Faith in the future outta the now

    When I get back home, the first thing I do is turn on the computer - if it hasn’t been turned on yet - to manage my blogs.  In addition to that, I have plenty of things to do online, such as doing research for my papers, listening to the radio on National Public Radio’s website, reading news articles on CNN and TIME, watching music clips on YouTube, searching for data on movies and joining discussions on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes, and buying books and DVDs on Amazon.com/jp.  In other words, I’ve found that it has become difficult for me to imagine a life without the Internet.  Moreover, it is apparent that I am not alone.  Based on long-term observations, persistent "field study" and my personal experience of being an Internet addict, it has dawned on me that there are three main reasons why people become heavily dependent on the Internet: the convenience, the resourcefulness, and the entertainment that the Internet provides.

To begin with, the Internet has developed into such a ripe stage that it now makes people’s lives extremely convenient.  For example, people now don’t have to run their errands to pay their bills at different places; instead, with a few quick clicks of the mouse, they can pay all kinds of bills online, such as phone bills, credit card bills, electricity fees, and even taxes.  As for shopping, e-commerce provides an easier and more efficient alternative to physical stores.  Online stores take pride in their huge variety of merchandise for customers to choose from; furthermore, owing to cost savings in administration and management, they are also able to offer special discounts to make their goods more desirable.  When the products in demand are rare or cannot be purchased locally, online stores are always the best choice.  With its reasonable prices, secure payment, and speedy international shipment, once having experienced online shopping, one finds it hard to resist the temptation to stick to it.    The Internet also brings many conveniences when it comes to arranging travel.  Before the trip, one can easily check the schedule of transportation facilities online and make flight, train, liner, restaurant, and hotel reservations without troublesome procedures.

Another reason why the Internet has irresistible appeal is that one can find all kinds of information online at the present time.  The Internet is abundant in resourceful information and knowledge because of not only copious, highly informative websites but also collaborative communities of web searchers.  Wikipedia, an illustrative instance, is “a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project [, which has] approximately 7.9 million articles in 253 languages”[1].  On Wikipedia, one can look up definitions of terminology, get the latest information, and enrich his/her own knowledge.  However, since it can be edited by anyone who has access to the Internet, Wikipedia is suspected of being usurped by some interested groups on order to enhance their public images.  On the other hand, websites like Yahoo Knowledge and Bulletin Boards, which also function as information providers, put more emphasis on the interaction among users.  On this kind of websites/boards, users can freely post their questions or problems, and volunteer respondents will enthusiastically post replies.  While it is not likely for them to receive any material reward for this, they feel, as Cho In Joon - a loyal user in the online interactive community - put it, “helping other people on the Internet is addictive”[2].  As a result, confronted with hard-to-solve problems, one can always find suggestions and even support on the Internet.

Moreover, some people find that they cannot be torn away from the Internet simply because they cannot quit the multifarious entertainment made available by the Internet.  YouTube, though still legally controversial, is a very good platform to watch and share music and TV clips.  Thus, rising stars like Bianca Ryan - the little 11-year-old singer from America's Got Talent(NBC) - could win global publicity at almost the same time as the famous reality television show was on the air.  It is also interesting to observe that the influence of YouTube is so huge that even production companies such as CBS and Universal Music Group recognize the value of it and are more than willing to put their copyrighted video clips on it for promotion.  If people want to discuss their favorite movies or favorite singers with others, they can never be alone in loving something or someone, for they can always find “groups” online to discuss and share their feelings with, which brings joy, satisfaction, and even a sense of belonging.  For instance, IMDb functions as more than just a database of international movies because its users can participate in or initiate threads of discussions at any time.  Moreover, by googling keywords, one will be led by the most powerful search engine on the earth INSTANTLY to those burgeoning amateur “fansites”, where worldwide fans of a particular movie genre, actor, musician, or athlete join together to talk about the people or the things that they love in common.  Likewise, MSN can be said to be a tool for both communication and recreation.  As soon as one logs in, both real and cyber friends will never grant him or her a minute of undisturbed time.  Additionally, it seems needless to explain the enchantment of those countless online games, which make many people forget themselves and abandon their real lives.

To sum up, it is clear that because it possesses these three advantages - convenience, resourcefulness, and entertainment, people today can hardly avoid the alluring Internet.  Nevertheless, some undesirable problems have also begun to emerge.  For example, some people are so fond of surfing the Web that they gradually confine themselves to the online world and feel rejected outside of it.  If the situation persists, they might have trouble dealing with real people.  Sitting in front of the computer for too long a time may lead to health problems as well.  Being an Internet addict, though I diagnose myself as only having minor and controllable symptoms, it has become a lesson of crucial importance for me and people like me to learn how to strike a balance between an enjoyable Internet life and a challenging real life.  As Thoreau asserts in his timeless Walden, “Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things.  They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at”[3].  While relishing the cozy, well-informed, and amusing life that the Internet has given us, we have to be watchful of being unknowingly enslaved by it.