Monday, February 22, 2010

Coming of Age With the Internet

Brief History of the Internet
The internet was first though about in the 1960's. By 197o, a few colleges and universities (Harvard, MIT, and a few others) were connected by this archaic internet (known as ARPANET). from this, the internet did not see major growth until the development of Microsoft Windows 98 in June of 1998.

Macmillian and Morrison Article

Macmillian and Morrison collected autobiographical stories of college students.
"This study investigates how coming of age concurrently with the internet and related technologies has influenced these young people’s lives." Interestingly, the study was published in 2006, at this time much of our lives have already been impacted by the vast amount of knowledge on the internet. While reading this article, it was apparent that the researchers were interested in how the technologies (i.e.internet) had changes the students social lives (real comunities vs. cyber communities). Macmillian and Morrison found four major themes develop in their research:self, family, real communities, and virtual communities. The participants in the study noted a growing dependency on the internet in their soical lives. Interestingly, the participants also noted that the internet enabled them to develop a greater sense of self. Along these lines, the researchers also found that the particpants did not feel that they altered themselves online, that they were the same on and off line.


I do not agree that people (young adults) are always the "same person" on and off the internet. I have had this conversation with many students and there is certain amount of confidence they get being in front of the computer as opposed to being in person. Students are able to communicate more freely and say things that would not normally say to a person's face. This hints to the cyberbullying and sexting that takes place among our youth. Students do not go home and play anymore, they go home and get on the computer or their phone.

As an educator, I see an ever growing dependence on the internet in my classroom. I began teaching in 2000. At the time, I rarely did any online projects or interactive labs. Now, these technoologies are part of my curriculum. The students are well versed in computer language and technology. even though this is true, I fear their evergrowing confidence with the internet disables other forms of research and communication in and out of the classroom. For example, I am constantly fixing the IM language in formal essays.

Personally, I love facebook. I am able to connect with people I have not lived near, worked with, or known in years. I have not however let this become my sole means of communication, I still talk on the phone, meet people for coffee, and have friends over for dinner. I hope these social interactions do not get lost in future generations.

By the way, here is a new study that links internet use to depression. Currently, they do not know what came first....

Internet use linked to depression

2 comments:

Samantha said...

You begin with how the internet really started booming in 98. No matter how many times I hear this it makes me say "wow". Even though I can remember the first word processor I used, I still cant remember the first time I used the internet. This is because it has become such a normal part of my life I cant remember not having it!

carey said...

i remember using email as an undergrad my junior and senior year. it was a mess! funny memories....now i can multitask online with my cell phone in hand while watchin tv. times have changed and i am only 33 :)