Hum. I am fascinated with how people use the Internet. With it's emergence it felt like such a cold and cumbersome technology that was not overly intuitive. As it has evolved though more and more people have become comfortable with it and I would say some have become very comfortable. Out of this comes a number of questions;
- In an age where we are trying to conserve and move more to a paperless, digital society do people really trust the Internet enough for all of their needs such as banking, bills and medical information or should the Internet serve as a supplement to the physical environment?
- Can a faceless computer allow people to reach across physical boundaries to make/find friends that span beyond the online community?
- Are literacy skills enhanced or reduced due to the slang used in programs such as aim or through text messaging?
What are the most interesting online environments? Why?
There are so many online environments out there now that it is absolutely amazing the number of directions you can go in. I find that I am interested in different ones at different times based on my current position in life. Four and half years ago when I was expecting my first child I spent a number of hours a day on WebMD's pregnancy message boards. I will admit I was mainly a lurker during my time there but I found solace in the post of others in my similar situations. Women I had never meet before became my digital friends and their problems and solutions were helpful to me. Now that I am removed from that stage in my life I find myself more interested in blogs. They provide such a fascinating digital record of the experiences and the life of the author. A number of them lend themselves to a soap opera in a new age.
The future and what it holds will be interesting. I think we have only begun to scratch the surface of how the Internet will affect our lives.
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