In the last 10 years or so, the internet has really managed to nuzzle up to civilisation on the couch, get comfortable and become part of the family.
I’ve seen it grow from a magical land of uncharted territory, inaccessible to my younger self, but even then it was a place I wanted to go.
Years ago, I remember having the ability to stay on our shared home computer for hours at a time, and maybe that hasn’t changed so much now, except for the functions of our home computer now keeping me on my phone for those same hours.
What else has changed is what I’m doing, staring straight into the face of technology while life seems to go on without me. Now I’m surfing the web, younger me standing in amazement about what is now possible within the confines of my screen.
I don’t notice it, how long I actually am plugged into this simulated world, usually because I’m splitting my attention between it and every other thing that comes up on my daily to-do list.
I’m on the net when I wake up in the morning. While I’m having my breakfast, I’ll probably go down whichever of the many timelines I’m signed up to, maybe I’ll check the news on my way to school and reply to a few messages while paying attention in class.
After school I’m watching video after video that makes me laugh but won’t be remembered or even cared about in a week. During dinner, I’ll probably be lurking down a news feed, laughing or cringing right until I go to bed.
The point is, the hours add up. We are on the net a lot. Or at least I am. And the need for it, accessibility to it, and a sufficient comprehension of it is a growing concern, even at national levels where the divide between the digitally literate and illiterate is addressed and attempts are made to bring everybody up to the same level.
This shows it is important, especially in advancing a world where it really is survival of the fittest. Except in the human context, fit being the ability to move further into the 21st century seamlessly as the line between man and machine draws thinner, and the Wi-Fi router becomes kin.
We seem almost uncomfortable with each other as fun social engagements turn into 11 people staring at their screens as beeps and buzzes split their attention between the friends who are right there in front of them and the virtual friends who ‘like’ the outfit they’ve chosen for that day.
We are growing up with children who can ‘slide to unlock’ our devices and use our front-facing cameras before anything else.
