“How’s your life on the web? What do you like and don’t like about the web? How are your days like using this technology? And how would your life be without it?” Some questions from this assignment.

I thought writing about this topic would be a walk in the
park, simply because the web is something I’m used to using every day. But it
took me a hell of a long time to write something down. How is my life on the web?

See, most times the first thing I do when I wake up is I grab my phone and check all of my social media accounts like the morning paper, or as if my life depended on it. Side note: I should start reading the paper more, and no, the Horoscope doesn’t count. I think there’s two sides to the internet; there’s the bright and then there’s the dark, kind of like us human beings. To me, when I think about the good things the web has given me, I think about the souls I have been lucky enough to meet, people from different parts of the world that have gone from literal strangers to the closest friends I never imagined I’d have today. Like my friend Marisol from California, who accidentally messaged me on Tumblr one day.

I think about how cool it is that I get to learn what a stranger’s interests are by just looking through their profile, how their day went just by reading a tweet. I get to see what they had for lunch at that new local restaurant in their city, who they ran into, how they felt at the end of a long day. I get to read stories and witness as people’s lives change and play out from my screen. I get to travel the world through images of places that I dream of visiting one day as well. But the connections we make, how someone else’s words are strong enough to comfort me in a moment of need, no matter who they are or the distance between us. Simply thinking of how the web is able to do that and more. How it takes me from one place to the other with just one click of a button.

Usually, and I just
realized this, my days on the web consist of me daydreaming and longing, for
places, things, situations. Comparison, most of all. What a waste. The web is a
wonderful thing, yes, getting to promote your business, facetiming a long
distance relative, learning a new language on YouTube… All of these things mean
nothing until the web starts to affect you. The web’s dark side, it can become
toxic and it can harm you in ways you’d never imagine it would.

I don’t know how my life would be without the internet. At this point, this technology has become part of our daily routine, like brushing our teeth, perhaps. Most people won’t know how to function without it. And most aren’t aware of its dark side either, as long as their selfies get likes, it’s all good. So, how’s your life on the web?

Here’s a tweet with a video titled The Dangers of the Internet. Something to think about.

And my Instagram, hopefully I’ll start sharing my photography soon.