Ever since I was a young girl, I have had a strong love and appreciation for technology and the Internet. From getting my first iPod Nano to my second MacBook, to getting a Facebook to becoming a social media manager for a college student government campaign; technology and the Internet has shaped my life into what it is today. This being said, the Internet was originally not created for average people like me, but for computer and networking experts. However, I, along with the rest of our society, could not imagine life without it today. In this paper, I will discuss my thoughts and understanding of the internet development, where I consider the direction it is leading, how it has been predicted by Jenkins, and where I would love to see the Internet years from now.
The Internet has changed and developed in so many ways, especially over the recent years. People have started online shopping more, as many people used to be extremely skeptical of the trustworthiness of certain sites. Also, it has become a source for not only information and shopping but as a source of infinite entertainment. Whether that be YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, or PC/online gaming, the possibilities are endless. I could not imagine a world without the internet. Picture this – a university with 30,000 students, no laptops, and no printers. That is definitely not a world I would want to live in. However, there are instances where the internet can be dangerous to our society. For example, cyberbullying is at an all-time high amongst young internet users. Also, people spend so much unnecessary time on social media accounts or binge watch hours upon hours of Netflix shows. With that being said, I am definitely not claiming that social media or entertainment companies like Netflix are bad. I believe that the luxuries that we have been granted can be easily misused, and we must know how to balance our real lives with our virtual lives.
Over the years, there has been incredible discoveries and innovations that people would have originally thought were absolutely impossible (and maybe even considered them witchcraft). Inventions that we take for granted such as the light bulb and the telephone were once thought of as conspicuous failures. Thomas Edison and Alexander Bell sure showed us. There are definitely some technological advances that I would love to see in our society in the future. One service that I could see becoming possible would be holographic FaceTime/Skype calls. To go into further detail, I think it would be a brilliant invention for all cellular devices and personal computers to have the ability to call where the person's face/upper body is literally sitting on a desk or in your hand. If a loved one was on far away, or someone was grounded and could not see their boyfriend for a week – it would be a fantastic investment. To me, I feel that it would be an extremely feasible innovation that would be quite popular. On the other hand, something I would love to see in the future that might be impossible or exceptionally strenuous would be where everything was completely wireless. Anything from a basic power cable of a computer, cell phone, or television, to the 30 million servers in the world and 550,000 miles of undersea cable that goes around the earth – completely wireless. I am not sure how it could happen, but it would be incredible. I believe that wireless internet service, wireless earbuds/headphones, and wireless charging are the beginning of a life-changing development.
As I mentioned previously, I have always had an intense love and passion for technology and the Internet. Growing up, I was always the "tech freak" of my family and friend group. If anyone ever had any complications with their technology whatsoever, they would contact me. Whether it be to hit the little reset button on our home modem, from setting up an Apple ID to turning a device off and back on. I thought I was an absolute genius. However, this course has taught me things that I had no idea about. Then, there were things that I knew of that were described in a more detailed manner. Coming into the University of Kentucky as a Media Arts and Studies major, I was so excited and ready to take on whatever challenges were thrown towards me. However, I always kept the thought of me disliking my major in the back of my head – and of course, I never wanted that to happen. Luckily, I have loved both of the Media Arts courses I have taken thus far and I truly feel so blessed that I have the ability to acquire more knowledge about a topic and a true passion I have that will benefit the rest of my life.
