(This picture was taken as an undergraduate in 1995 when the internet was just taking off. Life was a lot simpler then.)I consider myself to be a heavy internet user. Unless I'm traveling, not a day goes by when I don't get online. And in the event that my internet service is disrupted, I become quite anxious and agitated because of how integral the internet is to my daily life.
I wake up at 6:00 each morning and use the internet while I watch Morning Joe on MSNBC from about 6:30 to 7:00, when I go to work. During this time, I check to see if anyone left any comments on The 7-10 and check out that blog's statistics regarding subscribers and hits. When I get to the office at 7:30, I use the internet again to read the headlines at CNN.com and check out some message boards I'm a member of, such as Dave's ESL Cafe.
Because I'm a teacher, I'm not allowed to use the internet during class. So I wait until the breaks to check my e-mail and other political news headlines. I'll also go to Google to search for links to include in my political blog posts.
Lunch is at noon, but because I don't brownbag my lunch, I quickly drive home, make a sandwich, and then check out some other sites that are blocked at my office. These sites include those that have embedded video and social message boards relating to Japan and video games. I'll also respond to comments others left at my political blog.
At 12:45 I quickly race back to work and teach again until 3:30, when I get back online yet again to read more news. I'm home by 4:30 and that's when I have 7 or 8 windows open at once while I watch the political news on TV and update my political blog, interrupting this only for dinner, an errand, or to walk my dog.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
The people I tend to interact with online are usually the faithful readers of my blog, friends I've met in real life, and my own family members, although there seems to be an inverse relationship with people close to me and how often we interact online. I don't use chat programs like AOL or MSN Messenger very often these days, though I used to use them almost daily several years ago. I estimate that I spend at least 4 hours online each day, but it's skewed more in favor of accessing information, rather than engaging in two-way communication.
2 comments:
Hi Anthony,
It has been nice to read your good analysis about an Internet user. To a certain extent I do identify with it. I think that becoming close friends of Internet makes life easier in a wide sense. I have also experienced that feeling of becoming "quite anxious and agitated" when Internet service is, for instance, disrupted. In my case, I have noticed it for the last 4 years when back in my country, Spain, for vacation (20 days aprox. at Christmas and 3 months in summer). There I find so many things to do that I give up mechanically being so dependent on Internet. Needless to say, I also become tired of getting the same complaints from my family members, friends, etc. -what actually helps me see that life is not to be crucially restricted to a computer. When back in the US, I become overwhelmed with the same feeling. Wouldn't it be a matter of cultural pace? A personal aspect? To be continued...
Interesting analysis - good writing style. I enjoyed reading your post. I decided not to grade this first post but the only think I'd say that you could be more specific about would be including a day by day breakdown of your activities!
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