How the Internet effects me

I can remember the very first time I ever even heard of the internet. In 4th grade, we had to take "field trips" to the library once a week, where we would learn about some new aspect of the ever exciting and advancing subject of library studies. Ha. One time though we went and the Librarian sat us down in front of the huge black and white screened boxy Mac computers. There we learned how to use the search engine "Netscape Navigator", and searched for important people in Californian history. Searching one name took up the majority of the class period, and since that day, I refrained from going on to the internet ever again. That being said, my introduction to the internet was a slow one.

In highschool, I rarely used the internet. I had a 31/5 floppy that I used to store all of my work on and transfer from computer to computer, so email was not something that I needed to use. I still mailed my letters through the Post Office, and my classrooms and classwork did not require internet access. However, half way through sophmore year, the big Instant Messaging craze hit (well at least for my town it did) and then all the sudden the internet was a pretty big necessity in my life. Other than that, however, I can honestly say that I really didnt use the internet very much, nor was it a main component of my life.

All of that changed when I got to college. All of the sudden everything was online. Registering for classes, emailing scheduals, facebook, myspace, IM, itunes, etc. I guess that would be when it started being a positive and negative force in my life. Positively, the internet makes my life so much incredibly easier. I can check the bus schedual, my bank account, order food, register for class, manage meetings, and shop for things all from my desk. I cannot even explain how convienient all of that is. I do not have to worry about making it to the bank on time, I dont need to stress out about going to the store during the holidays, and I have all of the reference's of a library with the click of a mouse (sometimes). Those are only a few of the ways the internet has positively effected my daily routine.

Unfortunately, along with all of those great things, there are the drawbacks. Because I have become so dependant on these things that make my life easier, it gets very frustrating when I do not have them. At my apartment, our internet will go out for a couple days at a time every once in a while, and its then that i see just how dependant I have come to rely on it. I miss important meetings or assignments because i have set my primary contact to email. I get antsy when I cannot watch the newest episodes of my favorite TV shows online, and am at a loss as to how to commuicate with people outside of using AIM. (Its not that bad, but you know what I mean). I also get really antsy not being able to check my email for a long time. It seems like that has become my main connection to people lately, and when i do not have that ability, I start to stress a little bit. Every time that happens, I try to think about how I functioned ten, fifteen years ago, when I didnt even know what email was, and I dont know how I did it.

So i guess it is give and take, the internet makes my life alot easier, but at the same time, cuts out alot of steps that are staples (i think) to human interaction- ie communication in person, and that bothers me a little bit. Not as much as it should, I suppose.