The internet is undoubtedly one of the most influential and important inventions of recent history. It is one of the most powerful tools of modern society. We, humanity, have access to the world’s knowledge at our fingertips. And what do we use it for? Funny animal photos? BuzzFeed lists? Quizzes that tell us who we were in a past life?

I’m not mad. I may be scolding you, but I’m not mad. I’m just as guilty as the average Joe. But, I just think we need to wake up as a culture and be as smart as we can be. We are wasting our potential.

So, you ask, what do I do instead?

Tricky question… It depends on how you want to change. If you want the internet to control your life less, that’s one thing. However, if you want to use your time on the internet more effectively and learn more, that’s another.

I’ll start with taking control of your life away from the internet. How do you know if it’s a problem?

Do you find yourself scrolling aimlessly through your Facebook feed whenever you don’t have work to do? Do you check your Twitter feed when you get a chance away from school? Do you pull out your smartphone whenever you have a break at work? If so, you may be entitled to compensation for internet addiction as a result of easy access. Just kidding, this isn’t a commercial. But seriously, if you find yourself on the internet when you’re supposed to be spending quality time with friends, you are not being fair to them, much less being fair to yourself.

Your first step here would be to decide to change. You have to acknowledge the problem’s existence in order to accept that in needs to be solved. Then, come up with rules to follow. I have a few.

When I’m with friends, no texting or getting on Facebook. (To be honest, I break this one if I’m expecting an important call or text or if my friends are totally ignoring me due to their phones. In said situation, I should actually ask them to put down their phones and focus on human interaction…)

The phone is always on silent (not vibrate) when I am around people.

No clicking on click-bait articles.

Only get on Facebook to check notifications and messages. Maximum time looking at feed: 2 minutes. If anything important enough happens, people will tell you directly. If they don’t tell you, do you really need to know?

No more Tumblr.

When I have free time, invite a friend to do something, listen to music, or do something that is not aimless internet browsing. (I spend a lot of time researching how to make this blog better.)

If I’m on my computer and feeling bored, get off the computer and do something else.

Maximum two episodes on Netflix. (I actually have a hard time focusing on Netflix very long. I have to take a break.)

Now, I’m not saying that you have to follow my rules. I’m just suggesting that maybe you start making small changes to your daily amusements to focus more on people and less on technology. If you don’t want to talk with your friends, take a walk. Get more in tune with nature. Exercise. I don’t know, but find something that works for you. Don’t let the internet control your time for you.

Now, if you want to use your time on the internet more effectively, and learn more, you have to find a purpose. You can’t just aimlessly wander through Facebook and expect to learn exactly what you need to know. You’ve always wanted to be a writer? Then when you’re online, instead of Facebook, research tips on how to get started writing. If you’ve always wanted to learn another language, Duolingo is a great source. Do you want to know more about psychology? Google “free psychology course”. You can probably find something. KhanAcademy has great information. And you can learn tons from TED Talks. Coding? Codecademy.

Some people might argue that you are wasting your time learning things that have no use. But what matters is that it is important to you and you want to learn. And that you are learning. Cat pictures don’t make you smarter. Learning does.

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