Internet – How it affects us.

In the past 20 years, the internet has changed the common man’s life in more ways than previously imagined. Earlier restricted only for communications between Military Agencies and Research Organisations, today we see avid internet-users of all age-groups throughout the world. This exponential growth is in itself a testament to the success and popularity of the internet.

Recent years have seen a huge jump in terms of the amount of services accessible on the internet. We are also seeing a majority of companies reaching out to their customers through the internet. The internet has helped us achieve feats in many sectors which were earlier thought to be impossible. Who would have thought that you could talk to a friend sitting in another country at the touch of a button? Or packaging companies could deliver international parcels within the accuracy of the hour? Or socialize with our friends even without leaving the house? The list is endless. The internet is a tool for development – both personal and industrial.

The internet’s impact on a person’s life is not superficial. It affects the lifestyle and behavior of individuals to their very core. This can have both – a positive as well as negative impact on the users of the internet. I have tried my best to explain these impacts under the following points:

1. Kids and Teenagers
   • Internet access in every household has led to a surge in the number of kids and teenagers who use the internet. No longer do kids need their grandma to help them learn the alphabet or the numbers – they can do it on their own, at the touch of a button – not only do they see the alphabet, but pre-recorded voice even pronounces it for them. No longer do children need books with sketches on them – the internet is filled with interactive websites which respond to each touch of the user. I think that soon the internet would be a more popular way of teaching kids as it preserves the spirit of the book and combines it with interactivity of the web – animations, videos, links, etc.
   • Internet is now an in-separable part of many teenager’s lives. Not only does it eliminate the need of encyclopedias or dictionaries, it enhances the education experience. Since we are looking at the impact of internet as a whole, it would be foolish not to talk about non-educational experiences. The internet acts as a socializing hub – sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, GMail, Hotmail are the new rage among teens. Emails have obliterated the letters. Waiting for a friend’s reply for a week is only heard in bedtime stories of our parents. Virtual “Walls” have replaced verbal communication. Instead of sitting with friends and marveling at old photographs, we now upload it on “FaceBook” and wait for the critics to comment on it, wait for the number of “likes” to increase. Not that this a bad thing – infact, throughout history many people have either opposed development or favored it. I fall in the latter category. But in trying to keep up with all the status updates, notifications, comments, tweets, emails and what-not, most children are wasting their constructive time on not-so-important-in-the-long-run activities.

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What do you think? How has the internet affected you? Has it changed you in some way or the other? Tell me about it. Comment 🙂

PS. I’ll be adding more categories in different posts about how I think the internet has affected other sections of the population. This post marks my comeback to the Underground. *The Original iPhone Exploiter – Soon coming up with OS 4.0 unlock jailbreak for 2G (old/new), 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4*

Honesty is the Key to Everything

What is honesty? Well here’re the dictionary definitions:

1. The quality or fact of being honest; uprightness and fairness.

2. Truthfulness, sincerity, or frankness.

3. Freedom from deceit or fraud.

Those are the ways we would define it in an essay, or even a speech; but I am not here to BS you and create a false sense of security; I am going to be as blunt as possible.

There is no possible way in HELL that I’m referring to either of those fine definitions; I’m talking about the one that we repel most often: our own. We choose to seclude ourselves form the outside world without actually confining ourselves. It is as if we want to live two lives at once; there’s the honest side, and then there’s the “honest” side. You all know what I’m talking about. Truthfully enough, the only person you’re lying to is yourself.

The kind of person I’m associating to is the one that A) Lies for no apparent reason or B) Lies to him/herself to elude the elementary fact that he/she doesn’t have such a grand life. Although very different, they are both only hurting the individual at hand, and ruining his/her life.

Type A lying is, considered by many, a disorder. For some reason, they spark their own lives with daring adventures and meteoric facts that do nothing but give one measly moment of glory which will be forgotten once that second ticks. There is no benefit gained from it; in the long run, it will probably only cause social disbelief in the subject, and he/she will not be trusted. ‘Side effects may include: Loss of friends, disbelief of everyone around you, and crying. Using just a bit of logic, these “exquisite” liars are easy to spot. When you call him/her a liar right to his/her face, be sure to expect a negative reaction. Hey, it’s not your fault that you don’t believe that trip to the store turned into a dragon slaughtering, or witch burning, or whatever kids do these days! In all seriousness though, lying to oneself is just another way to create a false sphere for people around you; another way of getting pity from others. They just want others to feel sorry for them and their more-than-perfect lives. It’s a sort of transition to a new, falsified life, to relish the audience with majestic stories; nothing more.

I feel like I’m diversifying to blood types, but type B are the ones that lie to themselves to create a false reality. It is a scrutinizing process upon oneself to believe in his/her own lies. A mental battle, in a sense, that is fought down to tears sometimes. It is the brain’s reaction, for some, as an alternative to suicide, or just an excuse for being plain lazy and not WANTING to change the life of oneself. This form of lying is, by far, the most pathetic thing people can do to themselves. I mean, what are we living in alternate realities or something?! ‘Enter… THE MATRIX! Where your whole world is a lie!’ It’s more sad than anything.

Lying to others and lying to oneself are two completely different stories. Type B liars, from my perspective, are much worse than type A. Why so? Well because type A liars can always find new people and start out fresh, while type B lie so frequently that, after a while, those persons actually start believing their false preachments. Either way you look at it though, lying is just awful.

If you’re honest you won’t have any problems, I guarantee it! Sure sometimes it’s difficult to confess, but you will feel amazing about it afterwards. You shouldn’t have to live in a world of lies, and you shouldn’t have to fear what others think. Tell them the god-honest truth, and if they don’t like it, then obviously they’re not your kind of people. Honesty fills a person with pride, knowing that he/she doesn’t have anything to hide. One lie leads to another, and another, and so on and so forth. Even white lies you shouldn’t have to tell, because you still have to live with your guilty conscience. Honesty is the key to everything, no doubt about it!