Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Writing Assignment One, AOL Instant Messenger!



Since 1997!
Imagine a time where you were unable to access the internet virtually anywhere. In this time you were not able to pull out your smart phone and connect to the nearest Wi-Fi. Instead, many of us were merely sitting at a desktop computer listening to dial-up so we could link ourselves to the outside world through the internet. For me, I was having this ‘problem’ in 2004. As soon as I walked through the door from school I would casually drop my book bag at the door... act like I was going to pull out some homework but instead I would race to my family’s fancy Gateway computer. Though I had just left school, where all of my friends were, I was sure I was going to miss out on something if I wasn't connected to them somehow. You see, in 2004 I had a lot going on, just like any other stuck-in-middle-school adolescent.  Having a social life was ranked extremely high on my priority list and, as a twelve year-old, the best way to keep that list the same was to constantly be on the internet. I, like many others my age, had discovered the easiest way to stay connected with friends, AOL Instant Messenger.


AOL Instant Messenger for me began inside the AOL website. You had to create your own username and this allowed you to use all of the AOL features and also connect to webpages. Eventually, after experimenting with some shameful chat rooms, I discovered AIM. This version of chatting was to be downloaded to my computer allowing me to simply log into my ‘screen name’ without going through the AOL site. Wow, did this make life so much easier for me. Not only was I cooped up in my study all alone, now I could be there for even longer chatting it up. Hawthorne would have been appalled.  In his writing he explains how the wood burning stove would ruin the sanctity of family-time and communication as whole. Boy, was he worried over nothing. I would be irritated just leaving that coveted computer chair for dinner, much less for time around a fire. At the current time, I was unaware at how this form of communication was shaping my life. Looking back now, I do smile thinking about all of the friends I made, music files I ‘shared’, and time I took to have my ‘profile’ looking perfect but I do wonder how different my adolescence would have been without AIM. Would I have learned how to master MS Paint without having to make all of my friends ‘icons’ that were perfect for their personality? Would I have different friends because there was no blocking feature in life? Would I have gone outside to find that I am an extraordinary golfer and be best friends with Tiger? Would I have learned the useless information ex: remembering that the combination of ctrl+3 would make a blushing smiley? Who knows. But I do know that I am more than content with my communication skills to this day and have only fond memories of my short-lived experience with AIM

I am pretty grateful for AIM, but for one reason more than the others. AIM led me to the discovery of good ol’ MySpace. Though it is still around today, AIM was eventually drowned out by social networking sites where it’s use is no longer demanded, but it definitely paved the path. Because of MySpace I was able to teach myself a little HTML coding and was able to express myself through making ‘layouts’ for friends and even strangers. AIM made me more comfortable with the internet and honestly with using the computer as a technology instrument. If it wasn't for the internet when I was in middle school the only thing I would be really experienced in now would be Rollercoaster Tycoon (but that couldn't be too bad). I will admit that I never thought about how much the internet would affect me in the years to come. I could not have ever imagined the amount of information we share with others who are all over the nation and the world. It’s amazing that years before the internet was created, Bush was already thinking about how we could connect with one another and share ideas. I was growing up in the prime and never realized how amazing the internet truly was, maybe because I didn’t know any different? Now I do. There is no telling what I would do in my free time if I wasn’t consumed with my laptop but I really believe that I’m ok with never knowing. I never want the internet to leave my life and I am grateful that I am able to watch its hand in transforming society right before my eyes.

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