I've been thinking about this for a couple of years now. I wish I had started sooner as everything has been accelerating faster than I anticipated. Most of my skills are in the technology area. Programming, IT, Network Engineering, Video Game Development, Writing/Blogging, limited video production, etc.
ALL of those things are dependent upon electricity. Most of them become very limited without also having the internet.
This blockchain I am writing on and you are reading on is reliant upon both of those things.
With the artificial forced energy problems occurring around the world the cost of electricity everywhere is likely to become very expensive. Some people will potentially have trouble getting it at all. This is at a time when they are trying to force people to be more and more reliant on electricity.
Do you know what you are going to do if you can't afford or do not have enough electricity?
That is a bigger problem than simply no internet. I suspect internet for people will go away before the electricity in their attempt to survive.
Keeping your food cool and protected from spoiling, and keeping the temperature survivable become the number one priorities.
Have you begun planning for how to keep those two things available even if the electric company will not supply you?
I've thought about it but even I have not gone that far. I did move to a warmer environment, and I do know a bit about surviving cold when winter comes. I have enough food that can last regardless of temperature outcomes for several months for my entire family. A bit longer than that if we ration it. I have the water supply problem in hand. For now.
I am not a huge prepper but I do have some of that...
I have some things in the work to help a small amount with food and I have longer term plans to help with that even more.
I do not however have solar, generators reliant on supply of fuel, etc. I've thought about it a couple of times. I just didn't have it in the budget yet.
Even if I did realistically any solar supply I could afford would need to be focused on refrigeration and perhaps heating/cooling.
I find myself wondering how many people have considered that the internet, and your cell phone require electricity as well. I do have some solar chargers large enough to charge some phones and power some small devices. Those were affordable and I purchased those years ago.
I am familiar with using wood burning stoves and such. I lived requiring such a good portion of my young life. I chopped and split a lot of wood back then. Yet I do not have such a feature in my current home. Do you?
I don't think a lot of people have seen just how extreme our lives might all change in a very short period of time.
Crypto. Great as long as you have electricity and internet.
Credit/Debit cards. Great as long as you have electricity and internet. (Other than the going into debt factor with credit cards)
Gold/Silver. Great as long as you know someone locally near you that you can easily get to that has everything you need and will give you a good exchange rate.
If you don't then that gold/silver becomes only as valuable as the people who have what you need think it is valued at. That can be a lot, or not much at all.
I have some of ALL the above.
I also have knick knacks, lots of physical books, board games, and tools. We know some things we can try in my family if we have to dramatically change how we survive. Whether we are good at it or not is another matter.
I did think perhaps my books would be good investment much like gold/silver. A lot of people no longer see much value in them but I'd suspect if the internet and electricity were a problem they would suddenly be attractive to people again. Perhaps more than gold/silver to a lot of people.
I also do have food. Yet I don't see myself trading that food unless it gets really bad. Like I said I have enough to get by for several months for my entire family. Trading it will shorten that.
Are you prepared? Are you thinking about these things?
We will also need to think on how to rebuild... I have a few months to come up with a food solution in the event of bad things happening. We'd need to get back to interacting with the local community a lot more. We would have to hope our in person people skills have not atrophied too badly. Can we come together, find enough different skilled neighbors that collectively we can help everyone survive and rebuild?
One thing you can do now is Stop voting for Democrats in the U.S. Yet that isn't the solution completely as there are plenty of corrupt people in the Republican party as well and even though there are other parties they've rigged it pretty much so only those two parties ever stand a chance. This is why the GOP has been going through so many changes for the last decade and some change. Libertarians and others have instead been running in the GOP party. The key is to learn people's actions. These politicians that created all of these problems are great at telling you what you want to hear. Stop listening. Start watching. Judge them by what they DO, not what they say. Only that way can we reduce the likelihood of this corruption continuing.
It has spread global at this time. Those of you in other nations reading this are in similar situations. I just do not know your political situations well enough to comment upon them.
I look at the blockchain and how much I've written here over the years. There are some gems hidden in mostly the chaff as far as I am concerned when I look at my writing. Yet without electricity, and internet... poof... gone. Will it come back?
Too bad I didn't just self publish a few books...