The first time I used the internet I was around the age of
11 (give or take). This was before broad band and wi-fi, when dial-up internet
services were used. The first thing I did was set up an email through the AOL
account. I set my email up and then my mother and father’s email as well. The
internet was amazing and lame at the same time.
At the time when I first used the internet I was extremely
young so there were a lot of rules that went along with using the internet. I
knew my boundaries and now that I am older the internet has no boundaries for
me. I get the full experience. I can’t imagine going back to the first time I
used the internet.
The coolest thing about the internet for me was that it fed
my addiction to music and games. I would play my radio and when my favorite
songs come on I would rush to the computer and go to my favorite lyrics site
and sing along. I played every game I could find and thought they were so cool.
Now that I look back on it, those games had the worst graphics that could have
ever been produced.
The internet was also a big pain as well. Dial-up meant that
I had to take the telephone cord out and plug it into the back of the monitor.
As long as I was on the computer no one could call in or out. The service was
so slow and I had to wait for the yellow man to run and then hope that the logo
would appear and for my computer to say “you got mail” indicating that there
was a connection. Sometimes I would lose connection in the middle of an
“important game.”
I think that there has been a drastic advancement in the
internet since the first time I used it. I can access the internet from
anywhere in the world. It is almost completely hassle free. The first time I
used it I was using it for music and games and now I find myself using it for simple
things such as shopping and recipes.
The internet for me now is literally the only way I can
function. I use the internet for any and everything. When I am lost I use
Google maps or Hopstop. Before I would call MTA info or look on the maps. When
I am looking for a restaurant to eat at I do not ask for a friend to recommend
I turn to thousands of other people who have left reviews on yelp. When I am
looking to find people or places I do not use the yellow book. I use Facebook,
Google and Yellow Pages online. I don’t think they even make hard copy yellow
or white pages anymore. Although I think that the internet has made drastic
advancements already I think that there is much more to come.
