anymore (I used to had to do one to the local council once a year but I've given up on that service), but workwise, I still average a couple a month. (Hate receiving them though because it takes more effort)

The most common cheque I do is to the council because we weren't about to set up over a hundred direct debits per month from them.

As for cellphones vs internet, I could do without a phone far more often than I'd like to do without the internet.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Sure, roll the world back twenty years? Right now that doesn't sound horrible in too many ways.

Yes, it kinda does.

(1.5 years, I might give you, though... )

 

[Mudd]

Yes, it kinda does.

(1.5 years, I might give you, though... )

I guess for some of us froggies in the pan the water only seems to be getting a little hot...

 

[Astra]

With the internet it takes me about 10 minutes to do month-end bills. Without the internet it would take a hell of a lot longer - cheques, phone payments, monthly trips to the bank.

And, yeah, I’d really, really hate to have to go back to paying bills manually and balancing a checkbook.

Why do you pay bills manually each month? Can you not set it up in a way that it automatically gets taken from your bank account? When I moved into my apartment in 1999, I once signed statements at the bank office for certain things to be taken, and never had to worry about it again. Rent, cable bill, power and all kind of insurances, all get taken at a certain day of the month, or once per quarter, or once per year, however which way you set it up.

I always wonder about this when I read statements of paying the bills from US based people.
When my grandmother died, I found an old book from before the war. Used to be that once a month someone would come, collect the rent in cash, and write in the book that it was paid, with an official stamp. Also used to be that my parents, in the Seventies still, would get their monthly wage in cash, in an office at work. But I thought all this was done away with once bank accounts were invented.

 

[Amaris]

Why do you pay bills manually each month? Can you not set it up in a way that it automatically gets taken from your bank account? When I moved into my apartment in 1999, I once signed statements at the bank office for certain things to be taken, and never had to worry about it again. Rent, cable bill, power and all kind of insurances, all get taken at a certain day of the month, or once per quarter, or once per year, however which way you set it up.

I always wonder about this when I read statements of paying the bills from US based people.
When my grandmother died, I found an old book from before the war. Used to be that once a month someone would come, collect the rent in cash, and write in the book that it was paid, with an official stamp. Also used to be that my parents, in the Seventies still, would get their monthly wage in cash, in an office at work. But I thought all this was done away with once bank accounts were invented.

I prefer to do things manually, rather than automatic payments, but yeah, without using the internet I can pay everything without writing out a check or money order, and it only takes a few minutes if I budget ahead of time. The internet is preferred because it does everything for you, from reminding you to telling you the balance once you've made the payment. Otherwise, it's essentially the same without using the internet.

For example: "Oh, cable bill's due!" *calls cable company* *pays bill with credit card*

Done.

 

[urbandefault]

Been there, done that. It's only "difficult" for a day or so, then you go outside and talk to people.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

^ Not so easy if your family and close friends are spread over a few continents. Or you're physically disabled. Or your job depends on the internet. Or... all sorts of other possibilities. The internet isn't just used for frivolous entertainment.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Why do you pay bills manually each month? Can you not set it up in a way that it automatically gets taken from your bank account?

I'm not from the US, but... I do actually use the automatic withdrawal for payments that are constant from month to month, such as insurance, internet, etc. Bills that can vary from month to month, such as hydro, gas, phone, etc., I pay manually. ("Manually" in this case meaning I set up the payment myself each month via online banking.)

There are two reasons I do this. The first one is that, well, money is somewhat tight, and so if a variable bill comes in much higher than usual, I can choose to pay only part of it if necessary (bearing in mind that there could be consequences). This way, I can still afford to meet my other payments throughout the month.

The other reason is just that mistakes happen. I don't want to have my bank account wiped out because some utility company moved the decimal over a few spots on my bill. Sure, it's probably rare, but it does happen.

 

[Mudd]

Been there, done that. It's only "difficult" for a day or so, then you go outside and talk to people.

Ewwww....

 

[BillJ]

I like the internet, but could easily let it go.

 

[Timewalker]

Why do you pay bills manually each month? Can you not set it up in a way that it automatically gets taken from your bank account? When I moved into my apartment in 1999, I once signed statements at the bank office for certain things to be taken, and never had to worry about it again. Rent, cable bill, power and all kind of insurances, all get taken at a certain day of the month, or once per quarter, or once per year, however which way you set it up.

I always wonder about this when I read statements of paying the bills from US based people.

I'm not US-based.

I do have some things set up for automatic debit each month. Other things were, but arrangements got completely messed up when the company/agency decided to change their billing schedule without telling me and they didn't give a damn about the schedule I'm on when my own income comes in. So there are some things I decided to do myself. The property management company won't care if an automatic payment doesn't go through due to a computer glitch on somebody's end or servers being down. They just want their money, so each month I go to the office and pay in person and get a receipt. That way I've got two options of how to pay, if one doesn't work.

I still get paper bills for electricity and phone/TV/internet. They're acceptable to most government agencies as name/address IDs for people who don't have a driver's license. I've got another photo ID with my picture and age. Together they work.

When my grandmother died, I found an old book from before the war. Used to be that once a month someone would come, collect the rent in cash, and write in the book that it was paid, with an official stamp. Also used to be that my parents, in the Seventies still, would get their monthly wage in cash, in an office at work. But I thought all this was done away with once bank accounts were invented.

Even today not everyone has a bank account. Try being a homeless person, walking into a bank, and setting up an account with no permanent address or driver's license. For that matter, there's a credit union in my city where the tellers look down their noses at someone wanting to set up a new account, and if they don't have a driver's license, their next question is "Is there anyone on staff in this branch you know personally who could vouch for you?" That's how they treated my grandmother - like crap. Her other IDs weren't good enough.

 

[MacLeod]

Why do you pay bills manually each month? Can you not set it up in a way that it automatically gets taken from your bank account? When I moved into my apartment in 1999, I once signed statements at the bank office for certain things to be taken, and never had to worry about it again. Rent, cable bill, power and all kind of insurances, all get taken at a certain day of the month, or once per quarter, or once per year, however which way you set it up.

I always wonder about this when I read statements of paying the bills from US based people.
When my grandmother died, I found an old book from before the war. Used to be that once a month someone would come, collect the rent in cash, and write in the book that it was paid, with an official stamp. Also used to be that my parents, in the Seventies still, would get their monthly wage in cash, in an office at work. But I thought all this was done away with once bank accounts were invented.

Well the USA is sttill adopting Chip N PIN cards which countires like the UK did away with over a decade ago.

I suspect I could easily phone a compay in the UK or visit their website and get them to change the day they take payment from me.

 

[DimesDan]

All are bills are paperless and done through direct debit, we don't even have a cheque book.

 

[MacLeod]

I think I'm still on my first deposit book that I got with my account when I opend it over 20 years ago. Technically don't even need it now if I need to pay money into my accout (which I rarely do) I just put my card into the machine at the tellar station in the bank enter my PIN and say "can I please deposit this into my account thanks"