I have been meaning to write a blog post for a while, but I have taken a break from my beloved laptop. There is something alluring about the internet that draws you in, slowly, click by click, page by page, causing you to submit yourself to its hold, until the day is over and you have nothing left to give. Eventually you reside inside the screen, imprisoned by your own incessant compulsion.
Upon watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics and seeing the man behind the World Wide Web, I began to ponder about what our existence would have been like without the internet.
There would be a sense of community between ourselves and our neighbors. People would actually visit and talk to each other. We would not feel so compelled to reveal so much about ourselves, but instead would conceal and live in the privacy of our own homes. Marriages would not be destroyed, our relationships would be stronger and easier to maintain. People would have more time to read, to explore and marvel at the beauty of the earth. People would enjoy the smaller moments that build up to exhilaration. They would notice the flowers blossoming in the spring and the color of the sky at sunset. They would listen to the sound of the birds and the drops of rain against their windows. People would live their lives and comprehend what it means to truly live.
There would be a sense of community between ourselves and our neighbors. People would actually visit and talk to each other. We would not feel so compelled to reveal so much about ourselves, but instead would conceal and live in the privacy of our own homes. Marriages would not be destroyed, our relationships would be stronger and easier to maintain. People would have more time to read, to explore and marvel at the beauty of the earth. People would enjoy the smaller moments that build up to exhilaration. They would notice the flowers blossoming in the spring and the color of the sky at sunset. They would listen to the sound of the birds and the drops of rain against their windows. People would live their lives and comprehend what it means to truly live.
The internet does have its advantages, but we have become too fixated with its supremacy, we are disregarding time, our existence, our being. The internet merely sustains but does not cultivate us. Some may argue that it can be used as a means to retain contact, reinforce relationships, thus revoking my words. It can be used as a platform to allow one to depict a different version of who they are in a way that they cannot do in person. The internet can be used as a medium to liberate oneself. It allows one to interact and connect with an international audience, but the internet has introduced a filter through which we now perceive our lives. We have fabricated concepts in our minds of which nothing in our lives can or will measure up to.
Our generation is slowly losing its grasp of reality. Everything is being computerized, modernized and technology is replacing human contact. Our children will live in a world where physical presence is devalued, how will they learn about affection, warmth and love? Technology will become their parents and best friends. It will become their teacher. Their computers will nourish them, and everything will be robotized. The human heart will begin to be upheld by technology, and eventually they will find a way to immortalize their souls. Love and air will be bottled and sold, with added chemicals and artificial sweeteners. Laughter will be bought through vending machines and serenity injected into the bloodstream by a manufactured android.
The internet is a revolution, but we must take time to detach ourselves from its hold and revel in who we are. Our perception of reality is already distorted by prejudice, we will lose our hearts and souls if we are not careful, we will lose our lives, let go.
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