The internet has just about always played a role in my day to day life. May it be for entertainment, connecting with others, or to simply find a distraction, the internet has been there for me and many others. I’ll go into my personal history with the internet in a future post, but that is not the purpose of this post.

Humans are naturally social creatures. We thrive best when we are able to surround ourselves with other people that we can get along with. The invention of the internet has made that so much easier. I’ve met and befriended countless people that I would have had no chance to meet if the internet did not exist. The internet and the various things that it provides defined my childhood, teenage years, and my young adulthood. I was influenced by the various games, videos, discussions, and people that I came across over the years.

From befriending random people you come across to games, to running a large clan I had a lot of opportunities to meet new people. I have friends that I talk to daily or weekly that live halfway across the planet, these are people that I won’t even be able to meet in person for at least several more years, as I can’t afford to fly out to where they live. I hope that one day I will be able to meet up with them in person, as I’ve known some of these guys for well over 5 years.

The raw amount of information that can be accessed through the internet is simply amazing. The fact that I can learn just about any skill via the internet just by finding the right guides, and having the proper commitment is simply amazing. We can easily share our creations and skills with the rest of the world as well. Now this does have some downsides that have become present due to the rise of social media. It can be difficult to remain in a healthy state of mind when you see the highlights of other people’s lives, and it can be hard to remember that what you are seeing is only those highlights. Due to this we’ve likely seen an increased rate of depression due to the rise of social media.

While the internet does come with some cons I believe that the internet as a whole is a net positive. From being able to find vast amounts of information for free, or being able to connect with anyone else with an internet connection: the internet has truly improved the world and society. The internet is still a fairly new invention, and I am personally excited to see how it effects us and our societies even more than it already has.