What if the Internet Stopped Working? Currently, almost 60% of the human population i.e. Around 4.5 billion people actively use the internet. Now, what if the internet stopped working. Firstly, no notifications, status updates, or emails. A lot of people will suddenly have a lot of free time on their hands. Secondly, research suggests that productivity might increase for a short duration of time as people instead of wasting time on the internet will actually finish their work off. Thirdly, as social communication is a very important part of the internet, without it, some amount of isolation or anxiety might creep in. Finally, businesses built with the internet as their backbone will have to shut their shops, the economy will take a severe hit. On the flip side, people might start interacting more with each other, and the physical bond between humans will increase.
Police brutality has led to worldwide protests, hundreds of thousands of protesters are on the street while millions are making their voice heard on the streets. In America, the Twitter community popularized the #BlackLivesMatters, and recently #EndSARS and #EndPoliceBrutality has pulled millions of posts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
There are several speculations that to regulate “EyeWitness” news about the current situations, the Government might temporarily block social media or go as far as shutting down the internet.
Blocking Social Media
Millions of protesters giving eyewitness recounts of how the government and security operatives are handling protesters might have led to a wilder protest. In a bid to regulate what is posted online, the government could ban social media in a country, thus everybody in the country will not be able to use social media during that time frame. Shutting down social media will surely crumble the protest because most information is shared between protesters using social media.
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Physical protesters will hardly get information about the scheduled protest location.
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The outside world will be oblivious to recent happenings.
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Protesters and non-protesters will not be able to give eyewitness recounts.
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Non-protesters will not be able to enjoy social media (loose connection with family, friends, and business partners).
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Several businesses that rely on social media (e.g blogging and affiliate marketers) might likely crumble.
How To Bypass Social Media Ban In Your Country
Countries like China have banned its users from using YouTube, nevertheless, there are several ways to bypass this restriction and enjoy normal social media even if your country has banned it.
The easiest way to use social media in an unsupported country is by changing your IP Address using Virtual Private Network (VPN) Apps. There are numerous VPN applications for mobile and computer platforms, some are free while the premium ones are paid. All you have to do is download and install the VPN, choose a country server (I recommend USA or UK), connect, and you will be able to access those blocked social media sites.
SurfShark remains my favourite VPN because they offer the cheapest price for premium servers. Free VPN can also help bypass social media block, here is a list of some best Free VPN Apps that can be downloaded For both smartphone and computer;
Download For Android:
Download For iOS:
Download For Computer:
Completely Switching Off Internet
The government might decide to turn off the internet if censoring social media doesn’t help to regulate its impact on the protest. mini might be wondering can the government really shut down the internet in a country? yes, the government can shut down the internet and it has been done before. During protests and uprising in Egypt, Guinea, Burundi, Cameroon, Liberia and Ethiopia, the government hit the internet kill switch which turned off internet connection in the whole country leaving the masses without the power of the internet and shutting the country out from the rest of the world.
If the internet shuts down your country how do you prepare for this? Are you equipped to survive several months without internet, losing connection with the outside world, no access to social media, not being able to live-stream your favourite TV shows, movies and sport?
There are several communication applications that will come in handy if your country suffers internet Blackout, these apps don’t require an internet connection to work. These apps have been tested on devices without Sim Card or other sources of the internet and they functioned as expected.
Apps To Use When The Internet Gets Turned Off
BRIDGEFY
This is a messaging app that allows you to communicate with friends and family without needing an internet connection. Bridgefy uses your Bluetooth connection to communicate with the outside world but it is limited because Bluetooth has a range. this app is ideal for people in rural areas, music festivals, travellers, or friends going for a large gathering without an internet connection. You can easily communicate with your friends that have the app installed on their smartphones.
You can easily communicate with users at over 330 ft (100 meters) using your Bluetooth antenna. If the whole area turns on their Bluetooth, then the whole users will be bridged and communication will continue without needing an internet connection. Bridgefy is a smart solution when the internet is turned on because Bluetooth connection can’t be turned off by the government.
To use Bridgefy, first, you have to download the app (while connected to the internet), create an account, set up your profile and click on the broadcast tab. You are all set, you can test run it by turning off your internet connection, switching on your Bluetooth, launching the application, and finding users who have Bridgefy installed. My favourite feature about this app is that you don’t need to manually add your contacts before finding them, Bridgefy automatically detects and lists active users closeby and communicates in groups.
Download Bridgefy from the Android App Store.
Download Bridgefy From the iOS App Store.
SIGNAL OFFLINE
This app works without internet connection thanks to the power of Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi). If users find themselves in situations where they lose access to the internet connection, Signal Offline allows them to communicate with other users in 100 meters radius using Wi-Fi.
Signal Offline bridges nearby users via their Wi-Fi, thus allowing them to send texts, images, voice notes, videos, and documents in a secured manner. Communication is secured and fast because users have total control of their direct Wi-Fi and files can be transferred at an amazing speed of 250mb/s. Unlike other social media (Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram) that tempers with the image quality to send at a faster rate, Signal Offline sends files at the original state without altering them.
Unlike Bridgefy that requires an internet connection to set up an account, Signal Offline is completely off the grid, registration is done offline and data is 100% secured. Users can send messages to individuals or broadcast them to groups.
Once launched, Signal Offline automatically searches for users closeby and both networks are synced for communication to be possible. Users can also block and unblock other users from communicating with them, it also allows users to turn on invisible mode which hides them from being found by other users.
Download Signal Offline from the Android App Store.
Download Signal Offline from the iOS App Store.
FIRECHAT
FireChat is a combination of Bridgefy and Signal Offline, it uses both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to enable users to communicate remotely without needing an internet connection. Aside from being an offline communication app, FireChat can also be used with an internet connection, making it perfect for all situations.
This application uses the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connection of its users to create a network of secured connection where communication can be done without an internet connection. When being used offline, FireChat can cover a radius of 150 meters, and send messages and files at an amazing speed.
Fire chat features two types of messaging;
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Public broadcast: Messages sent here can be viewed by everyone connected to that network.
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Private message: Conversations here are encrypted and are only accessible to the sender and recipient.
Download FireChat from the Android App Store.
Download FireChat from the iOS App Store.
The connection range of the aforementioned offline communication apps primarily depends on the number of people using it. The more active users are, the wider the connection range gets.
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