An Internet-less World?: Expected Impacts of a Complete Internet Outage with Implications for Preparedness and Design

In HCI research, non-use of systems, especially involuntary loss of use, is a relatively neglected topic. How do people perceive the impacts on their lives should the Internet go out for an extended period of time? Would it be a minor inconvenience or Armageddon? We took a Futures Studies approach to conduct a conceptualized future, scenario-based study with 754 responses to a survey of mostly students at three universities and used framing theory to help explicate the findings from qualitative data analysis. Our data show that most respondents do believe a long-term complete Internet outage is possible; however, perceptions in terms of what the impacts would be range widely. Most participants employ an egocentric frame to understand the impacts in terms of changes in their personal relationships and activities, with both gains and losses envisioned. A minority frame their visions in terms of the societal level, with severe infrastructure problems resulting. This paper is the first to explore perceptions of the potential impacts of an Internet outage and provide implications for preparedness and design.