Oh, the internet, that great big place where we go to connect with friends, look up random facts and – let’s be honest – indulge in more than a little guilty-pleasure-scrolling. Well, imagine a world where some of that fun content we’ve come to love (and rely on) simply vanished, much like a Snapchat streak that took a dark turn.

Unfortunately, this isn’t just the plot of a Black Mirror episode. For some countries and regions around the world, certain online activities have gone poof, up and disappeared. That’s right, friends: these unlucky souls can’t access the same fun we do on a daily basis. Picture yourself going to your favorite site, only to be greeted by a cruel error message denying you entry into the online world of fun. The horror!

Now you may be asking yourself: why, oh why, would any government take away these pleasures from their people? The answers vary – it could be due to a licensing issue, where the government didn’t see eye-to-eye with a company’s content or had some other technical beef. Maybe it’s to “protect” their citizens from potentially offensive material or maybe – just maybe – they’ve taken a leaf out of George Orwell’s book, deciding to restrict the flow of information (gulp).

Let’s say you’re someone who’s obsessed with Spotify. You wake up to your Spotify alarm, you spend your commute listening to your meticulously curated playlists and you always check your friends’ latest musical discoveries. Can you even imagine how gut-wrenching it would be to move somewhere where Spotify is as mythical a creature as the Loch Ness Monster? Tragic, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, these geo-restrictions aren’t just limited to entertainment options – it can also affect our access to education resources, news, and communication apps. Sometimes, the censorship might feel a tad unnecessary. Case in point: your friend sends you an innocent meme, but thanks to a sneaky algorithm deciding it’s a no-no in your region, all you see is an expanse of pixelated nothingness. Ugh.

Luckily for us (who still have access to all the good stuff), technology has advanced in such a way that there are some ways to bypass these restrictions – like VPNs. Now, I’m not encouraging you to be an internet-rebel, but we’ve all got a right to be a part of this wild, weird, and wonderful digital playground, right?

As we giggle at silly memes and sing our hearts out to catchy tunes, let’s spare a thought for those around the world who’ve been denied these pleasures by the internet powers-that-be. We salute you, comrades-in-missing-content. May the pixelated cloud that looms over you be lifted soon. Until then, keep finding ways to inject a little fun into your digital lives, because we all need a laugh and a groove in this rollercoaster ride called life.