Have You Had Enough of That Killer Internet Fail
Let me tell you why it is so annoying
The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.
Whilst this comment certainly hits the mark, there is a stark difference between that town square and the internet.
So, what is it then?
🟩 Well, the town square does not depend upon everyone being hotwired to electronics for those there to talk to, does it?
🟥 However, the internet relies upon servers, clients, cables, and routers to work properly for anyone using it.
- Servers: They contain and share information like where websites are located and the data that makes up those web pages.
2. Clients: These are the devices that you use to view web pages.
3. Cables: These allow information to travel between the different devices connected to the internet.
4. Routers: These make sure that the information goes to the right place on the internet.
Sounds fairly simple, doesn’t it?
It’s great when it works smoothly but when it doesn’t then it’s a whole different ball game, I can tell you.
I previously published on this matter in 2021, if you have not read it before, then you access it by clicking the image below:
Much like myself and my wife Carol Townend, we rely upon the internet to work effectively, so that we can write and publish what we write. We are not alone either in this as many writers are turning to online platforms such as the one that I am writing this on now — Medium.
It is frightening just how much people today are relying on the availability of the internet, to support them in what they are doing. As www.consumerintelligence.com points out, “… have you ever wondered what would happen if the internet went down? Is it possible that we’ve become too reliant on the internet to continue functioning without it?”
Experts on the subject say that a worldwide internet shutdown could trigger a global economic collapse. Digital interactions, jobs requiring internet connectivity, and banking and payment networks would cease. Long-distance supply chains and food distribution would grind to a halt. Transportation infrastructure would disappear, and power grids would fail. Enormous stores of knowledge would be lost. Bewilderment and chaos would reign.
Consumer Intelligence. Are we too reliant on the internet? (Published by Carey, C., 24/06/21.)
Frightening thought don’t you think?
Today was one of those crazily annoying days when our internet connection failed, but thankfully only for a short amount of time.
As a writer, this is one of those defining moments when frustration can really kick you in the guts. Not from spending hours thinking up article ideas to fill your drafts folder though, but from the unnerving moment when you are wrapped up in your own little world, composing an article, and your internet connection suddenly disconnects.
It is an annoying event such as this, that brings home the bleak reality that we all depend on internet technology, far more than we ever really think it does.
I would like to leave you with this potential concern. Tech Radar writer, John Loeffler, had this to say in 2021, “… a severe solar storm might cause an ‘internet apocalypse.”
The study (PDF here), presented at the SIGCOMM 2021 (the Special Interest Group on Data Communication) conference last month, comes from Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi, an assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine. In it, she describes how undersea cables — which are essential to connecting the different continents to a common Internet.
An alarming and sobering thought don’t you think?
Now, over to you.
What do you think about our dependence, use, and reliance on the internet today?
Thank you for choosing to read this.