The World Wide Web has become an integral part of the American modern life since its creation less than a century ago. Every single day, millions of Americans will sit down at their personal computers and exchange some sort of information via the complex superbrain of knowledge that is our Internet. Even if they do not directly input to the system, every American uses the web. Be it at the grocery store when using a credit card, in a department store that uses telecheck, be it as you check out a library book or as you have your drivers license run by a police officer, the connection is inescapable.
The ability to connect to so many people at once is a powerful tool, but it is just that –a tool. A tool cannot work on its own; an outside force must operate it. The outside force is in control of the tool and any effectiveness or ineffectiveness of that tool will be the direct effect of the operator’s effort. In the case of our Internet, we the human beings are the operators, and it is up to us to induce any effects we wish to see. We choose how we manipulate the Internet and to what extent we use its information. We may use the web for good or bad, for knowledge or entertainment, and -as is usually the case in this realm of existence- we will reap the consequences of our actions.
It worries me, the ways we in America have used the Internet, the way we have neglected the full potential of such a tool of connection. I can feel the negativity of our situation, I can feel it turning in my gut, but I just know that there is potential for something better. All it takes is a change in operation.
It seems to me that our Internet has come to be viewed, by so many Americans, as just another means of entertainment. I am not anti-entertainment, I am however anti-apathy and anti-ignorance. I can enjoy the fellowship of watching a good movie amongst a good group of friends just as much as the next guy and I can definitely appreciate the plethora of feelings that I so easily conjure by listening to my music, but I feel that these pleasures are shallow in respect to the big picture of life and all of its complexities.
I feel that matters of entertainment should come secondary to matters of actual importance. Your friends, family, community and government deserve priority over the falsity and distractions of entertainment. As a nation we have become totally addicted to entertainment, it surrounds us everywhere we go and we soak it up like sponges. Instead of worrying about the health of a neighbor or the state of our nation, the average American is mostly concerned with who got voted off of their favorite “reality” show or what the latest comedic YouTube video is going to be. There are far too many real issues facing your nation today, far too many troubles in your state, your community, your home and within your own self to be concerned about imaginary characters and their imaginary conflicts. Take the time to become educated, participate actively in your own life, and then look to entertainment for relaxation if you must. Do not allow virtuality to consume your actuality. There is much more to life than entertainment.
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