Can you still live without the internet in 2025?

It goes without saying that the internet is a hugely valuable resource, not least since it’s allowing you to read this article.

It’s startling to remember that as recently as 1995, the number or proportion of UK households with internet connections wasn’t deemed worthy of recording by public bodies.

This was a time before search engines, social media, broadband or even widespread adoption of mobile phones, let alone the smartphones which debuted with Apple’s iPhone in 2007.

For better or worse, the world is a very different place now, and the internet is ubiquitous.

The few people who choose to live without internet in their homes are often regarded as either Luddites or anomalies – strange enough to have articles written about how they live.

We rely on the World Wide Web to work from home, communicate, source entertainment and play games, find love and friendship, read fascinating articles on price comparison sites…

These are all highly advisable uses for a broadband connection. But now that we’re a quarter of the way into the 21st century, can you still live without the internet?

Disconnection notice

It will be much harder to live an internet-free life if you’ve previously been enmeshed in it.

People who were too old to embrace dial-up through a desktop PC in the 1990s – and are consequently a lot older now – will find it relatively easy to exist free of the web’s clutches.

The NHS relies on phone calls, text messages and letters, though an off-grid life would mean the (very useful) NHS app is unavailable, along with the dreaded eConsult service.

Despite relentlessly encouraging paperless (i.e. email) communications, banks and utility companies routinely correspond through the post.

You wouldn’t be able to have a smart meter, but providing you were happy to set up a direct debit over the phone or in writing, payment for utilities wouldn’t be an issue.

Many institutions of state (like the DVLA and Passport Office) still support postal enquiries, while a lack of home internet won’t affect your ability to use contactless payment in shops.

Takeaways have landlines as well as Deliveroo accounts, your car doesn’t need broadband to operate, and attending leisure or social events is generally an offline experience anyway.

That’s entertainment

The real issues with an internet-free life arise at home.

An increasing number of electronic devices (security systems, speakers, etc) rely on internet connectivity to work properly, while games consoles and computers will be severely limited.

Working from home becomes impractical if you don’t have email – and using 4G or 5G on your phone is cheating, because it’s still internet access.

Without a connection, you won’t be able to install software or system updates, though you won’t be exposed to malware in the first place.

It’s possible to buy DVDs, CDs, books and magazines, while traditional board games and hobbies are gloriously web-free (and enjoying a renaissance).

Admittedly, you’ll be buying them at Waterstones and The Entertainer rather than Amazon, but in terms of supporting your local high street, that’s a good thing.

Many online services duplicate offline alternatives – Spotify instead of CDs, iPlayer instead of live TV, e-books instead of paperbacks, Disney+ instead of DVDs – and wouldn’t be unduly missed.

You talking to me?

Communications will suffer, though.

Even if you’re among the growing number of people who’ve turned their backs on social media, email and bulletin boards would be permanently off-limits.

There’d be no messaging apps and group chats, Wikipedia research, YouTube tutorials or online educational resources.

(Then again, you’d avoid less welcome web-based phenomena like trolling, cyberstalking, cancel culture, memes, fake news…)

The answer to our original question – can you still live without the internet – is an unequivocal yes.

Some people might even feel liberated by not endlessly Googling medical concerns, being woken by 3am email alerts or having to endure the rehearsed artificiality of social media.

If you have internet access at work, you can probably manage quite comfortably without it at home – once the initial withdrawal symptoms fade…