My First Internet Experience

When I was in fifth grade—somewhere around the fall of 1999—I remember a friend of mine telling me about this new thing called “instant messaging”. If you used AOL Online, you could talk to other people using text. Right away, I began nagging my parents to buy an account with me so I could use this new technology.

This was at a time when, if you wanted to talk to someone, you could just simply pick up the phone and get a hold of them. Having used a phone to call my friends to get a game of basketball going or plans to go to the movies, I was excited to use AOL for it’s IM service. Looking back, it not only saves time, but also placed phones in a more formal category of communication. Of course, this technology led the way for text messaging by proving the efficiency of short messages being sent instantly.

Another reason using instant message seemed revolutionary was the social aspect. If you did not have someone’s IM address, you more than likely knew someone who did. It was always exciting to have someone suddenly send you a message without realizing who it was. Again, this technology paved the way for future forms of social networking.

Many modern day Americans probably love the concept of instant communication, but it seems unlikely Vannevar Bush would not have been one of them. Much like the decline of the open fire, instant messaging and texting have the same social consequences. Rather than actively engaging in socialization, you hare having a machine do it for you. At the cost of convenience, we also risk confusing our way of personally contributing to the expression of thoughts and ideas.