We have all seen the pictures, in our head and on television, of the typical Internet junkie: alone in the dark, he sits glued to the soft glow of the computer screen, hand on the mouse, eyes glaring into the screen. His eyes flutter through the endless web pages and online chats, fingers gliding over the keyboard, seemingly pressing keys at random. There is a soda by his side, and potato chip crumbs strewn about. He occasionally has glasses, sometimes caused by the endless hours spent focusing on the close monitor. A small, glowing reflection shines off each lens, two blocks of light where his eyes should be found.
His glare is blank, no emotion, no feeling, just staring into a reality many enjoy, but few enjoy. He is a heavy set person, usually due to the endless hours sitting relaxed, not moving, accumulating bulk over time. People like this are usually in their teens or twenties – the age premier of the Internet addiction spending their golden years in a trance. He has withdrawn himself from society, settling into his little world consisting of a computer, modem, and the vast, sprawling network named “the Internet” which is everywhere, but nowhere.
The world in which you hear a lot about, but never see. The place which is quickly becoming our world, not just their playground. In some people’s opinions, individuals like the one mentioned above are becoming all too common in today’s society. Everywhere you turn, someone is selling something new and great about the net. They preach of peace, glee, economic prosperity and over all, wonderfully great times to come, all a result of this “Information Superhighway,” not once giving you proof what they are saying is legitimate, not just cyber-babble designed to get you to fork over some cash.
You cannot help but be caught in what people are calling the biggest thing to hit communications since Alexander Graham Bell’s little invention. The telephone eliminated the age old distance barrier and made the whole country seem smaller. With transatlantic cables and satellites, the advent of television and CNN, and now the Internet, the world has become nothing more than a picture on a screen, be it computer, television or otherwise.
Our image of the world has changed incredibly: rom being immeasurable in size and unconquerable, it has shrunk to a measly little abstract thought based on pictures and sounds relayed to us a screen the size of lunch box. All this occurred in the time span of a couple of centuries, a mere drop in the bucket compared to the age of the earth. The real world has also changed along with our perception. People are afraid now, repulsed by what they see on their magic screens. They are now first hand witnesses to the horrors which have existed throughout human existence, only now realizing how common such acts are.
The people of this time cannot believe what the world is coming too, and are trying to figure out what they can do to stop it. Most choose to ignore it and go on with their lives, knowing the problems are too big and they cannot solve it. They are the majority of our society, creating a large, non-vocal section which holds the same beliefs as those seen on television every night and in the paper every morning. There are a select few, however, choose to fight for what they believe in, trying to make a difference in a harsh world.
These include those who combat local crime with neighborhood watches, run for president, or become a well known figure, convincing others of their cause. There is a problem with this, though. Not everyone has the courage or stamina to become a figure powerful enough to sway people’s opinions and make a change. Most people believe in a cause, but are too outspoken to get a message across to the general public. Believe it or not, this is not a problem in our society, but rather a crucial component that keeps it from falling apart.
Imagine everyone pushing their own thoughts to you where ever you go. This is not the way you would want these people to present their beliefs in this manner, would you? A world full of confident, spotlight hungry, lunatics is not what we need. We need some of them, but just enough to represent the other portion of the population. This is where the Internet steps in. What separates the net and other forms of communication is that in this electronic world, there are no stereotyping people on the other line; everyone is just a name, with no reference to age, sex, race, religion, or anything else.
When you meet someone, they are exactly the same as those you have met in sessions past; they are no different than everyone you will meet in times to come; they do, in fact, appear just like yourself. You cannot make a judgment about someone, because you do not even know a single thing about them. You have no clue if the other person is a 6’3″, muscle-bound, 300 pound bench pressing, football playing, girl hustling, deep talking beast, or if the characters you see on screen are typed by a 12-year-old seventh-grade girl who loves butterflies and Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
The other person may be your brother in San Antonio or your teenage love in Rome, and you would never find out if the other person didn’t want you to. It is because of the anonymity, that everyone is equal. And because of this equality, those who are shy in life, can become remarkably vocal and rowdy online. If they can overcome their shyness online, they will propose their ideas, potentially changing people’s opinions all over the world. Those who would not think of going on television on a live debate to support a cause are the ones who make up the majority of the net. They have settled on a medium that best suits them.
These people have the capability to chat up a storm on IRC or create the most convincing Usenet posts. The Internet is once again giving everyone the right to express their opinion, without worrying about public scrutiny. These people, who would not think of making a public stand, are often the ones who make the web sites which draw thousands of hits a day. It takes much less courage to take an anonymous stand with a web page than it does to get up in front of the camera and proclaim your opinions, forever running the risk of being chewed ut by the ever criticizing press and public.
On the Internet, the worst thing that could happen is a couple of e-mail messages stating contrary opinions. If the messages are of an offensive nature, one touch of the delete key, and you can forget that one mad person, forever erasing any nagging little reminder. Never has a negative opinion or reputation disappeared with a touch of a key. Because of the magic of the net, no one ever has to know it is you, the person behind the infamous eman@niamod. com.
You can go right on with your life, knowing that you did what you thought was right, and even though no one agreed with you, you still are the same person as before, in the eyes of the public. That is why pornography has proliferated on the net. No one is publicly proud of their collection of half of Hollywood in their birthday suits. On the net, however, a person is nothing more than a cryptic e-mail address, and thus, disappear into the endless numbers of people as just another name in the crowd of information. The net has the same far reaching appeal of television, but it also has a definite advantage over the tube.
Ever flip through the channels and think “There is nothing on. Only this guy, preaching his crap. And this stupid cartoon, and this: what the heck? What language is this, anyway? ” Nothing is ever “just what you want. ” What television does is force something down your throat with you constantly trying to fight it. Sure, you can use the remote, but what good will that do if everything on is bad? It merely lets you see MORE of it! Isn’t that what you always wanted, more crap? I didn’t think so. In addition, while a television is limited to, at most, 100 channels, it still leaves your options severely limited.
It puts control into the hands of the big producers who decide what is important and what is not. On the net, people like yourself deem things important, not executive snobs who have lost touch with reality. Ever had your favorite sitcom preempted by a basketball game? How about your favorite public television educational special put on hold so they could beg for money? The net allows someone to see what they want, when they want, and how much of it they want, without any interruptions or annoying commercials. And, as anyone will tell you, people are more apt to being persuaded when they are voluntarily listening.
You wondered why you learned more things blowing things up in chemistry than when the teacher lectured on and on about this and that? Because of this part of human nature, the net has a capability to change our world in ways all other mediums cannot. Additionally, never will anything on the net be replaced by something else due to a lack of channels. When someone makes a web page, or posts to a Usenet discussion group, that information is essentially there forever, until someone, usually the person who created it, decides to remove it. The decision is not made by some hot shot corporate president with nothing but money on his ind.
The information spread over the Internet is much purer than other mediums because very rarely does anyone put anything on the net without feeling passionately about the subject and truly believing in it. Never will you see anyone begging you to support them while they interrupt your surfing either. As it turns out, because of the advantages of the net, people are turning to it as the premier vocalization platform. It is easy to make a stand since no one will know exactly who it is. It is easier to continue your press toward your cause because the information is there all the time, waiting for someone to access it.
And because it is waiting nicely, and not being piped into your house all the time, it has a greater potential for success. People of centuries past had the town meeting. The generation of the ’60s had the freedom march. This generation has shied away from that, and chosen the Internet as the premier idea exchange location. All generations are different. So, before you rush to judge all those “Internet Junkies” as useless slobs who will never do anything productive, remember, just like yourself in your youth, they are trying to change the world! Everyone should be allowed a chance, shouldn’t they?