When I was a young kid, if you had asked me about myself I would have told you that my name was Becky and that I had straight, long brown hair. Although I got away with telling strangers that my name was Becky, the fact that I had curly hair was not as easily deceiving. However, my parents did get used to strangers coming up and complimenting them on their very friendly daughter, Becky. Unfortunately, that only lasted a summer and then I decided to stick with my real name, Jillian. I grew up right outside Washington DC and am currently a sophomore at Cornell University studying communication and business.
Choosing my major wasn’t hard once I considered things I love: talking, people, animals and traveling. I travel a lot for community service as well as for pleasure and enjoy learning about different cultures and lifestyles. It might sound corny, but my major allows me to go wherever and do whatever which is how I like things to work. This is also why I am very intrigued and addicted to the Internet. The Internet allows me to travel beyond the walls I’m in and let me be whoever I want to be and do whatever I want to do, when I want to. As a result, I am extremely interested in how unrestrictive the Internet is. The chance to explore a person’s true interests and desires is unbeatable and I wonder whether it fosters feelings that would never have surfaced without the opportunity the Internet provides. Additionally, I am interested in the friendships and opportunities that would have never formed with out the Internet being at their fingertips.
All of these ideas lie in a very complex online space that involves asynchronous discussion forums, electronic mail, and synchronous chats. It is an environment that begins with a blog posted on an asynchronous discussion forum relating to some idea or opinion. It then develops into a response to the post or an email responding either in confirmation or rebuttal. It finally ends in an synchronous chat where a friendship has been made and one-on-one contact is being conducted between these new peers. The opportunities are endless as the web connects people all over the globe who might have never had found each other otherwise. As a person, I am always longing to learn more about other people but I am severely limited by time, money and other obstacles that stand in my way. The Internet allows me to do more than I could have ever dreamed and I am excited to see how it grows to connect more and more people in ways unimaginable!
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3 comments:
I definitely agree with this post. As I think back to last year and my life in my little cell of a dorm room, the Internet was definitely a way for me to escape.
I'd like to hear more about your interest in relationships that are results of the Internet. Specifically, how do you value these relationships with respect to those created without the assistance of an Internet-intermediate?
Hello,
I do agree with the infinite amount of things that the Internet has provided. We can search for so much information online and retrieve them much quicker than going to a library for a research. However, there are still many things that are false or very opinionated that are quite intriguing to read about online. With the Internet and the combination of fast internet access, I definitely agree that there are much to do online now than every and it will continue to expand!
It was great reading your blog!
Jillian, I completely agree with your blog. I too once went by the name Becky.
In all seriousness though, the Internet is an amazing tool. Whenever I'm on Google and I haven't cleared my history in a while, its amazing seeing the things I've searched for. I forget the name of the feature, but when I put in the first letter of my current search, a list of past searches comes up. I usually don't even remember having searched for the majority of the words that pop up, but that's the magic of the Internet; at any time you can find information on virtually any topic. I have learned many of the things I know by simply reading articles online or conducting searches in Google. It allows me to get news, talk to friends (and meet new ones), download programs to make my life easier, listen to music, share my ideas, and simply expand my horizons in general.
It's a great way to pass time, no matter if you're using it mindlessly or cerebrally.
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