First Writing Assignment

Earliest Internet Encounters

It is really tough to think back to my first “real” encounters with the internet, but at the same time it is semi entertaining. I’m sure I used the internet for something at school before, but I don’t really remember so whatever I was using it for is obviously not that important. My first memorable experiences were when I was in seventh grade, so I was twelve. My Grandpa owned a business, so my grandparents got the internet before my parents did, because my Grandpa wanted to use e-mail and all the other wonderful things that came with it. My grandparents actually lived beside me, and one day my Grandpa called me to help him figure something out with his computer. After helping him I started messing around on the computer, and I stumbled across some type of chat room. It was so cool! I could say anything I wanted to these people and they had no idea who I was or where I was. Sometime after that, probably a few days, I was telling my friend about how cool this chat room thing was, and she told me about AIM and how I should get it so we could talk online. So later that day I went home, dropped my stuff off and went over to my grandparents house to make my AIM screename. I remember it was AEbaby924, lame, I know. Pretty soon I was spending more time at my grandparent’s house than I was at my own. They had dialup, but two phone lines, so the main line was never tied up. I was on AIM all the time, I’m pretty sure it’s how I learned how to type. About two months later my parents finally got the internet, so I stayed home more, our computer at home was a lot slower than my grandparents though. Not only did I use AIM at home, but when I was at a friend’s house we would use it there too. We use to make up fake screenames and talk to people, it was like an easier way to prank call, because the person on the other line couldn’t hear us laughing. When I started downloading music I tested out Kazaa and with dialup it would take almost a whole day to download one song! It’s pretty crazy comparing that with the less than one minute download time today.

When I was twelve, I think that my perception of the Internet was more like Vannevar Bush’s MEMEX, because it was so exciting and interesting to me. Everything I could ever want or need was at my fingertips. Although, I rarely used the Internet for research back then, I still think it was more relevant. Now, looking back on my first experiences with the Internet, I think that it is more like Hawthorne’s. The wood burning stove replaced his fireplace, and the Internet replaced my everyday activities. I rarely went outside to play with my brothers and neighbors anymore, I didn’t watch a lot of TV, all I wanted to do was chat with my friends online. I personally do not think that I could live without the Internet nowadays; it is so convenient for keeping up with friends and family that are all across the country. I couldn’t imagine living in a world without the Internet; I don’t know how people did it in the old days by sending letters and waiting weeks for a response. My middle and high school experiences with the Internet and AIM made it easy to make new friends and establish better relationships with my other friends. It was so easy to use AIM to say anything on your mind because you didn’t have to worry about the other person’s facial expression, or tone of voice; the written word can be interpreted anyway you choose. I think that my early experiences with the Internet helped to build my self confidence, and my opinions of other people. The Internet also made my relationship with my grandparents a lot stronger because of all the time I spent there during the first few months of my new obsession. The way I use the Internet today isn’t very different than it was ten years ago, I don’t use AIM anymore (Facebook chat is an equal alternative,) and I don’t waste all of my time chatting. I now know how to balance my free time and study time, and I use it for productive and informative reasons.

It is hard to believe that the first time I used the Internet was ten years ago, because it seems as if I have never lived without it. Without those early experiences I probably wouldn’t care about using Facebook at all, which is crazy since I am addicted. I would probably be a different person today if it wasn’t for the Internet, I would probably be more creative, in better shape, and watch a lot more TV, but I am glad that the Internet helped to shape my life earlier than later.