Jasmine.

The Internet is a giant international network of intelligent, informed computer enthusiasts, by which I mean, ‘people without lives.’ We don’t care. We have each other.” Dave Barry

The year was 1998. I was in the process of swiftly transitioning from that of a college student to my first serious job as a project officer in a non-government organization. It was also the same year that began my affair with the Internet, courtesy of then boyfriend Jun who was an exchange student in Denmark. Out of fear perhaps that we don’t get to communicate (meaning, I bump my head into concrete wall and wake up I was no longer inlabs! or the other way around) — he introduced me to the world of emails, chatrooms, etc. Exchanging messages via Internet was also convenient and less expensive compared to mails you have to bring to the post office.

His emails and snail mails, I remember, contained the ABCs of cyber lingo. BRB, ASL, BBS, BTW, FYI. He also taught me the basics of navigating the net. Nowadays people no longer encounter difficulty understanding these acronyms. But decades ago, it was alienating as it sounds. So I never really took it seriously. An MIS staff from the office would hand me a printed copy of his emails because I have a hard time trying it by myself.  Imagine the shame of having to know somebody has read his supposed to be intimate messages. Harhar. Ang bastos pa naman nitong computer guy na to. Oh go and read his poems!

In short, my first encounter with Internet wasn’t really that nice. It was only years later when I appreciated its benefits despite the dangers it poses to net users. The net can be a great leveler as it provides access to information for everyone regardless of race, skin color, education, background. These days, for ten pesos — you can use it for an hour. Some net cafe charge 15 – 25 pesos per hour. Not bad.

Various organizations and institutions also utilize the net in reaching and mobilizing the marginalized. We know that all else undergoes evolution, and if we don’t take advantage of said changes — maiiwan ka sa kangkungan. The net offers great benefits such as educational games and programs, research information, a chance to communicate with people from across the globe, can serve as a vast platform in sharing ideas and resources, etc. Recently, it served as a way to help calamity victims in the country.

The downsides though, can have the same impact as the benefits. Pornography, privacy concerns, violence, inaccurate information, cyberbullying, health risks. Aside from that and perhaps the most pressing, one who becomes too absorbed with it loses his or her social life. As Barry says, they are reduced to people who don’t have lives. In my opinion however,  whether or not you lose your life is a question of perspective. (aargghh, I am running out of things to say. I can’t even assure myself that these are blogworthy. Whatever.)