The
Internet! It has changed our lives. It has changed the way the vast majority of
the world thinks, communicates and even functions on a daily basis. One can
solve problems, find the answers to the most perplexing questions and talk, one
on one, with people we would never had the ability to connect with in the past.
The
Millennial Generation grew up with computers, video games and the Internet,
streaming media and cell phones and has no idea what the world was like before
them. Generation X (Generation Y is a
non-generation according to "Wired Magazine") grew into video games,
computers and the Internet, adopted early car and bag phones. The Baby Boomer
generation is an analog generation growing up with dial telephones, black and
white TV, vinyl records (especially 45's), Top 40 AM radio, double feature
Saturday movie matinees and bills that came in the mail with cards full of
holes and the inscription "Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate." The
Greatest Generation grew up with party line telephones, AM and short-wave
radio, black and white movies and 78 rpm records.
I
thought it would be interesting to differentiate the generations by some of the
technology that was popular during the youthful years.
Some
of those who were born and raised during the Greatest Generation have been able
to adapt, although, on a somewhat limited basis, compared to the Gen X and
Millennials, to computers, streaming and downloadable media, cell phones (let's
not even consider Smart Phones) and the Internet.
Most
of the Baby Boomer Generation has managed to adapt quite well to all the modern
technology. However, for the most part, if all these technological advances
hadn't become so user friendly over the last decade, I'm sure they would
probably be considered Luddites.
The
Internet
The
Internet exists solely because of computer technology. No computers, no
Internet. It's that simple. And, while most people have come to take computers
for granted, they have no idea of their history or how long they have been
impacting human existence. Computation actually dates back earlier than 2000
BC. This is not meant to be a history lesson, so if you're interested, please
use the Internet (what else) to research for yourself. Suffice to say, over the
last few millennia, there have been a variety of mechanical and electrical
devices created to provide computation.
The
Internet actually dates back to it's birth as the ARPANet on October 29, 1969.
Digital networking began as early as 1950. There were several organizations
around the world experimenting and developing various networking protocols.
Ultimately, the ARPANet became the protocol that, obviously, proved successful
and eventually became what we now refer to as the Internet and was made
available to anyone with a digital computer and a means of connecting (modem)
to the backbone of the Internet. Again, if you're interested, you can easily do
your own research.
The
Internet, as we know it today, has literally become the greatest
interconnectivity, information, communication and educational creation in the
history of humankind. It surpasses the printed book, radio, Television, motion
pictures, telephone, all forms of audio and video recordings, graphic art, etc.
because it has encompassed all of them. The computer and the Internet are
ubiquitous. In some way, the computer and Internet touch lives as extreme as
the most remote, primitive societies in the world to the highest tech homes,
businesses and governments. The, once, simple and basic telephone has morphed
into a micro computer with far more power than that of the computers used by
NASA to land men on the moon and bring them home.
The
reality is that computing devices that, at one time, required large rooms to
house them have been reduced in size over a period of approximately 75 years to
where an individual can have a small tablet device, smaller than a traditional
book, or a smart phone that easily fits in a woman's purse or a man's shirt
pocket and accomplish just about every function an older and larger computer
could do. Additionally, with the connectivity available on the current wireless
telephone systems, the tablets and smart phones connect the possessors of such
devices with the Internet and global information, entertainment and
communication availability 24/7. And, now, the communication device comic strip
character (for those of you old enough to remember), Dick Tracy, wore on his
wrist in the 1940's, 50's and 60's has actually become a reality with
wristwatches that are smart phones and have Internet capability.
As
the old Virginia Slim's cigarette ad's slogan boasted, "We've come a long
way, Baby!" As of 2014, 90% of American adults have cell phones and some
kind of computing device. The smart phone is used by 64% of all American adults
and growing. Additionally, huge percentages of American adults have and use tablets, e-readers, laptop and/or
desktop computers. The percentage of American adults over 65 with cell phones is
74%. A mere 29% of American cell phone owners can't imagine ever being without
a cell phone and 44% sleep with the phone next to their bed so they won't miss
a phone call, text or any other updates while they are in bed.
The
Internet and the devices that connect us to it have become as addictive as most
of the other addictions humans are susceptible to. I was at an event Monday of
this week, at the airport in Fresno, California, where people were taking
photos of their relatives and friends leaving on a special trip. They were
taking the photos on their smart phones and then immediately uploading the
photos to their Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and probably other social media
pages as well as their on-line photo albums.
The
Internet As A Time Thief
So,
here it comes! How much of YOUR life is being stolen by the Internet? Let me
broaden that statement just a little.
How
much of your life do you spend checking and responding to e-mail (rapidly
becoming "old school") and texts, checking and posting to Facebook,
Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and other social media, Skype, Facebook, etc.
messaging and responding?
Do
you find yourself sitting at the table during meals with you smart phone or
tablet in hand or close at hand?
Are
you constantly checking your smart phone/tablet while you're in the car - as a
passenger, or OMG, while you're driving?
Do
you find yourself looking at your device(s) while you're waiting for something
(doctor appointment, meeting a friend, business meeting, at the conference
table, while waiting in the mall with your kids or spouse, etc.)?
Do
you actually prefer to email or, now, more commonly, text rather than actually
make a phone call and talk with someone utilizing verbal communication?
Do
you spend hours each day or week posting, commenting and "liking"
things on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Ebay, Craig's List, etc.?
Do
you get absorbed for hours in video games, on your computer, game machine or
on-line?
Before
the computer (and all the derivative devices) and the pervasiveness of the
Internet in our lives, we still had a life. We actually spent time having one
on one and family visits with friends and relatives. We weren't concerned if we
missed a call because, if it was important, whoever made the call would call
back. We played board games. We went outdoors and enjoyed fresh air and
natural, normal exercise. We bought books or went to the library and read them.
We had a variety of forms of entertainment, but none of them pervaded our
lives.
I
cannot be a hypocrite. I am a techy. I have been since I became a short-wave
listener at about age 12 and 13 and an amateur radio operator at age 14. I
discovered the recording and sound industry in college and video recording as
part of a part-time summer job I had during two summers in college. My life and
career were all about the technology of a couple industries including many
years in the high-speed tape duplication industry. So, it wasn't without
precedent that I wouldn't eventually become involved in and embrace
digital/computer technology. Additionally, having a Generation X son, the
computer and Internet were virtually inevitable, both for him and for me as I
had to keep up with my own industries.
Yes!
Here I sit composing this article about the Internet as a Life Thief. And I'm
qualified to write this article because computers (I'm composing on my laptop,
I have my smart phone next to the computer and my tablet that I'm using for
research as I compose, sitting next to the phone) are part and parcel of my
life. I am as guilty as sin with regard to the questions I posed earlier
(except I don't text while I drive, although my smart phone will read incoming
texts to me and I can dictate very brief replies when it's safe to do so).
There
is absolutely no question or doubt in my mind that I am a form of technology
(and in this case, computer/Internet) "addict." If I did a
conservative estimate of how much time the computer and Internet have stolen
from me, I'm sure it would easily be a couple years, at least. This doesn't
include specifically identifiable, productive use of computers and the
Internet.
It
was about 1980 when I first started fooling around with computers. We
duplicated computer games for game companies on data cassettes. Those early
years were targeted toward productive business use. It wasn't until around 1993
or 1994 that I began getting involved in on-line services like Compuserve and
AOL. That led to the Internet and the rest is history, as the saying goes.
Are
You An Addict?
So,
can you be honest with yourself? Are you an Internet addict? How many of the
questions I raised earlier in this article describe your typical behavior? Have
you ever said to yourself, I'd like to live in a kinder, gentler time in the
past . . . as long as I can take my technology (more specifically computers,
tablets, smart phones, wireless telephone and Internet connectivity)? Do you
feel like you're "naked" if you accidentally leave your smart phone
at home or the office or even in the car? Have you ever even attempted to
calculate how many times you pull out your smart phone or tablet during any
given day? Have you gone out with the family, on a date, visited with friends
and found yourself checking your smart phone and replaying to texts instead of
focusing your attention on those you are with? How much time out of every day,
week, month and year is the Internet in its many manifestations stealing from
your life?
Yes!
You certainly need to evaluate this. You need (as do I) to learn how to turn
the phone off, set it down, leave it behind and learn to use that time to focus
on family, friends and yourself. Today's kids are a prime example of what we
are becoming. They will sit in the same room, regardless of whether it's just
two or a group, and text each other messages while within mere feet of one another.
Yes!
Some of this is extreme. No! We're not all as bad as some of the behavior I've
described. But, the Internet and all that it and the computing devices related
to it are taking not minutes, not hours, but days, weeks and months, in
aggregate, from our lives.
The
Greatest Generation, those who use and have embraced the Internet at some
level, typically, somewhat limited, are not as far gone down this road as the
later generations. They still, actually, converse with one another and some
even have telephone conversations and write letters on paper.
The
Baby Boomers, again, while not near as immersed as the younger generations, are
often pretty deeply immersed in the Internet. Most still use e-mail rather than
writing on paper and sending letters. Many have embraced texting. I know some
people who may be approaching the same level of texting addiction as their kids
and grandchildren. And, I have no idea how so many people I know can spend as
much time on Facebook and other media as they do. Some Baby Boomers have also
become involved in online games playing chess, scrabble, solitaire and numerous
other addictive games.
The
Generation X folks grew up with computers, computer games and the opening of
the Internet to the general public. My own son is a self-taught Web developer
and graphic designer, having adapted to the computer like a duck to water. They
are the creators of the Facebooks, Instagrams, Twitters and so many other
facets of the Internet and all that it now encompasses.
The
Millennial Generation is the real question mark. They have never been without
computing devices, tablets, smart phones, the Internet and social media. They
very well may be the first generation that has little or, in some cases, no
direct, one on one, interpersonal contact and connections with people over the
long run of their lives. They are the young people who sit in the same room and
interact by texting one another. What will families look like in the future.
Will children be conceived and raised without two parents ever coming together
for the biological act of conception? Will they even have two parent families? Perhaps
they will be the last vestige of a society we knew and grew up with. What will
their offspring be like? How will they be raised.
Is
the Internet TOO MUCH of a great thing? Is it stealing not only our lives and
time, but out humanity from us? Only the future will reveal the answers to
these questions. Only we can stop the Internet from stealing our lives and
those who will come after us.
