Having access to the Internet can be a very expensive luxury. Fortunately, in America, we still have public libraries that allow free access on their banks of computers. But in most libraries, this free access is limited to 30 minutes. Most people in our libraries that sit before computers are working hard at job hunting, finishing research for a school paper, checking their email or reading the sports sections of newspapers. These activities are all well and good, but I have found there is so much more. Because I am retired and have 'unlimited' access to the Internet, I can pause and write that I am in awe of all that is available in greater depth to those with both energy and time.
On Monday I can start a free Yale course on Environmental Politics and Law, or Game Theory, or France Since 1871 and feed my attention deficit disorder.
On Tuesday I can listen to Anne Sexton read her poem "Wanting to Die" and try to understand the mental anguish of depression which she makes sound like cocaine addiction.
On Wednesday I link to Twitter and try to find time to follow the Paris Review which might come in handy at my next cocktail party...if I ever went to cocktail parties!
On Thursday I can review the New York Times section Dealbook and follow all the resulting links and get more terrified at the lack of control I have over my financial future.
On Friday I can have some fun and check out award winning photographs here and here and get both inspired and depressed.
On Saturday I can spend time emailing friends, making fun of them on Facebook or blogging away with you all.
And I haven't even mentioned the Ted Talks, the free Master Writing
Class, the Cornell bird watch cameras and all the online tours of the
worlds museums that await me! It is like sitting down at one of those groaning tables
of food in a Harry Potter movie, but it can easily become an addiction.
By Sunday, if my head has not exploded, I must re-enter the tactile world and take a walk or weed the garden or head outside and listen to church bells and bird songs.
This is a world that my parents could never have imagined when they purchased their first TV. It does make me pause and wonder how much more open and "interactive" the world will be for my grandchildren.
I agree with you. Of course, I would having spent over 40 years as a computer professional. It still fascinates me 11 years into retirement. It is a godsend to older people who no longer have the health or desire to do too much outside of their homes. I love to read my blogs which are written by so many interesting people. I have seen pictures of places I will never visit with software that allows me to view the parts of the building in depth that I could never do in person. Such as ceilings, paintings circling the top of the walls. etc.
ReplyDeleteIt is my encyclopedia,my library, my social outlet. I am so glad I live in this time. I really appreciate my virtual friends and hope I am able to use my computer until I hit the end of the road. Thank you for being one of those friends.
This is a world that's hard for me to believe and I'm living it. Totally amazing. I'm so excited for the future of our children.
ReplyDeleteI feel as you do about all the things available to us via at the Internet! I Google everything. It is only time that keeps me from having a Mon-Sun itenerary such as yours; which could be a good thing. :) It's wonderful to know, though, that when I'm bound to my house, that I can pass the time filling my head with whatever. :)
ReplyDeleteDon't we hate it when we lose Internet for some reason?
When I visit the library, I too, think about the people at the computers; wondering if it is their only access.
Very good thought you left on my "Instint" post. I needed to hear that.
I'm not so sure about all this technology; for everything that is gained, something is lost.
ReplyDeleteWhen I wrote my comment I was thinking about the line you wrote: This is a world that my parents could never have imagined when they purchased their first TV. As I get older I feel nostalgic for a time when people spent less time in front of TVs and computers and more time around the dinner table or coffee table talking with each other and playing games, singing songs, interacting-one human being to another. It seems to me that much of our technology has limited our interaction with one another. Texting is having a big impact on language and computers keep us separated in front of our monitors. Yet I would never have met you without this technology and that would be sad. This is what I meant by technology providing both benefits and losses.
ReplyDeleteBoy isn't that the truth!! The whole wide world...open for business!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy it all
Hugs
SueAnn
All I need is time n money too! N Sleep- Tons of Sleep!
ReplyDeleteJust to load the pics n videos, I need to go to my daughters computer because this one is too slow in the hour I have after work to do it.
So I take turns blog reading, one per day unless a Day Off. Usually I'll go BBsit there n be able to catch-up- Sometimes like vaca tho, I don't get over there to the Zippy machine, n can't even delete emaul without wasted hours loading. (still on a 28.8 bps modem here). I'm jealous of all you can do!
Wish I could take that bird call class you had last year too!
(drool...)
We adjust. We learn to balance tactile life with virtual depending on our priorities. I spend a LOT of time on the computer but I also ensure that I see friends and family.
ReplyDeleteAt work I take a break and I get up and walk around and talk to people. I take walks outside with my dogs. I touch trees, I touch fence posts.
We always said my Mom was a walking encyclopedia. What fun she would have had with the Internet and all of its infinite information.
It is a wonderful thing, indeed. It seems like magic. And I find that the internet enhances my connections to the world. Living where I do, in the middle of the Pacific, this is a great boon.
ReplyDeleteIt is both wonderful and a curse, I think. I think we are all too connected sometimes. Sometimes I feel like throwing away all electronics and moving out into the country to live on a farm. Hmm...
ReplyDeleteI must be feeling antisocial. ;)
It can be wonderful, can't it?
ReplyDeletePS: I had meant to start my note by thanking you. I really appreciate the support. :)
ReplyDelete