October 4th: A modern day doomsday in the face of a world carried by technologies and social media. Albeit, an exaggeration, the multi-hour blackout among major social medias Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp, had users facing an entertainment and communication void. The nearing 3.5 billion users spread across these four platforms reverted to paleolithic communication tactics: text messaging, talking in person, and uploading TikToks. This daunting experience ultimately showed the brutal dependence of the internet communities on media that is most accessible and more often shut down this year than previous. The cause for one of Facebook’s largest blackouts is left vaguely unknown, many assuming facebook is facing trouble in its personal internet infrastructure. Addressing the concerns of the many, facebook released a statement on twitter, reassuring, 

“To the huge community of people and businesses around the world who depend on us: we’re sorry. We’ve been working hard to restore access to our apps and services and are happy to report they are coming back online now. Thank you for bearing with us.” 

The five hour blackout reached Cardinal Newman students during their lunch breaks, the many students unable to browse the medias while talking and sharing with friends. With the platforms running once again, students and adults alike have turned a cheek to the day without Facebook, forgotten until the next mass breakdown foreseen in the future of a globe run by the internet. 

Porterfield, C. (2021, October 4). Facebook officials say outage is coming to an end after five-hour blackout. Forbes. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from