Eric Herrera
September 06, 2007
IST 110H
Andrea Tapia
The internet has had a great change in my life. In some aspects of my life, it has changed for the worse, and for others, it has changed for the better. But then isn’t life always like that - imperfect? There will always be a flaw in the most perfect portrait ever painted. Maybe there is one eye slightly bigger than the other, or maybe it doesn’t have eyebrows (the Mona Lisa)! And the use of the internet is no exception. From my experience, I have found myself doing the “proper” stuff on the internet, and at other times doing the “wrong” things as well (do not think about porn). And as the internet progresses, what the future will provide is more things to do either proper or wrong.
When I first started using the internet in 1999 (6th grade), because I was naïve about the internet, I found myself doing the “proper” stuff. I went online and researched what I needed to research for my homework, and signed off. Occasionally I chatted with classmates online, but I really wasn’t into it due to the fact I was an internet noob. But I loved it because it saved me a trip to the library and was able to get me directly to the information I was looking for, instead of looking through books trying to find the best one. Now instead of going to the library and taking out books and worrying about forgetting the due date, I was able to go online, Sparknote the book, and bada-bing-bada-boom within a good ten minutes, I now knew the entire book like the back of my hand. Or at least obtain enough information to complete a book report. This went on for about the rest of my sixth grade year, and for some reason, once I entered junior high school, it all went down hill from there.
Playing games, watching pointless videos, downloading music and movies, IMing…etc. are all activities have taken up 90% of my time online ever since I first found out about them in junior high, and they still do. Thanks to the internet, I have gained a lot of regretful pounds, have turned in late homework, have stayed up for hours waiting for a movie to download or for my AOL to update (back when I had dial-up), and have gotten worse eye vision. I also find myself creating many grammatical errors such as using the letter u in replacement for the word you, not capitalizing my i’s, not using periods, and other proper English errors (at least I had fun doing it). In contrast, the internet has also been just as helpful as it has been distracting (I am doing this essay and watching music videos at the same time). It has provided me with so much information about anything I ever wanted. Instead of waiting for the ten o’clock news, I am able to find out the latest news in any part of the world whenever I log on the internet. I am also able to find information on products before I buy them, find out more information on the types of medicine I am taking, find out the routes I had to take to get to Penn State from New York, researched Penn State before I came here (the IST needs a better website), and other useful stuff that has saved me the trouble from going long distance for information.
It is because of the internet that I feel updated. Because I am in college, I usually do not turn on my TV just to watch the news or watch commercials to see the latest movie trailers, but instead to play some Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80’s, and any other games my roommate has. I also feel connected to my family even though I am four good hours away, and with traffic a good six hours. Not more than ten minutes ago, before I continued writing my paper, I was told via Facebook that one of my sisters has become temporarily deaf in her left ear due to excessive wax build-up. I do not think I could be more connected to my family any more than that, the fact of the matter being that I am so far away. I can only imagine how different life would be in the future with the Internet advancing every time I go on.
As predicted by specialists, the Internet will get rid of TV’s, close down a lot of stores: book stores, clothing stores, basically any store whose products can be purchased over the Internet is at risk at closing down. I personally can see this happening, only because I can relate. I cannot remember the last time I went to the mall to buy clothes or went to Barnes & Nobles to buy books with cash. I have also streamed live events on the Internet as a replacement for the TV. I can also see people video chatting with friends and family through AOL Instant Messenger instead of some lame, annoying buddy icon. I would love it if I were able to see the expressions of the faces of the people who I am currently communicating with just to see if their “lol” was true or not.
I can only see the internet making me less mobile in the future. Sure there is the occasional “going out” with friends, but there will be no more walking to: the book store, clothing stores, shoe stores, Best Buy, school, work…all of the products/services offered by each business will be available over the internet. Currently anyone is able to take courses online and print out a diploma, can work straight from their home, and order almost anything over the internet (mail order brides). The thought of how else life will become easier through the use of the Internet is just beyond my thinking, but I will be sure to expect the unexpected. Instead of having a big screen TV, a bookcase, and a closet full of business attire, there will be one PC with a big screen panel handling the job of all three – school, books, and a job.