this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
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It's not always a necessity, but the opportunity cost of not having Internet can prevent you from meeting other necessities. For example, a lot of jobs require Internet to apply. Not getting a better job might mean you can't afford food or housing.
My education practically stopped in the 4th grade. I left school permanently in the 9th grade.
As a poor kid from Appalachia with no options to learn, having seen the kids around me who didn’t have it, I can’t imagine who I’d be without it.
Sure, I’m still an idiot, but I’ve been able to read books and study history that I would have had no access to whatsoever. I got to discover music and learn to play instruments. I have a decent understanding of technology while the friends that I grew up with struggle to use a phone.
I had an old Macintosh Quadra from a school auction that an older man gave me in 1997 and a wealthy uncle who shared his dialup login with me. The guy that gave me the Quadra also gave me several computers throughout my childhood from the 80s and would take my calls at any hour to walk me through DOS commands and things. I’m so thankful for his influence in my life.
I survived through my 20s by repairing computers. I would have been doomed to starve a thousand times if I didn’t have that skill.
I feel like it has absolutely been a necessity in my life.
With the amount of companies requiring you to fill out applications online, emails being the main method of communication before a phone interview, and the amount of people doing virtual interviews; I would say it absolutely is a necessity to not just fitting into a modern society, but being a part of one.
It's fair to say that losing internet access doesn't cause you physical harm and won't cause illness or death. In most cases (it's pretty vital for hospitals, for example)
However, i dont believe those criteria should be the only ones used to deem something a necessity or even a basic human right.
It has become almost ubiquitous in the modern world and is almost a barrier for entry for a prosperous life.
It might not be necessary directly to sustaining a human life but it is, at least, indirectly. And at most it is directly necessary for a prosperous one.
Some people also probably deliver their trash to the dump themselves, and we can wait a week for the next pickup date without dying, but the assumption of regular garbage collection is still very important. I get what you’re saying but am not sure it’s a big enough point to warrant watering down the original poster’s point, ya know?