Steemit Engagement Challenge S5-W5: A day without Internet.

Greetings from myside on one more wonderful day. We are back to participate in one more wonderful task by STEEM FOR BETTER LIFE community about internet. We are going to share our real life experiance here .

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Do you sleep the whole day if there were no Internet In your area?

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The Internet has become our lifeline these days. Be it education, health, trade and commerce or any other sector, the internet is like a backbone Our state is a border state that is heavily militarized and prone to cross border insurgencies. So internet blockade is common here.

In 2019 our central government took a very big step which was anticipated to be opposed by the people of our state and government took preventive measures to avoid any disturbances in law and order by blocking the internet and telecommunication. It was not a temporary suspension that usually occurs here but it was a permanent suspension of the internet for more than 6 months.

The initial few nights were sleepless because of frequent interruptions of sleep by frustration. We were expecting the internet to be restored in a few days. As the internet was not restored for weeks, so we were finally hopeless and we adapted to the new style of life without the internet. Although the initial few days were very traumatic we gradually adopted it as there was no option left.

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what activities do you engage in till it is restored?

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The gravity of the political turmoil can be understood by the fact that educational institutes remained closed for months. Being a school teacher I used to spend the whole day in school with kids but closeuee of schools snatched that opportunity of killing time and we had to adopt alternative means.

The first half of the day was spent doing home choices like cooking and cleaning etc. The post-lunch period is usually boring and I feel giddy every time I stay at home, so even during the internet blockade, that time was spent taking nap.

Before evening until dinner, we used to play indoor games like carrom and chess. During those days I used to visit my friends and relatives as well because there were no means of communication other than visiting offline.

We have seen that internet blockade has numerous negative effects on various sectors like education, health, economy, trade and commerce etc. But I have inferred one positive aspect and that is the socialization of people.

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How often is that experienced in your area?

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Having mentioned we live in a border state which is heavily militmilitarized and prone to cross border infiltration and terrorist attacks, so internet blockade is common here. It is ironic to mention that on some days that have historical significance for our countries like republic day and independence day internet is being blocked in our state.

Not a single week passes when a fight between terrorists and military forces of our state doesn't take place. In any area where such a disturbance takes place, the internet is shut down.

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If you were to solve such issues forever, what will you suggest?

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We are prone to internet shutdown biy service providers on the directions of the government. The other likely reasons can be technical issues at the level of service providers.

We have seen that internet service to broadband users is occasionally stopped. The use of broadband can be a viable solution. During the 2019 shutdown, we have seen that the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) has also provided services to enhance the speed.

Government supervised networks like BSNL here do help in these circumstances as government usually blocks private network providers.

The best and permanent solution that would work for all is the decentralization of the internet. If the decentralised of the internet would take place then the internet would be free from any administrative control. However, the downsides of decentralization must be addressed.