There is a time and place where using our phones is probably not the best idea, such as in the cinema, at a place of worship, at a funeral, and so on. However it seems that over in Bali, Indonesia, the island will be shutting off internet services for a good 24 hours to mark the island’s annual day of silence.This will be part of Bali’s Nyepi, also known as Bali’s New Year based on the Balinese calendar. This is seen as a sacred day where even international airports shut down to mark the event. However what’s interesting is that this will also be the first time that this unplugging of the internet has been agreed to, where a request was made last year but denied.
Speaking to tirto.id, Nyoman Sujaya, from the Bali communications ministry said, “It was agreed that internet on mobile phones will be cut. All operators have agreed.” Note that this only applies to mobile internet services, and that regular phone communications and SMS will continue to be active. As for home internet users, it is still being decided as to whether or not it will be cut as well, although services such as security, aviation, hospitals, and disaster agencies will remain unaffected for obvious reasons.
Given how connected we are these days and how much we have come to rely on such services, it will be an interesting experience and it seems that there are some who are looking forward to it. This includes Balinese governor Made Pastika who jokingly told reports, “If the internet is disconnected, people will not die. I will turn off my gadgets during Nyepi.”
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