Armageddon - When a Web Developer Goes Offline: Two Days Without Internet

In today's digital age, it's hard to imagine a life without the internet, especially for someone like me—a seasoned web developer. Yet, 2 days ago, I found myself in an unforeseen circumstance that rendered me offline for a full 36 hours. It was an eye-opening experience, to say the least. I'm not joking, it was really weird.

Firstly, don't get me wrong, I still had my mobile phone so I still had access, but the area I live in has patchy 4G at best, so creating a hotspot through the phone was not really a viable option. Though out of sheer desperation, I did try. Moving on.

The Initial Panic, I'll be honest, the first few hours without internet access felt akin to losing a limb. As someone whose day-to-day revolves around cloud platforms like Azure and AWS, the sudden disconnection felt odd, like having concussion. The usual barrage of notifications, emails, and other messages went eerily quiet. The project I was researching stopped, and the vast digital realm that I usually navigated with ease suddenly felt like it was in a different universe. I was like that dude who gets transported back 30 years to another world and can't come to terms with how different it is, even though I lived through it 30 years ago!

Once the initial panic subsided, a strange calmness took over. It was like stepping back in time to an era where one's workflow wasn't punctuated by constant pings and updates. With the web world temporarily out of reach, I would like to say that I got my shit together and reverted to the fundamentals of planning and strategizing on paper and on my pc.

I'd like to say that without the internet's distractions, I was able to concentrate more deeply when sketching out ideas and solving problems the "old school" way. I would like to say that it was refreshing to brainstorm without immediately Googling every thought, allowing for a more organic flow of ideas.

That I reacquainted myself with offline tools that had gathered dust. Local development environments became my playground. With no online documentation to reference, I relied on stored e-books, past notes, and offline documentation.

But that would be a load of bollocks because I didn't do any of that. I sat around for a few hours waiting for it to come back online. I had reported the incident and was told that it could take up to 48 hours, but this is Great Britain and this is 2023. I can order a solid-state drive at 11 in the morning and it will be delivered to my door the same day! There is no way this can possibly take up to 48 hours to fix. So all I need to do is give it a few hours and everything would be ok.

4 hours later it began to dawn on me that this was real. 6 hours later I figured that I might have to start a plan B, but by then it was almost 5pm so I could call it a day and do something else, except the something else I had in mind also required broadband.

The evening was somehow sad. I'm not really sure why, but it was, having no broadband made me feel sad. Go for a walk, why not, except that it was freezing out there and pissing down with rain, read a book, great idea, so I did and to be fair that was a little help.

The next day, 24 hours in - firstly I didn't have the greatest nights sleep. I genuinely don't know if that was just coincidental, because I usually sleep well, or it was due to the lack of broadband. Either way, day 2 did not start well, and when I fired up the pc and checked the router only to discover no service, my heart sank a little.

But then after a bit of coffee, I started to rally. Fair enough trying to get internet access using a hotspot was not great, but I still have the very first modem I ever bought up in my loft. It cost me £99 back in the day (1995) and was a 28.8kbs, yes that really is kbs. It was one of those that made the odd screech as it connected and you could hear the handshake going through. It would take hours to download files just a few MB in size and would often drop off for no reason and you would have to start again.

I got myself mentally prepared for a significantly downgraded internet experience and got on with things. I managed to get some work done.

I would like to say that the absence of the Internet meant more time to reflect and engage in non-digital activities. That I found solace in reading physical books, taking walks, and indulging in hobbies that didn't require a Wi-Fi connection. That it was a welcome break, highlighting how the internet, for all its advantages, often ties us down. But it wasn't any of those things.

When my connection was finally restored, it was like a floodgate opening. It was like having that first pint, that first cigarette, it was a return to civilization. Yet, those 36 hours offline imparted valuable lessons. I was reminded of the importance of balance and the value of an offline life. I came to the rather disappointing realization that I'm a full-on internet addict, which as I sit here typing this, is not a good thing.

While I wouldn't wish for regular unplanned disconnects, this brief hiatus from the digital world has made me think. I regularly give up my mobile phone for the weekend, to regain some peace and perspective, but the truth is that I still have the broadband for Netflix, Prime, Now, BT Sport or any of the other digital offerings. As developers, while we thrive in the online space, it's also essential to remember that sometimes, going offline can offer a unique perspective that we might otherwise overlook. A return to a simpler life? May be.

Whether it's by choice or circumstance, occasionally disconnecting can bring clarity and a renewed appreciation of life and for the digital tools we often take for granted.

Bottom line though, it was crap.