Teh Intarwebs Are Not Teh Evil

I miss my friends and family. I’m used to being away from my family (albeit in better touch by phone, though) but not my friends. I guess if you read this, you could have worked that out; or if you know me, then you definitely know that.

And so I am going to have a fit if I hear one more yammering older person on the radio (hello media of yesteryear) wringing their hands about how the internet is making people’s language worse, isolating people, killing off their social skills, etc.

The internet lets me talk to my friends FOR FREE and keep in contact with all my social networks, in Australia, in Timor and around the world, in a way I never could if I were relying on the phone (ridiculously expensive) or on letters (takes weeks). It allows me to plan social events with friends. I write on this blog and hey, it’s fun for my friends and family. Sure there are plenty of people out there with poor language skills. But government and school policy, lack of funding, poor-quality teachers, kids who aren’t interested in learning, etc are what causes that. Sure there are people with poor language skills ON the internet, but they’re allowed to be. The internet doesn’t CAUSE that.
People can be isolated on the net but the net is a reflection of society – so maybe we should all start being nicer to each other – and other people formerly isolated, e.g. those with social phobias and particularly limiting physical disabilities, find the internet a wonderfully freeing, socially interactive place. Hell, I have friends I met through the internet.

So. Teh Intarwebs Are Not Teh Evil. Don’t like the internet? Try going on there and looking for something that *does* suit you. If you don’t like Facebook or whatever, you don’t have to use it. I’m not on Twitter – I don’t really like it, and I think that’s because I don’t have the kind of attention span for it; plus, I just don’t think I have time when I am already maintaining a net presence without actually having reliable internet, or internet at home. But, other people like Twitter, and it’s had some very important usages in the media over its evolution.