World of Its Own
By Alex P.
The internet is a dangerous place. Every person has heard warnings about things not to do and how they must "keep it safe", but in the end, we do what we want. We all know about the dangers presented. We all know what we, as individuals leading our own lives, should stay away from. Some of us are supposed to stay away from more; others are to keep away from dangers only. Ignoring dangers, vulnerability, and doing the "wrong thing" there are many more issues that must be dealt with about the internet. But looking past what people actually do, I'd like to share a little insight on the philosophy and basic ideas that we must understand about the internet and how we use it.
The internet has created more than the entire world is able to produce. Although many claim that it can't cover some aspects of life, we all know that it comes pretty close. The fact is that the internet is a free, convenient, and open way to do just about whatever you want in this world. The concept allows us to live an entire life online. Whatever we want, be it shopping, information, entertainment, reading material, or expressing yourself, it can be found here, or if not - created. This freedom is meant to add to our daily lives, to embellish what cannot be completed without the internet. It helps makes things in our lives faster and more efficient. If only everyone would keep in mind that the internet is here to add to life, not to take it over. It's purpose isn't to destroy one's real world for a realm of binary and html encoding.
Sure, we can do everything we need to online, and have a good time at it too, and that's why there are people who spend their entire day online, but are not at fault for this problem. These are the people who go online for their work. These are the ones who go on to play a game when they are bored or chat with friends who they haven't seen in weeks. These are the people who download their favorite song and research for their next board meeting. These are the people who know how to keep it real. Always ask yourself: Am I keeping it real?
Is the site I'm going on now of any benefit to me? Why am I spending so much time online? What's the point in me doing this? Whatever you do on the internet should be with a purpose. With a distinct justification for it in mind. That DOES NOT mean you cannot have fun. In fact it means the exact opposite. It means that we all have potential and goals, and many different ways of accomplishing them. If IMing your friends for an hour a night is only going to help you propel forward - go for it! If playing Habbo every night is letting you relax so you can have some time off – go for it! But what you have to do is always keep it real. Real is for a reason. Real means you realize what you are doing now and it is built into a larger scale plan, somehow. Because if you don't REALIZE and you don't keep it REAL, then you lose yourself in a huge, confusing, and scary world which can lead you in any direction, and that is dangerous.
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