‘I’m having a great day’: AWS outage offers some a brief glimpse of a tech-free existence

Monday’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage caused widespread disruptions impacting thousands of companies and millions of users globally, affecting well-known platforms such as Snapchat, Roblox, Signal, and Duolingo. Essential services and everyday conveniences were temporarily disrupted, yet some users embraced the unexpected break from technology.

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The AWS cloud computing glitch interrupted critical online services, resulting in delayed exams, manual operation of coffee machines, and concerns among users about lost data progress on apps like Duolingo. While most systems were restored within hours, some issues persisted throughout the day.

Amazon confirmed that by Monday evening, its cloud services had resumed normal operations. However, the effects of the outage rippled through various sectors, revealing society’s deep reliance on cloud infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Amazon employees shared moments of unexpected downtime on social media platforms like TikTok, showcasing quiet warehouse scenes and expressing relief at having less work.

Some delivery drivers, like James from Texas and Tiffini from Florida, reported being sent home or unable to start their routes due to system failures, raising concerns about payroll and missed shifts.

The outage also affected customers dependent on Amazon’s smart home assistant, Alexa. Christina, who relies on Alexa-enabled smart plugs, found her devices unresponsive during the outage, highlighting how intertwined technology has become with everyday accessibility.

Despite the frustrations, many users found humor in the situation, sharing anecdotes of having to perform routine tasks manually, like turning on lights or starting coffee makers.

For example, one user humorously lamented on X, “I had to turn on my light by hand without Alexa’s help. Rough start to the day.”

Among the affected apps was Duolingo, where users feared losing their long-maintained practice streaks. The company reassured customers that all streaks would be preserved despite the disruption.

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“PSA: your streaks will be saved! thank you for your patience 💚🔥 #awsoutage” — Duolingo via Twitter

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On the education front, platforms such as Canvas faced outages, leaving some students unable to access midterm exams or grading tools, resulting in a mix of frustration and amusement among users.

One student jokingly said on BlueSky, “Can’t grade on Canvas because Amazon Web Services is experiencing an outage. I love not being able to do my job lol,” while a Reddit user expressed, “My midterms are inaccessible. I’m having a great day.”

This widespread AWS outage has underscored how technology and cloud services are deeply embedded in daily life. It revealed both vulnerabilities in the current ecosystem and a rare glimpse into the world without instant digital connectivity.

As cloud infrastructure continues to grow, the incident highlights the necessity for resilient systems and contingency planning for critical services across sectors.