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| Ben "Mouse" McShane is a junior telecommunications major and writes 'Classical Geek Theatre' for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. |
I hate the Internet.
I really, truly resent the World Wide Web. I think the Internet is responsible for the true degradation of our society. It is more dangerous than drugs, alcohol, promiscuous sex and yes, even television.
Life was better before Al Gore took the initiative in establishing the Internet infrastructure.
A quick reflection on my college years shows that my life, and the life of many others, is built around the Internet.
Every morning, I check my e-mail. I also check my e-mail every night, afternoon, meal break, post-potty break, elevensies and whenever the number four appears somewhere on my digital clock. E-mail has nearly replaced the telephone call.
I register for classes online. I shop online. I wish my grandmother happy birthday online. If I have a question about something I do not know, I no longer call a relative who may have the answer. Why bother? In two seconds, Google can find the answer for me.
Information: It is the gold standard of the new millennium.
A person needs to read the news almost everyday in order to survive. Only on the Internet can a person find untold quantities of gold. It becomes an obsession.
Convenience is a vice, not a virtue. Let's talk AOL Instant Messenger, shall we?
A recent feature in the Daily News suggested that 20 percent of all college students have formed a relationship online before meeting the person in real life. You can count me in those ranks. You can also count my old roommate. I think we all know someone who has dated someone they met online.
Meeting someone online is fine. Getting to know someone online, however, is unhealthy. Talking to new friends online, romantically interested or not, is a bad thing.
Finding out about each other's family or favorite movies through Instant Messenger sanitizes the human element of one's initial interactions with a new person. You can't smell them or see how their eyes blink. You don't hear them laugh; you only read them "lol."
The Internet is stunting the social growth of our entire generation. Important, life-changing conversations are being held over a safety net that is the faceless instant message.
Regular activities, such as shopping or going to the library, are a part of our mental-health diet. Random encounters with other living things keep a person balanced. Our online, enhanced lifestyles are losing that.
So, why do I embrace the Internet? Why don't I just turn off Instant Messenger? Why not unplug the modem?
Because you have to keep up.
The war is over, "real life" lost, and we might as well all get with the program. The computers and the Internet have already invaded our lives. Resistance is futile. All hail Supreme Chancellor Gates.
That doesn't mean everyone has to stay indoors or not speak to real people in person ... but the people who don't understand technology, the people who don't have the information, are going to lose.
The very people who don't depreciate their lives with computers are the ones who will eventually be on the outside of society.
I feel trapped. Information is a commodity, and I feel as though I have to stay connected or I'd lose touch with the world. Ironically enough, most of us already have.
Write to Mouse at bbmcshane@bsu.edu
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