· 71 comments · Save ·
Announcements Apr 2, 2026 at 11:25 PM

Tomorrow we wake up knowing that the internet has been hacked and theres no way anyone can fix it til the year 2080. No internet anymore for us. How do you take these news?

Posted by Hyperto

Blockbuster video and Gamestop are jumping in happiness, record stores already feeling the money. What about you? Google as we know it is non existent. no "w.w.w." at all. no chat rooms, no whatsapp. All that is left are phone calls and SMS. Emoticons on SMS are possible though. No e-mails either. And all past content is inaccessible. You cant look at that instagram people anymore and forget about X Videos. E***** shops shares are through the roof. How do you imagine this change on society and your life? Pros and Cons sure, but..overall?
🚩 Report this post

71 Comments

Sign in to comment — or just click the box below.
🔒 Your email is never shown publicly.
Xorpion Apr 2, 2026 +32
I'm going to miss being able to autopay my bills. I'll miss the convenience but I won't be heartbroken.
32
UnableChard2613 Apr 3, 2026 +8
Yeah, can we keep shit like that and maps to help us get places?
8
Xorpion Apr 3, 2026 +5
There used to be map books for drivers. You figured out each turn before you left on your trip.
5
RipVanWiinkle_ Apr 3, 2026 +3
I actually had to use one once at a job when I lost phone signal/gps and found the map in the work van It was my first time using a literal paper map to drive somewhere, it was like going on an adventure. Wasn’t difficult either, turns out I like maps
3
bob_apathy Apr 3, 2026 +29
I don’t think we are fully capable of understanding just how intwined in the minutiae of everyday life with the internet is and the economic devastation that would occur if it simply broke overnight. It would cause mass starvation, death and unemployment on an unprecedented scale.
29
Academic-Pangolin883 Apr 3, 2026 +11
Seriously. All the people saying, "I'd listen to CDs again!!" are a little delusional. 
11
SawkyScribe Apr 3, 2026 +1
I remember once the government shut down the internet where I lived and people were unironically saying how it "must be nice to take a break from things!" Bless their naive hearts
1
Pale-Factor-8574 Apr 2, 2026 +22
I just lost access to all the college classes I paid for to finish my degree. Out of pocket. Guess I'm paying into the war by physically driving to the college, only to be told they can't administer the program because all my classes were set up online. Best case scenario is that classes go all in person and the semester gets paused until they have the schedule sorted out. Worst case is classes are cancelled, no refunds. I communicate with my lawyer by email primarily. I need those records, and it also works for service of process for documents on a few cases I still have open. I can't access the backups now. Everyone enrolled in banks that operate only online can't access their funds. Internet =/= just TikTok. Society would adjust, but it's a rough few years until we find a replacement for the internet.
22
reality_boy Apr 3, 2026 +7
So this! My wife is a 2nd grade teacher and just lost her computer the entire week that quarterly grades were due. She was as stressed out as I have ever seen her. All her grading, and reporting, is cloud based. All her lesson books are online. They have a smart board for playing the lessons, that was useless. And they do about 5 different mandatory testing units online as well. Not to mention printing off worksheets, emailing parents and administrators, sharing resources with her team, and so on. And with security policies, we could not just bring a personal laptop and move forward. It would stink to loose the internet (and/or smart phones/computers). She adjusted, but a week was wildly inconvenient. A year would mean reworking every aspect of her job, probably by hand. Probably 90% of businesses would be making a major adjustment. 20% would probably not recover for years.
7
SacredGeometry9 Apr 3, 2026 +9
Hoarding basic necessities. The logistics chain for our entire society runs off systems connected to the Internet.
9
Omnitographer Apr 3, 2026 +3
Good luck even making a purchase, I doubt your average grocery store can operate without a connection to the mother ship, and do you even have enough cash on hand for that because no Internet means your local bank branch can't give you money from your account.
3
SacredGeometry9 Apr 3, 2026 +3
Well, the security cameras won’t be functioning either ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
3
SuperSocialMan Apr 3, 2026 +1
Yeah, there was one time a Wal-Mart near us and a power outage iirc (might've just been wi-fi going down, because I remember seeing the signs for gas were still working) and they just shut down for the entire day lol.
1
InformationSuperb978 Apr 2, 2026 +9
Well the world would collapse. So grab the popcorn and watch the shitfest
9
TropicalAbsol Apr 2, 2026 +4
Hacked how? closest we got to this was when that shark bit an internet sea floor line in 2020.
4
Ready_Employee9695 Apr 3, 2026 +4
With out the internet how would we get this news?
4
txhelgi Apr 3, 2026 +2
It would arrive via a neighbor as it used to.
2
Omnitographer Apr 3, 2026 +4
Have a bit of a panic because the infrastructure that gets food to my home, gas to my car, and medicine to my doctor all relies in the Internet connected world. Op doesn't seem to realize that the cellular infrastructure is inseparable from the Internet, so no, you aren't getting texts. Even if you had an old school phone to plug into the wall it wouldn't work because it's all Internet fiber on the telecom side. I figure a lot of people would become homeless, many would starve or die from lack of medicine, it'd be hellish for billions until the world recovered.
4
xSevusxBean4y Apr 3, 2026 +4
I have close online friends. Losing connection with all of them in an instant would make me feel awful and lonely.
4
Traditional_Trust418 Apr 3, 2026 +3
I would hate it because I work at a hospital and not having Internet access would suck for getting/updating paper records. Without email everything would either have to be printed out and mailed or faxed around and we'd have to keep paper records of everything since nothing can be stored digitally in the cloud
3
MountainTomato9292 Apr 3, 2026 +1
Honestly, this is pretty much how it was when I started nursing. Things were scanned into the computer eventually, but orders, flowsheets, etc. were all done on paper and faxed to the appropriate departments. Followed up by landline phone calls to the various places. Sometimes when I’m signing into Epic for the 5th time in 10 minutes because it keeps kicking me out, I miss it.
1
LadyHavoc97 Apr 3, 2026 +3
There goes online school and my youngest child's relationship. I think the second one is much worse than the first.
3
Myfreakinglyfe Apr 3, 2026 +5
Glad I saved all my CDs, DVDs, vinyl and books. It will be like the 80s again. I’m cool with that.
5
Ozymandys Apr 3, 2026 +2
I go into the internett, an sell my stock… The F.. Allright, I’ll call my broker… Whats their number again? Ok…
2
bgva Apr 3, 2026 +2
Most of my daily photography gigs come via email, so as long as I can still get correspondence (regular phone calls?) I guess I'm okay. It would take adjusting to, but I think I could get used to an analog world again. I think getting used to doing businesss over the phone might be the toughest part, as I haven't been a phone person in about 15 years.
2
reality_boy Apr 3, 2026 +3
I make an online multiplayer video game. That would stop working for sure. Maybe we could pivot to a stand alone game shipped on dvds. But chances are we would go under, or have massive layoffs before we made the transition.
3
Omnitographer Apr 3, 2026 +3
Phone calls need Internet also, it's all fiber and packet switching now, copper was ripped out ages ago.
3
Poultrygeist74 Apr 3, 2026 +2
Toilet paper hoarding
2
EdiblePeasant Apr 3, 2026 +2
That would suck. Since the 90's I've been terminally online. I guess I still have access to stuff offline but it would be a big loss. I'd probably be more active volunteering and at church just so I have something to do if I don't just look for an offline gaming group.
2
Minnymoon13 Apr 3, 2026 +2
I would lose my mind, yes I have hobbies that have nothing to do with the internet, but I kinda need it to use gps
2
UltraChip Apr 3, 2026
That last part isn't true - you can download local copies of maps.
0
SuperSocialMan Apr 3, 2026 +1
But not if there's no internet.
1
UltraChip Apr 3, 2026 +1
Ideally you'd download them before the Internet disappears.
1
Minnymoon13 Apr 3, 2026 +1
You can do that with gps? Because I need to physically see on a real time map where I am if I haven’t been there before
1
stvrkillr Apr 2, 2026 +5
Great news. By then the internet will be dead anyway. Just bots and AI influencers
5
GenXerNvyMeK Apr 3, 2026 +2
Do things like we used before the Internet and not have to worry about it being made public. The rest we already know how to do. Write checks, use cash, telephone from a wall, snail mail, etc.
2
Omnitographer Apr 3, 2026 +9
You can't telephone from a wall anymore, the underlying infrastructure is packet switched over fiber. The whole Internet going down overnight would cause the greatest depression the world has seen since the 20th century.
9
SuperSocialMan Apr 3, 2026 +1
>Write checks I'm pretty sure that requires the internet since that's where banks store data. >telephone from a wall I don't think phone lines exist anymore lol. They're probably tied to internet cables now. >snail mail I'm pretty sure a lot of the sorting machines & data storage uses the internet. I'd say that at least the post office data for everyone uses at least an intranet.
1
crepesarentpancakes Apr 3, 2026 +2
Grew up without, can do it again but it will be a serious adjustment. I'll wish I had kept most of my DVDs.... Lol
2
QUiiDAM Apr 3, 2026 +2
r/datahoarder ehehe I have all i need for years and a mirror of whole Wikipedia
2
UltraChip Apr 3, 2026 +2
"Has been hacked" is vague - what exactly is the nature of the malfunction? Do local networks still work? Most phone services nowadays are actually routed through the Internet on the backend so I actually wouldn't take it as a given that phones still work. At any rate: I have a pretty large local media library with hundreds of movies/TV shows, over 60,000 books, the entirety of Wikipedia, and a smattering of will-work-offline video games. So I'm all set for entertainment. For long-distance communication I have an amateur radio license and also I know how letters work. Most of my money is in the bank though, and our nearest branch is over an hour away... so that might be a problem.
2
PickSad601 Apr 3, 2026 +1
first reaction would probably be panic not gonna lie after that i think life would slow down a lot in a weird way. more in person stuff more phone calls more just being bored somtimes. that part might actually be kind of nice after a while but the downside is huge too work education even basic things like directions or banking would get messy fast. a lot of people depend on the internet way more than they reallize personally id probably end up reading more going outside more and actually keeping in touch with people on purpose instead of just sendin random mesages all day still feels like one of those things that sounds peacefull at first then reality hits and its chaos
1
tense_endoneurium Apr 3, 2026 +1
Honestly my attention span would probably recover in like a week but I think id just end up spending my entire paycheck at the local bookstore instead of doomscrolling. It sounds kinda peaceful but not being able to google how to fix my sink or find a recipe would definitely make me feel like a caveman pretty fast.
1
pa_dvg Apr 3, 2026 +1
I don’t know how I’d even know without the internet to tell me it’s broken and not just down
1
EquivalentNo2855 Apr 3, 2026 +1
well that would kinda suck for people who have long distance relationships
1
Practical_Track4867 Apr 3, 2026 +1
Sounds wonderful. Where do I sign the petition?
1
pistoriuz Apr 3, 2026 +1
Pela internet é que não vai ser
1
8008ytrap Apr 3, 2026 +1
Call the nearest antenna fitter in the local guide and panic buy "dumb" set top boxes to sell. Most houses these days have done away with TV and I guarantee if the internet ceases demand won't meet supply for these.
1
SuperSocialMan Apr 3, 2026 +1
I'm pretty sure that would just kill most of the population since so much shit would stop working lol.
1
emilymh2018 Apr 3, 2026 +1
I'm not sure I'd have a job anymore, as the store I work in gets all of its prices from the internet. They may choose not to stay in business. Or they may choose to do everything the old-fashioned way, and get someone to manually do my job and pay less because it'll require less skill. I just don't know. A lot of smaller companies would go under, I would think. The big ones may be able to adjust.
1
ApatheticGenXer Apr 3, 2026 +1
It’ll be like my teenage years! Hours spent on the phone w/friends, cruising the city on foot, then car. Newspapers, magazines & a bit slower pace. I’d miss being able to quickly google stuff to prove my husband wrong LOL
1
Matrixblackhole Apr 3, 2026 +1
I laugh hysterically with my in 13TB external HDD (I have everything I want on there). Jokes aside there'd be some forums that I'd seriously miss though.
1
Otherwise_8281 Apr 3, 2026
Joy. Joy. Relief. Joy.
0
DaddyLongLegs867 Apr 3, 2026
Don't threaten me with a good time
0
micolasflanel Apr 3, 2026
[this sort of thing](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HasaQvHCv4w)
0
Poultrygeist74 Apr 3, 2026 +1
You chose the worst version of that song
1
micolasflanel Apr 3, 2026 +2
i thought about finding the better one but i was in a hurry
2
Physical_Effort_1297 Apr 3, 2026
IM KEEN WHEN IS THE SHUTDOWN OCCURING......
0
wellwaffled Apr 3, 2026
*randy_ectoplasm.gif*
0
Normal-Sprinkles6799 Apr 3, 2026
Happy and relieved. Maybe people would have to find work...things to do. Maybe I could find a handyman again.
0
RJBed3 Apr 3, 2026
Breath fresh air while drinking my coffee
0
masculine-monkey Apr 3, 2026
honestly my attention span would probably recover instantly, but i would be so lost trying to find directions to anywhere without maps. id definitely miss having a library of info in my pocket, but at least people might actually look at each other while eating out for once. turn of the century vibes would be kinda cool for a week until the boredom sets in lol.
0
UltraChip Apr 3, 2026
Friendly reminder that Google Maps and many other navigation apps let you download local copies of the map data, specifically so that navigation still works even without Internet connectivity. You can also download local copies of Wikipedia but that's a bit more complicated.
0
PNWest01 Apr 3, 2026
Honestly, I think I'd be relieved. I wouldn't mind being forced to let go of my internet addiction. Life would be a whole lot more peaceful, I wouldn't be able to doom-scroll and my anxiety would probably improve dramatically.
0
Piedmontier Apr 3, 2026
If the internet went out for like a year, well that would be much different than 5 decades. Initially, society would collapse, but we would also be re-learning life from a more basic and fundamental level, which would be really good for us. I say this because hardship, like loss of internet, (though some kinds of loss are unnecessary,) can really shape you to become a better person. Imagine this but for the whole world. Currency is back into physical circulation, people now actually have to come out of their cocoon and engage in real-life connection, etc. Languages might start to diverge and the American accent might not be as prevalent as it is now. All kinds of things would happen. Thanks for the scenario.
0
Senior-Abies9969 Apr 2, 2026 -1
I’m gonna have to have all the s*x.
-1
UltraChip Apr 3, 2026 +2
I imagine that's hard for someone who can't even bring themselves to say the word uncensored.
2
MilleryCosima Apr 2, 2026 -1
I celebrate and work to ensure the 2080 return never happens.
-1
Dotty_nine Apr 3, 2026 -1
I am ninja was right... Also when did this happen?
-1
Foreign_Onion4792 Apr 3, 2026 -1
What are you talking about? I’m confused.
-1
Zealousideal-Fly9531 Apr 3, 2026 -1
So longsuckers! I used to have a pager, I will thrive!
-1
← Back to Board