Should the internet be turned off for a week?

Fathom · 25-03-2021 9:37pm

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

No, I am not. But if people would rather wait until September I’d allow that.

You are welcome to turn off your own personal Internet access for a week if you wish. But then how would you continue to debate your points here? :pac: Anecdotally speaking. It may be fun to play old films developed from such fictional authors as Jules Verne, where advancing technology has adverse, catastrophic consequences for humanity. It may also be fun to slip on a toga, sandals, and carry a sign: "Beware Technology: Doom is Near!" Personally, I will take a post-modern philosophical neo-Darwin position. I will attempt to adapt and evolve as best I can. Sometimes be an early adapter. Other times sit back and watch others take the first beta steps. But I will not walk to the nearby Pacific beach and take advantage of the sand, while the world of technology passes me by.

Sunny Disposition · 25-03-2021 10:05pm

Fathom wrote: »

You are welcome to turn off your own personal Internet access for a week if you wish. But then how would you continue to debate your points here? :pac:

Anecdotally speaking. It may be fun to play old films developed from such fictional authors as Jules Verne, where advancing technology has adverse, catastrophic consequences for humanity. It may also be fun to slip on a toga, sandals, and carry a sign: "Beware Technology: Doom is Near!"

Personally, I will take a post-modern philosophical neo-Darwin position. I will attempt to adapt and evolve as best I can. Sometimes be an early adapter. Other times sit back and watch others take the first beta steps. But I will not walk to the nearby Pacific beach and take advantage of the sand, while the world of technology passes me by.

But it’s not being turned off for ever, just a week. It will be a fantastic opportunity to recalibrate. Plus it’d allow us to break our over reliance and make us more adaptable.

Fathom · 25-03-2021 10:35pm

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

But it’s not being turned off for ever, just a week. It will be a fantastic opportunity to recalibrate. Plus it’d allow us to break our over reliance and make us more adaptable.

According to whom? Any scholarly research to back this up? Or is this anecdotal and solely based upon your opinion that there would be positive health effects?

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

Even if the Government just did it from say Good Friday to late on Easter Sunday night wouldn't it give us a chance for contemplation. Should they do it?

That's all we need is more government regulation. Once again, you can self-regulate without the government butting in for a few days, or a week without troubling the rest of us. Your government talk reminds me of the oldies but goodies song by Five Man Electrical Band: "Sign, sign Everywhere a sign Blockin' out the scenery Breakin' my mind Do this, don't do that Can't you read the sign?" And it's not just for a week; rather, there are consequences for actions that go beyond such time frames. This is bigger than a Butterfly Effect. Such actions sometimes become precedents, that others cite when they try to justify erecting longer lasting signs.

Sunny Disposition · 25-03-2021 10:40pm

Fathom wrote: »

According to whom? Any scholarly research to back this up? Or is this anecdotal and solely based upon your opinion that there would be positive health effects?

That's all we need is more government regulation. Once again, you can self-regulate without the government butting in for a few days, or a week without troubling the rest of us. Your government talk reminds me of the oldies but goodies song by Five Man Electrical Band:

"Sign, sign
Everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery
Breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that
Can't you read the sign?"

And it's not just for a week; rather, there are consequences for actions that go beyond such time frames. This is bigger than a Butterfly Effect. Such actions sometimes become precedents, that others cite when they try to justify erecting longer lasting signs.

Yeah, read several papers about the impact of the internet on anxiety and depression, sure it’s fierce! Absolutely right, government intervention is exactly what’s required!

25-03-2021 10:44pm

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

Yeah, read several papers about the impact of the internet on anxiety and depression, sure it’s fierce! Absolutely right, government intervention is exactly what’s required!

Or just being a basic level adult and showing some self control

Sunny Disposition · 10-05-2021 12:03pm

The Eoghan Harris situation shows again how dangerous the web is and the need for it to be turned off from time to time.

McGinniesta · 10-05-2021 12:50pm

What are fat planks like me supposed to do for fanny in the mean time.

I think my head would burst if I didn't have some **** material.

Strumms · 10-05-2021 1:01pm

You turn off the internet for a week...

1) not an aircraft in the sky, the aviation industry collapses..

Can’t file flight plans
Can’t update aircraft databases
Can’t log maintenance issues
ATC can’t track aircraft reliably.

2) healthcare is in trouble, people die

Doctor in cappagh wants to send a brain scan to a professor in the Mater, needs a second opinion etc, e-mail, it’s there in seconds, otherwise he has to call a courier, wait for the courier, courier has to drive there, park, find the professor... patient could be dead. Best case scenario... what would have taken 5/minutes will take well over an hour.

3) Gardai, fire, ambulance services communications, ePCR etc.... not available... the emergency services at a standstill, more people die.

4) digital tv, no internet, no sky.

5) connectivity with friends, family, gone...

Turn off the internet, yeah, sound idea, really, in reality, no, thanks.

10-05-2021 10:20pm

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

The Eoghan Harris situation shows again how dangerous the web is and the need for it to be turned off from time to time.

It shows how trolls should be dealt with.

begbysback · 11-05-2021 12:36am

Strumms wrote: »

You turn off the internet for a week...

1) not an aircraft in the sky, the aviation industry collapses..

Can’t file flight plans
Can’t update aircraft databases
Can’t log maintenance issues
ATC can’t track aircraft reliably.

2) healthcare is in trouble, people die

Doctor in cappagh wants to send a brain scan to a professor in the Mater, needs a second opinion etc, e-mail, it’s there in seconds, otherwise he has to call a courier, wait for the courier, courier has to drive there, park, find the professor... patient could be dead. Best case scenario... what would have taken 5/minutes will take well over an hour.

3) Gardai, fire, ambulance services communications, ePCR etc.... not available... the emergency services at a standstill, more people die.

4) digital tv, no internet, no sky.

5) connectivity with friends, family, gone...

Turn off the internet, yeah, sound idea, really, in reality, no, thanks.

You do know we could do all this before tinternet?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 11-05-2021 7:27am

begbysback wrote: »

You do know we could do all this before tinternet?

No. 4 was a bit tricky, to be fair.

(Ok, there was Sky before the internet - and it was much better!)

maccored · 11-05-2021 10:26am

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

This would give everyone a break and could provide us with a huge mental health boost. Also it would give people a chance to realise they were gone too into twitter and facebook etc. Even if the Government just did it from say Good Friday to late on Easter Sunday night wouldn't it give us a chance for contemplation. Should they do it?

people should take responsibility and turn off their network router at home and turn off the mobile phone for a few days.

You could knock off the www maybe, but too many devices and services rely on the internet

Tombo2001 · 11-05-2021 10:32am

Was booking a holiday home last summer, we agreed everything and then was told

"oh by the way, there's one other thing you should know...... the house has no wifi. Will that be a problem?"

I was like

"actually, I would pay extra for 'no wifi'".

It was genuinely a pleasure to be a way from wifi for two weeks.

Likewise - I lost the phone last year, took a month to replace it. I definitely noticed good habits emerging. Reading more, housekeeping more and so on.

The thing is- its all well and good for punters to say "you have the choice to turn it off if you want".

But phones (and specifically my issue would be phones, not internet) are so fuppin addictive. Its very difficult. They are compulsive and ever present.

maccored · 11-05-2021 10:44am

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Was booking a holiday home last summer, we agreed everything and then was told

"oh by the way, there's one other thing you should know...... the house has no wifi. Will that be a problem?"

I was like

"actually, I would pay extra for 'no wifi'".

It was genuinely a pleasure to be a way from wifi for two weeks.

Likewise - I lost the phone last year, took a month to replace it. I definitely noticed good habits emerging. Reading more, housekeeping more and so on.

The thing is- its all well and good for punters to say "you have the choice to turn it off if you want".

But phones (and specifically my issue would be phones, not internet) are so fuppin addictive. Its very difficult. They are compulsive and ever present.

people are addicted, and like any addiction, the temptation is always there. its quite possible to chill and not bother with the web, the internet of a phone with a bit of effort.

Strumms · 11-05-2021 4:28pm

begbysback wrote: »

You do know we could do all this before tinternet?

We are living in the NOW.. not before the internet, what we could do before in many cases some of which I’ve mentioned, we cannot now.

Dr. Bre · 11-05-2021 4:57pm

begbysback wrote: »

You do know we could do all this before tinternet?

Bring back travelling by horse and cart . Who needs cars and aeroplanes

El Tarangu · 12-05-2021 11:04am

begbysback wrote: »

You do know we could do all this before tinternet?

Yes - before the internet, ringing a family member in a different country cost £1 for a few mins; now it costs €0.000001 an hour or something

Elwood_Blues · 12-05-2021 11:34am

I don't know if the OP is just trolling but if not, then maybe the question is being phrased incorrectly and instead be, should social media and news sites be turned off for a week?

You are also ignoring the benefits of what the internet provides:

Video chat, texting, email, GPS, IPTV, ebooks, podcasts, online banking, contactless payment, working from home, IoT, online learning, online research facilities to name but a few. Not to mention how it has helped with the advances in medical technology.

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

The Government will really though, they make you drive on the left hand side of the road, take your earnings to give to poor people and make everyone send their kids to school. You'll do what you're told.

And as for your above point, you have a free choice to drive on the other side of the road if you want to, it's just there are serious consequences if you do so.

Ubbquittious · 13-05-2021 8:09pm

Be gas if GPS was turned off for a week. All those poor souls who'd have to learn to navigate again. GPS should be able to stay going without the internet though

Elwood_Blues · 14-05-2021 1:06pm

Ubbquittious wrote: »

Be gas if GPS was turned off for a week. All those poor souls who'd have to learn to navigate again. GPS should be able to stay going without the internet though

Fair point about the GPS, I guess it only really makes sense for map updates.

riclad · 14-05-2021 10:34pm

our infrastructure depends on the web, flight plans,booking,freight, transport ,
gardai, medical emergency services,
its not just for tv ,tik tok,or netflix.facebook, social media.
The economy relys on the internet,turning it off is NOT an option,
no more than turning off electrical power networks.

Ubbquittious · 15-05-2021 3:25pm

Dr. Bre wrote: »

Bring back travelling by horse and cart . Who needs cars and aeroplanes

The way things are going with climate change this will probably happen at some stage

Ubbquittious · 15-05-2021 4:15pm

Elwood_Blues wrote: »

Fair point about the GPS, I guess it only really makes sense for map updates.

It would be worth turning off d'Internet to see if these kind of things do function as expected. I'm sure there are many infrastructural things that used to depend on direct radio links and leased lines but at some point during the past 20 years they were surreptitious ly swapped out for an Eircom broadband line with a HuaWei modem or else a 4G dongle in order to free up some budget for the Christmas party.

I'd say turn it off for an hour first to give people a chance to prepare. Then turn it off for a week about 6 months later

Lewis_Benson · 15-05-2021 5:29pm

I said it earlier on the thread and I'll say it again.
The government cannot "turn off the Internet".

Man Vs ManUre · 15-05-2021 5:31pm

If you can leave the immersion on for a week without anyone telling you, I think it’s very possible to switch off this internet yoke.

odyssey06 · 15-05-2021 5:37pm

Man Vs ManUre wrote: »

If you can leave the immersion on for a week without anyone telling you, I think it’s very possible to switch off this internet yoke.

Leave the immersion on for a week? Never mind taking out the internet that'll be like a second Chernobyl.

ILoveYourVibes · 15-05-2021 5:46pm

No

why?

Lemon need not squeeze other lemon to survive.

We dont need to destroy something to better ourselves. To be honest we would only be taking our dysfunction elsewhere.

Pandiculation · 16-05-2021 12:55am

Absolute not and it would cause huge economic harm. A very large % of the Irish economy, access to all sorts of services, e-learning, personal and business communication many people’s most basic and necessary communication services, financial transactions, in many cases telephone, television, infrastructure of all sorts all operates using the internet to some degree.

It would also do enormous damage to our ability to be a modern economy or location for multinationals.

You might as well be suggesting turning off the electricity as modernity is stressful.

It’s not possible and even if it were it would be just profoundly damaging.

16-05-2021 12:57am

Ya, turn it off

Capt'n Midnight · 16-05-2021 6:48pm

Lewis_Benson wrote: »

I said it earlier on the thread and I'll say it again.
The government cannot "turn off the Internet".

In other countries the local govt has turned off many encrypted protocols and was then able to see lots and lots of stuff in the clear.

Sunny Disposition · 16-11-2021 5:02pm

The last few months have clearly shown why the internet needs to be turned off from time to time. People are having their head turned by anti vaccine nonsense, the disease would have been wiped out permanently if the internet had been off for a few weeks at the right time.

dxhound2005 · 16-11-2021 5:31pm

There is history of anti vaccine and anti science long before the internet. There were riots in the streets when smallpox vaccine was made compulsory. Making flu and Covid vaccines compulsory, would have a much better effect than turning off the internet.

Grab All Association · 16-11-2021 5:36pm

"Bart, the Internet is more than a global pornography network, it's..."

"Come on, Lisa...monkeys!"

MOH · 16-11-2021 5:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175967#Comment_118175967

You seem to repeatedly fail to grasp that "the internet" is more than just social media

PicardWithHair · 16-11-2021 5:45pm

OP how do we turn off the Internet ?

Do we shut down the main server in Silicon Valley ? I think it's a 386 PC with a 25mhz processor ...

Sunny Disposition · 16-11-2021 6:01pm

TBH only rabid anti vaxxers can deny the merit now.

riclad · 16-11-2021 7:52pm

The Internet is used by most company's, the hse, emergency services, its not just Facebook, tik Tok, YouTube, 1000s of people work from home, it would be a disaster if the Web was turned off. It would cost the economy billions. People get injured in car accidents, people drink too much, should we ban all cars and close down pubs? The Internet is a utility like the electricity network its not just there so you can post selfies or look at instagram

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 19-11-2021 6:16am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118176157#Comment_118176157

“If you took all the porn off the internet, there'd only be one website left called bring back the porn”

OMM 0000 · 19-11-2021 6:19am

No it shouldn't, but people would definitely be happier if they ditched social media and stopped using their phones so much.

Try to live in the present, not online.

Sunny Disposition · 19-11-2021 11:14am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118189523#Comment_118189523

The reality is that isn't happening and won't happen. The HSE's IT system was hacked, business grows ever more dependent on the internet, we're whistling past the graveyard, but if we just stopped and turned it off for a week we'd start learning to adapt and put the country on a much more sustainable path. Now the anti vaxxers won't want to know, but its an idea that's time has come.

19-11-2021 11:16am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118190241#Comment_118190241

Jesus you don't shut up about anti-vaxxers do you?

Sunny Disposition · 19-11-2021 11:19am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118190259#Comment_118190259

They are destroying our health service at the moment, taking scant resources at a time they are desparately needed and using the internet, which is a great piece of technology, to pursue a poisonous agenda. They're the biggest problem facing Ireland at the moment, so I don't apologise for criticising them.

19-11-2021 11:21am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118190277#Comment_118190277

Oh right. So no. You don't shut up about them

Ash.J.Williams · 19-11-2021 11:21am

people not realising money doesnt bring happiness

OMM 0000 · 19-11-2021 1:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118190296#Comment_118190296

Ah that's not really true.

Money makes your life much easier. You get a nicer environment (better home, better furniture, etc.), better food, and you are able to indulge in your hobbies. If you're a man you also get a much wider choice of partner.

I know a lot of rich people (millionaires and billionaires) and they are much happier than the average person.

The "money doesn't make you happy" phrase was invented to lower people's jealousy towards the rich.

Capt'n Midnight · 19-11-2021 6:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118189518#Comment_118189518

Ah Scrubs.

Anyway here's a song about what the internet is for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTJvdGcb7Fs

Capt'n Midnight · 19-11-2021 7:06pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118190296#Comment_118190296

In North America, the optimal amount for "life evaluation" was estimated at $105,000, and the range for day to day emotional well-being was slated at $65,000 to $95,000.

Based on a Gallup World Poll survey of more than 1.7 million people from 164 countries. And all of the other surveys ever on this topic.

dxhound2005 · 19-11-2021 7:36pm

Mexico is in the geographical region of North America. I would surmise that its 129 million inhabitants would be happier with those amounts of money, than their counterparts in Canada and the USA.

Montage of Feck · 19-11-2021 7:37pm

A vaccine cert should be mandatory to use the internet.

Ash.J.Williams · 19-11-2021 8:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118193133#Comment_118193133

That’s actually a brilliant idea for an experiment like 😂😂

Should the internet be turned off for a week?

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