Linking our Lives to the Web

The Internet has revolutionized the world as we know it today. It is a fact that more than one billion web searches are done daily on Google. This information superhighway has allowed us to access data, images and videos beyond our wildest dreams. It has allowed people to express themselves, wherever, whenever. However, with all the advantages it has introduced to the globe, are we neglecting the idea that the Internet is possibly impeding our lives? In my opinion, no. I believe the Internet has been a very powerful and beneficial tool that has allowed civilization to grow at a very accelerated speed. We are not neglecting this idea because people are more conscious that the advantages of the Internet weigh out the disadvantages. It has given the world countless opportunities and I am convinced that for the most part, these opportunities have enhanced the lives of millions. Additionally, it is apparent that there is no turning back now: the Internet exists and will never stop progressing. With that being said, the Internet will always continue to be a helpful resource to mankind. We should learn embrace and appreciate it; after all, it is our virtual world.

The web is a tool that has allowed teenagers to express themselves freely and it is a resource that has given a voice to adolescents who were too afraid to be different. For example, let's look at 14-year-old Jessica, also known as Autumn Edows. With her parents and peers, she felt reserved and felt that she could not convey her true personality. However, when she created this site dedicated to revealing pictures of herself in an artistic way, she got positive attention from people around her and essentially, it made her feet beautiful. The Internet became her personal happy place; it was somewhere she could go and feel good about herself. If the Internet is a place where Autumn's self-esteem is boosted, shouldn't everybody be given that same opportunity? Although some may argue that her pictures were inappropriate, she did not feel she was doing anything so unacceptable because at the end of the day, this hidden personality made her feel important. Click here to see what I mean. Teenagers today are conscious that there are predators online and do learn the techniques to avoid them. It is a fact that most teenagers would react by blocking or deleting somebody if they felt threatened by them. Most teenagers do not purposely engage is risky behavior online. If a parent is concerned that their child is participating in risky behavior online, they should take a step back and ponder the idea that maybe that same child is being involved in even risker behavior offline. 

Due to the advancements over the years regarding computers and the web, students have become very adaptable learners. We can figure things out independently and search up a topic of interest at any given time. This is beneficial to us because we can retrieve more information in a shorter period of time. The Internet has allowed us to explore a whole range of subjects and has been such an informative tool for school work. Technology is constantly being modified and our generation has learned to keep up with all these alterations. We have become more interactive and efficient learners because we use the Internet to our advantage. For example, I will refer to Mrs. Bambic's sociology course at West Island College. In this course, we are often required to have a laptop and access to the Internet. She has passed on knowledge to her students that will forever more help us be effective learners, and it is all thanks to her web searching techniques! Mrs. Bambic's Web Searching Techniques These techniques contribute to our learning because we can safely say that browsing the Internet can be done with simple tricks and in the future, we will be highly employable as we will have acquired exceptional skills on the Internet. As I mentioned before, it is all part of adapting to this new, technology-based world. She is trying to prepare us for the reality of the future, and this reality is that the Internet can do wonders for our world. Believe it or not, it already has.