There was once a time when we had to wait days and maybe months until a letter could be sent all the way to the London Bridge from California. Our means of communication was slow, unreliable and unstable. There was no assurance of the other person even getting a letter – the rain, mice, and postman himself could just sabotage the letters on a conscious or unconscious level. That was when telephones came into existence and made our lives easier to a great extent.
We were able to call anyone we wanted without having to leave our houses even. As modernization excelled in comforting our lives more and more – internet – the answer to everything came into play. Internet gave us answers to everything we wanted to know; it helped cure our curiosities about the world and let us discuss ideas all around the world. We could go global in one go and be in touch with more than one person at the same time. News, games, entertainment, health – internet just covered it all. It was the next big thing.
Dial-up internet was quite a luxury back in the age. We’d sit in front of our computer screens and connect to yahoo chat rooms only to ask random strangers ‘why their favorite colour was red’. It was fun and all; a leisure time thing. It was just something most of us acquired as a source of entertainment. It was a tool for the rich and those who wanted to act fancy. Oh, I chatted with someone from blah blah country. It was fun. Wasn’t it about that mostly? And if not that then it was about the new online car or Barbie game. It was a luxury.
But now!?
Where does our relationship with the internet stand now?
Back in 1996 when the ‘world wide web’ was created – if you have any memory of the time of course – you had to wait a lot just so you could laugh at the first ever meme. The pages took a lot of time to load and oh my god the graphics!!! It was a miracle our eyes didn’t lose sight looking at them. Those fuzzy graphics were one of the main reasons an extra screen was used by many people to block the harmful rays and lights that could affect one’s eyes for staring at the computer for too long. While many of you might not have been even a seedling at that time I was playing cricket with my friends at the tender age. I remember my parents not wanting me to be an ‘indoor kid’ and waste my eyes because damn those things weakened the sight some Billy named kid from the neighbourhood. And let’s be clear about one thing – no matter how much we revolutionize, modernize or digitalize – parents would always be parents; they would always be filled with paranoia and would want to protect us from the world and all bad no matter how old we might get. Just last weekend at a family dinner my mum told me I have lost too much weight when in reality I have gained 5lbs – so yeah…you get my point, right?
Anyway, back in the day if I ever wanted to comment on anything I had to send an email for that. Can you believe that? The servers weren’t as fast or reliable and it was never thought to be their fault because we were the type of people who went like oh our phone line is shared and thus just crappy but it’s okay. The HTML back then was easy and I know this because well my dad was cool enough to work on a computer. Haha. So, yes, the HTML coding was quite simple back then but it too did test one’s patience to a great extent. This one time my dad banged his fist on the table because it was taking too much time. Idk, if he thought it would make the computer be faster or something but I have seen our ancestors have such traits quite often. It’s just ridiculously funny. In childhood, I too once punched the television thinking it would make the fuzz go away. It kind of did so I don’t really know if it works or not. Ah, memories.
However, one thing was for sure and that was our predictions of the internet being the big thing that would one day be the world of each and every major publication, retailer and TV networks – and that too with so many services we could not even imagine as much. Yet, we knew…we knew that we’d be surprised.
Today, we live in the age of the internet. The percentage of internet usage has increased by manifolds and if we just compare even ourselves and remember the amount of time we spent on the internet back then was just a minor 5% of how much of our day and lives are structured all around it. Today, we have everything we need on the internet. Home education is easier because of the internet and plus it helps us save a large amount of money, time and effort as well.
Internet helps us as a;
Communicative Medium
We can connect with whoever and wherever from anywhere in the world. We don’t have to go to the airport or use the metro just to meet a relative or loved one for an hour or a few days. It is indeed fun, yes, but we can’t always spend that much money, right?
The Internet is the ultimate solution to that problem. We have so many mediums of talking today spread all over the internet like a spider’s web. We can keep in touch with anyone via Facebook on daily basis. Just a like or a single comment can help the other person feel connected to you easily. It’s just like being a part of their lives on daily basis. You get to see your school life’s new friends, your old memories with them and new interests as well as disinterests at a single click. And it doesn’t just end there. You can make an online CV and make the consumers come to you and ask you to join their companies via LinkedIn etc. If it’s been too long since you saw your partner and you work in different states then all you need to do is Skype and bam. You can get as close as you want; talk your hearts out. Talk to as many people as you want without any tension of having a limited amount of text messages available to you via Whatsapp and Viber. I personally love that now you can bold, italicize or strike through anything you want on Whatsapp, Moreover, it now has video calling and stories as well. And oh when we talk about stories how can we forget the Snap Chat stories?
And it is all available to us only if we have an internet connection. Internet speeds vary from connection to connection and so do the prices so you need to be sure that you get an affordable and good internet connection like Digital TV Bundles, CenturyLink or Xfinity – depending on your range and area.
News Board
Tired of having to skim through the newspaper every day just to find something you might want to know? I mean I for one really wish the newspaper just talked and told me which page to open without me having to skim it a bit before finding something worth a read.
Well, once again, the internet is the solution to it as well. The Internet is the ultimate bulletin to all sorts of news – good, bad, dark, light, dirty and gore. All you need to do is search. For instance, when the Kenneka Jenkins was found dead in a freezer. It created quite a hush among the masses and one article wasn’t enough for us, was it? If it hadn’t been the internet many of us might not have read or known as much as we know now.
The internet has given many of us the freedom of speech in its truest forms as no one can influence our writings with his or her wealthy family statuses. So, yes, the internet is the best news board we can get. The Gaza attack wasn’t as viral or known until someone spoke out on the internet and all of a sudden our eyes turned to the place. The examples are countless.
Literary Panel
If you wish to read a book but you don’t have the cost to buy it – easy peasy – just find its Pdf version over the internet. Whether you want to read new stuff or write new unexplored things or explored things with a new touch – the internet is your go-to place. Watt pad and many such sites are promoting new writers and if you have enough readers and good remarks you might just get enough points to be credited as an actual author.
Now you do not need to run after publishing houses – your royalties, your own conditions and all that for free! You don’t have to give a huge lump sum to get your own amazing writing be published and read.
Kitchen Utensil
It is totally all right if you are not as good a cook as your mum because trust me even for that the internet has a solution. There are a zillion recipes and cooking hacks on the internet to help you bring more taste to the table. You can make so many things within a 5-minute frame for your guests now and surprise them with your skills.
Make your significant feel special by cooking them a special meal. You don’t have to beg your neighbor for their special recipe. Just cook alongside a tutorial sitting online waiting for you to discover it.
Movie Theatre
Watch your favorite movie as many times as you want – no one’s judging you. Have a friends’ night out and watch movies, dance to songs and binge on seasons as much as you all would like to with the help of your internet service. Make a movie theatre within the four walls of your home and have an endless supply of popcorn, drinks and pause that scene when you need to take a pee break. Could life get any better than this?
I don’t think so and all this at a single click. What more could you ask for?
Artist’s Corner
If you want to learn a new instrument or painting or literally any artsy thing – all you need to do is join an online course for the matter. There are many free online courses for graphic designing and whatnot to help people learn new ways. You can even get yourself certified at a cost much lower than what you might have to pay if you went to an actual institute to learn the same or even fewer things of the same course.
Be that violinist or painter or photographer – with the help of internet. The best thing about it is that so many people have shared their simple hacks that make a picture look more beautiful, an instrumental sound more musical or a painting seem more professional. Internet, I tell you, it’s all about the internet!
Gaming Zone
You can play an online game with so many people all around the world without even having to meet or befriend them. There are so many amazing games out in the market now that are so virtually real that you become a part of the whole thing mentally and emotionally.
Take out your daily life frustration by killing those beasts inside the game or fulfill your fantasies by being part of the 5050’s being in 2018. It’s all possible in the virtual world. A large number of gamers gather every year at so many comic cons etc and internet is literally just a platform that helps make their dreams possible.
Security Patrol
The internet also serves as a crime control buddy when it comes to your security and no this is not a reference to cybersecurity systems offered globally. This is about the security system you got installed for your home protection. Now you can connect your phones with it and check the cameras from anywhere and at any time. There is literally no holding back.
You do not have to be dependent on that security guard all the time nor do you have to go check the TV every time you hear bushes rustling without any noticeable wind. Now, you can keep sitting on that toilet seat and just check who’s at the door or in the garden or literally wherever you feel like in or outside the house.
Social SDG
Internet in a way also serves as a socially sustainable development goal assistant. If you can’t go to Africa and help – you can still connect with someone from there or keep a check globally and join your kind of a social service network. You can write for others’ rights and it’s as simple as it can get.
You can plan movements and connect with likeminded people all over the world and make a difference not just by saying things but actually helping break through the social taboos and reach people. You can help the unvoiced get some justice by bringing the world’s attention to a particular matter and trust me you – no one can stop you from doing so once you set your mind to it.
Verdict
To make a long story short, it can easily be understood that in the present day – the internet is not just a luxury for the fortunate to have and avail – it is a necessity for everyone. Whether it has to do with the better grade, upgrading your skills or simply just connecting to your loved ones. The Internet is the answer to everything. We live in a world where we ourselves are running on the internet just as much as oxygen.