'No Internet' Acts As A Pause Button In Our Routine, And This Is Alarming!

As India sets a record of sorts for the longest shutdown of the Internet in a democracy, many of us must have practically realised how the Internet has become an irreplaceable part of our lives. As someone who has to submit her work online, who has to write mock tests online and whose studies are completely dependent on ‘Ask Google,’ the four days when there was no Internet proved to be a 'pause button' for my life. To be precise, until now, I’ve only written and spoken about what happens without the Internet. But when we go through it in reality, we realise how badly we’re dependent on the Internet. Here’s how the Internet has taken over our lives:

Internet was made to make our lives easier and it has succeeded in its mission. But with every passing day, and with every new invention, with every new source code for a program, Internet is finally taking over us.

From Dictionary To OK Google

Imagine you hear a word you don’t know the meaning of. What would you do? Definitely jump to Google and the search engine will come to your rescue. We’ve become so used to the ease of finding the meaning of a word, that turning the pages of a dictionary appears to be a task now. So when Internet shut down, my hands reached out, for my dear old dictionary, as I reminisced how my father taught me to look for a word-meaning in the same.

From Newspapers To Online News

Today, most of us look forward to online sites for news and it isn’t wrong in anyway. Online news makes our lives easier since as soon as something happens, we instantly get a prompt. Newspapers do serve a purpose, but we have a better option and most of us resort to it. Moreover, the advent of Internet TVs has only aggravated our dependence on the Internet. “With the shutdown of Internet, there was no news, either on TV, nor on the phone. "I believe, we’ve become impatient and are not ready to wait for the newspaper with the advent of Internet news,” says Mohit Srivastava, student.

We hardly remember people’s birthdays now, since there’s a notification popping up everyday on our Facebook timelines, reminding us of birthdays that we ought to remember without any reminders.

Also Read:Just 42% Of Women In India Are Aware Of The Internet: Report

From Books To Google Docs and PDFs

Internet makes our lives easier, when it comes to books. Offline books are costly, while on the Internet, you can easily access free PDFs. Who wouldn’t resort to this? Not only this but most of the teachers at University level upload their notes on sites so that students can access them easily. Now, when there’s no Internet, there are no notes, no books and no PDFs.

“We had our B.Tech exams and all the notes were shared on WhatsApp. However, since Internet was shut down without any prior notice, we were all blank regarding what to do now. I prepared for my exam from whatever I could collect from various sources, but Internet shutdown was a jolt,” says Komal Tripathi, student, Government Central Textile Institute, Kanpur.

If you observe your surroundings closely, you would realise that we’re moving towards an era of Internet takeover. And despite its disadvantages, we stand still, as it swallows us slowly

From Speaking To Texting

While we’re used to texting on WhatsApp or Facebook messenger, Internet shutdown reminded me the real purpose for which mobile phones were made. We called each other since there was no other way of conversing. And while we were talking, my friend said, “Doesn’t it feel like our life is in a pause mode? In fact, today we are using our phones for the exact purpose for which it was made.”

Also Read:Delhi Woman Asks Men To Rape Women In Short Dresses. Next? The Internet Took Over.

From Remembering Birthdays To Facebook Reminders

Facebook has spoiled us. You understand this when you forget your friend’s birthday because there’s no Facebook to remind you now. We hardly remember people’s birthdays nowadays, since there’s a notification popping up everyday on our Facebook timelines, reminding us of birthdays that we ought to remember without any reminders. In fact, phone call wishes are passé. Today, we believe in wishing people on their timeline, we would wish them through text. But Internet shutdown reminds us of what we ought to do.

Newspapers do serve a purpose, but we have a better option and most of us resort to it. Moreover, the advent of Internet TVs has only aggravated our dependence on the Internet

From Books To Kindle

Isn’t there something beautiful about the way a new book smells? I might be biased, but only a true book lover can relate to the beauty of the smell from a book just bought. But sadly, the Gen-next is keener on Kindle than on hard copies.

Internet was made to make our lives easier and it has succeeded in its mission. But with every passing day, and with every new invention, with every new source code for a program, Internet is taking over. We hardly approach our teachers to clear our doubts, since most of us prefer Google to come to our rescue. Kids these days rely on Internet for their speeches, parents hardly want their kids to write on their own. These are just a few examples, and if you observe your surroundings closely, you would realise that we’re moving towards an era of Internet takeover. And despite its disadvantages, we stand still, as it slowly swallows us.

Picture Credit: News Bytes

Also Read: Learning at the Digital Trust Dialogues, a safer internet is good for all

The views expressed are the writer's own.