Keyword Final: Internet

I choose to discuss the Internet firstly because this course in Advanced Composition takes place half the time on the Internet. At least every other week, a discussion about one of our keywords somehow relates to the Internet. Mobility for example, can be seen as being able to surf on the web. Some of today's youth may spend more time on the Internet than with their family. Families and relationships can be started online. Some people meet friends online, some date online, and others live in separate world online. The Internet has changed (the quality) of a good number of our lives in some way. Communication has become 'impersonal' through text messaging for some. People can easily use a :) without actually meaning it and others are unable to tell. Some people express themselves through Facebook and MySpace and easily have a lot more friends on MySpace than they do in 'real life'. Is the Internet creating a new world, or is it a new world within itself? Is the Internet confusing what's real, or is it the Internet real in itself? What about those who do not access the Internet and/or understand it? Does the 'Internet' deserve to be capitalized? Lastly, is the Internet taking over some of our lives, is it becoming a part of life, or is it becoming life itself? As the Internet continues to grow, so will more opportunities arise for the Internet to impact our lives.

As asked by Chris, "is the Internet a "gateway to another world" or another world *itself*?", I find this to be a difficult question. However, I find it even harder to do justice to the Internet by saying it's either one or the other. The Internet can be both seen as a different realm, as well as a bridge that leads to a different realm. The Internet is a different world in the sense that it leads to unique experiences and a different sense of reality than the world we know. Many things are in the Internet are virtual, yet to many it is as real as it gets. Some people, perhaps those who work at home spend most of their time online that the Internet becomes their life. I can be a simple, average college student by day, but be a level 70 Gnome Warlock in World of Warcraft by night. Yet not everybody is affected by the Internet in similar ways. Some people simply use the Internet to check News, and email. To them, the Internet is nothing more than a convenience that does not dramatically change their lives. It is nothing more than a bridge to a virtual world they never cross. To others, the Internet can be a gateway leading many worlds: the world of online games, the world of Massive Multi player Online Role Playing Games, (MMORPGs), the world of e-sports (which are more than just games), the world online poker, the world of MySpace, Facebook, Youtube, or even blogger. Because the Internet can lead to so many different worlds and each of them produce unique experiences, it can be seen as a gateway to other worlds. The Internet can also be summed up as an experience in itself thus being another world. Internet experiences are so subjective and vary so much between individuals, it is hard to say what the 'real' Internet experience is. I find labeling the Internet as either world or a path to another world complicating and mind-boggling like a political debate. For now, let's call it a draw.

The Internet appears to have differences in uses between generations and professions. Some older generations who have grown up without using a computer may not even know what the Internet is. Some have a strong attachment to doing things the 'old fashioned way' and they refuse to learn how to do things online or on a computer. My father takes ten minutes to type a paragraph while I have learned to type 90 words per minute in the 6th grade. Some later learn to use the Internet as there they discover new found conveniences. My mother can spends hours at a time checking stocks online, however I have to set the browser homepage to Yahoo Finance for her. Teachers have learned how to use email and the Internet to access research, journal, and news articles that may concern them. I have met avid Internet users through Facebook who only access the Internet at work. Office workers who didn't grow up with a computer eventually learn about the Internet through work. Because many of their jobs are 'boring' and they are not always 'busy', they do work-unrelated things online when their bosses aren't looking. To others who are unaware of the Internet, they are for the most part 'unaffected' by this different world. They are a small and perhaps dying breed, and will likely become extinct as Internet becomes more readily available and technology advances to the point that doing things on the Internet is a 'must'.

Some spell checks consider 'Internet' not capitalized as a typo therefore I gracefully accept the justification of the capitalization. My best guess is because the Internet has become so big that the proper way to to punctuate it is with a capital 'I'.

The Internet is created by man, and for man. The Internet is meant to satisfy some wants or needs we may have in a growing society. A lot of worlds are created online because people want them, and people do spend a lot of time in them. The Internet can distract us from 'real life' yet be considered real life in itself. However, we must never forget that we created the Internet. How we want the Internet to impact our lives is completely up to us. As the Internet advances with technology, so will our potential for increased mobility. We may become so mobile we unknowingly float into a different world and find ourselves constantly in a seemingly inescapable battle with goblins from the wastelands. Being stuck in this land we are ironically immobile. Although creations including the Internet and the mobile phone were created with a clear purpose in mind--mobility, they can often have the reverse effect. However, if we choose to live online and are happy that way, then so be it. The significance of the Internet lies in the fact that we while created it, it has the potential to influence our lives in unthinkable ways.