This week, I went to my mum again to how the internet is changing practices and spaces for her. I think most of you will agree that the Internet has become something that we cannot live without especially in today’s world where everything seems to revolve around the internet.
Right now, we have 2 televisions, 6 smartphones and 2 laptops all mostly connected to PCCW network and China Mobile Hong Kong. My mum thinks getting a smart TV and fast Wi-Fi contract signing is an awesome thing because before with the slow Wi-Fi it took a long time to download a video and to surf the internet. But now with a faster Wi-Fi connection, we all can use the internet at the same time and it still works super-fast.
My mum still remembers the very first time she ever used the Internet. She recalls going to a cybercafé with her friend and making her first social media account which was; Yahoo. I can see the excitement in her eyes as she tells me how fascinated she was when she made her Yahoo account and started to chat with her friends and the exposure to emojis made the conversations even more entertaining. But all this came with a price as they had to pay to use the internet. Since the Wi-Fi is unlimited now, my mum is making the most out of it.
With the development in technology, it has become so much easier for us to communicate with people as long as they connected to the Internet you can keep in touch with them no matter how far they are. For instance, with services like video chatting, messengers it has given us a platform for us to meet up with new people and share and exchange our culture, ideas. Before my mum used to treat the internet as an entertainment medium to watch movies, connect with people but now it’s used for other various purposes too like in the education field, work, meetings etc.
We’re so indulged in our electronic devices that International Business Times (2014), people are suffering from “Electromagnetic Sensitivity” which can be seen through symptoms of headaches, heart palpitations, tinnitus, eye problems and feeling the sensation of burning skin.
We’re basically living in a digital culture where you’re more connected with someone on your than a person who might be sitting next to you or around you in a café. Even in my case, my whole is based on online assessments from blogging to presentations etc. which probably wouldn’t have been possible without the internet.
It’s amazing that the devices have made our life so convenient but, in a way, it has also made us more anti-social. Do you remember the last time you travelled in a bus or MTR and see a person not using their phone? I bet no, cause all I see in the morning when I’m travelling to college is people on their phone including myself. We seem so busy with our devices our mind rarely gets freedom, maybe the only time it gets to relax is when we’re sleeping.
So, maybe it’s time to put our devices aside from time to time and live in the moment and spend the time with our loved ones while we still have time because tomorrows not guaranteed.
References:
• Murton D,n.d., ‘Is wi-fi making you anti-social?’, weblog post, Convince & Convert, accessed 30/8/2014, http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-research/is-wifi-making-you-anti-social/
• Russon, MA 2014, ‘Are you allergic to Wi-Fi? ‘Electromagnetic Sensitivity’ sufferers flee to remote West Virginia Town of Green Bank’, International Business Times, 11 March, accessed 29/8/2014, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/are-you-allergic-wi-fi-electromagnetic-sensitivity-sufferers-flee-remote-west-virginia-town-1439838
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