You and the Internet

[BusyNAbroad]

Do you still remember the first time you used the internet?

 

How did it impact you, and, in hindsight, how do you think it has shaped your life over the years?

 

Were there any major events that happened to you on the internet or major things you found on it that deeply changed your life/lifestyle?

 

Can you imagine how your life may have developed if you had not set foot in the world of internet?

 

.....

 

I was 12 and had a "youth club" similar to boy scouts but with a more urban flavor. Since I saw that all new things in the world had a website I wanted to make my club look more official by creating a one. I learned the basics and started publicising everywhere, advertising about us and our activities.

I think that was also my first contact with the professional world, as many other associations (official ones, run by adults) started to contact me and we started plannning projects together, worldwide!

 

Afterwards, I mainly used it for my school work, and often spent hours being guided by my curiosity.

 

I learned about study techniques, started communicating with other cultures by using ICQ and striking conversation with people from all over the world (nowadays this isn't common anymore), and I think that there are at least 15-20 people I communicated with throughout teenagehood and still am in contact with whom I have never met in person, yet consider my friends.

 

Being a person who travels a lot (also due to my family, especially my mixed origins), I believe that thanks to the internet I have been able to keep contact with the friendships I made at school trips or when I went on holidays with my parents.

 

I sometimes feel that my use of the internet combined with my traveling a lot (and my mixed origins) contributed to my trait of not experiencing life, social relationships and many other things through a "basic reality". Many people distinguish between "real life" and "online life", yet due to the fact that I never "feel at home" in a specific place, the line is very blurred. When I chat with a person in Asia, I feel that I am there. I don't see a screen between me and that person. However, this perception may not be reciprocated.

 

It may perhaps be that if I had not used the internet, I may have based my behavioral roots in a specific culture/country and identity, with a stronger feeling of a "home" and nurtured my relationships in that specific country.

 

I also learned about "seduction techniques" and "pick up artists" way before I even had my first deep infatuation, so sometimes I wonder whether I may have developed my relationships with others in a more "natural way" (and perhaps even more successful) had I not discovered those methods in the first place. Many of the things I read there influenced my way of looking at other people, especially at women.

 

I was initially on subject-specific forums (e.g. favorite literature, politics) and then came to forums such as this. I always asked the advice of others before doing something. Also because I was used to follow rules I had read about in books for almost every kind of romantic relationship I had, so I didn't know how to act by myself.

 

Summarizig, I believe that the internet has helped me a lot to overcome barriers of culture and geography, learn many things, accrue my knowledge, and at the same time I feel that it may have hampered me a bit in thinking independently, with a constant need to ask the opinion of others/experts before trying something new by myself.

[HellFrost666]

I was 17 the first time I ever got online. I was at my friend's house and he made it sound like all there was to do was go in chat rooms. He navigated to a room he was a regular in, and told me "There you go, this is the place."

 

After ten minutes I was starting to wonder what the big deal was. A bunch of strangers typing to eachother and no real interesting conversations were happening. He kept telling me it was just dead that night and that it's normally a lot funner.

 

The next time I was at his house he talked me into going in that room again. I was there five minutes and some girl IMed me and asked me to cyber. I told her no and signed off. My girlfriend at the time found out and got really mad and we got in this huge fight.

 

It just seemed like some annoying fad back then. I've never been into fads. I didn't go online again for over a year. But that was after I moved to the US and I had a real use for it. Being online made it a lot easier to stay in contact with everyone back home.

[Nixee]

Honestly, I have to admit that the internet entering my life is definitely one of the things that dramatically changed me, and changed a lot of my relationships from about age 16 on.

 

Over the years I have had a number of friendships and relationships with people which began online. Some of these people I am no longer in contact with... but the majority of them are still people I do speak with and who are very important to me, so overall I would have to say it has been a positive thing.

 

I grew up in a fairly small town, and I loved having my group of friends there, but suddenly being able to reach out to all kinds of people all over was very appealing... and it still is. The exchange of information and ideas is exciting.

Or just getting to know someone through conversation only for awhile... as you would a penpal.

 

I also have enjoyed being able to research subjects so easily... and of course playing games... or seeking advice.

 

As far as any one major event... that I don't know. There have been many major events in my life that I probably could trace back and say "well... I actually met so-and-so online at first..." ...But to be honest, I wouldn't blame the internet for any of it. Because...

 

Can you imagine how your life may have developed if you had not set foot in the world of internet?

 

For the most part, I think my life probably would have developed much the same, at least when dealing with interpersonal relationships and lessons learned in that regard. I may not have had some of the same experiences as far as people I've met in other areas of the world, or travel, or research... and for that I am definitely grateful (and grateful for the friends I have)... but I guess I tend to believe that whether you meet someone online or off, they can still break your heart, and you can still learn the same life lessons.

 

I view the internet as a tool, and at times as entertainment. I don't think it should be a crutch.

[COtuner]

I didn't get on the web until I was 27 and used it mainly for entertainment purposes, getting on listservs to have discussions about my hobbies and favorite things, and look up things for entertainment. Didn't start using it as a real tool until I was 29 or 30 and had bought a Pentium 2 computer with every option available on it.

 

I remember being really excited that I could find people to talk to because at the time I was stuck caring for a mentally disabled parent and had NO ONE in the world to talk to but an 80 year old neighbor. I think it may have helped stop me from starting to think about killing myself or something because I was getting seriously depressed.

[gidget1]

I grew up with the internet. I learnt how to type before I could grip a pen, and learnt how to spell at age 3 with typing programs.

All I really remember about the internet when I was a kid is that goatse scarred me for life.

[yeawutever]

Do you still remember the first time you used the internet?

 

Yes my first computer was given to me as my Christmas gift when I was still 11 years old on Dec 25 of 1998 (4 months from turning 12) old but I didn't had internet till I was 12.

 

How did it impact you, and, in hindsight, how do you think it has shaped your life over the years?

 

It helped me a lot when it came to school projects and homeworks. I began going to the library a lot less as well as when I wanted to read articles. I don't have to waste myself reading a whole entire book on a topic when I can have my shortcut reading internet articles and then move on to the next article.

 

Were there any major events that happened to you on the internet or major things you found on it that deeply changed your life/lifestyle?

 

Playing checkers online, yes I still love that game and I also learn some of its history. In fact I want to one day become the checkers champion on it and off course I got introduce to this Enotalone forum as well as another forum too but I love this one more than any other I heard of.

 

Can you imagine how your life may have developed if you had not set foot in the world of internet?

 

I would have end up probably going to the library on a constant basis to find information had the internet not existed.

[Err]

I grew up with the internet. I learnt how to type before I could grip a pen, and learnt how to spell at age 3 with typing programs.

All I really remember about the internet when I was a kid is that goatse scarred me for life.

 

lol, goatse isn't a pretty sight. I almost went blind after that.

 

 

I also grew up with the internet, I remember using old computers where you pushed a button and hand to type something like "c in the command prompt to start windows up, lol. The internet really had a big impact on me, I got into a message board forum where you can edit signatures with CSS, I got really interested and learned how to create webpages, then websites. Now I can code XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP. Taking college classes for C++ and Java programming now.