Internet Dependency- The student's drug of choice

Today, I ran home in between classes, with JUST enough time to work on my blog and do some homework. I was excited to be caught up with everything and not be rushing to finish at the last second. I was online for about two minutes, when all of the sudden- the internet crashes. Frantically, I try to unplug the router and restart my computer and helplessly cross my fingers and pray that it comes back from the dark side where the internet sometimes likes to reside. No such luck. Now, with not enough time to try and go to the library I am forced to put off everything that I need an internet connection to do. Which, is basically everything. Being without internet forced me to think about just how dependent students are on the internet. Not only do we use it as a form of communication, and as a way to submit projects and homework, but we really don't know how to do research without it. The internet and online media is great, when it actually works. But so often, I find that I am getting frustrated over being unable to do things because of technological errors. It is amazing that we can rely on our computers so much for everyday tasks. Even now, with my patchy internet signal, stolen from my neighbor's router, I am praying that I can finish my thoughts before the internet cuts out again. While the internet is full of wonderful new things to discover, it often reminds me of a very twisted love-hate relationship. While things are going in your favor, you love the internet, but all too often we get let down our guard and the second we do- we find ourselves cursing how attached we have become to something so fickle.

My Lake of Shining Waters

When I was about 11, I remember picking up a book most girls have read and loved- Anne of Green Gables. Immediately, I identified with Anne's character, who was in love with all things beautiful and romantic. She would rename places that had boring names, for example, Barry's Pond become the Lake of Shining Waters. From there, I began to watch the film version of this story, which begins with Anne becoming distracted by the beauty of a poem called "The Lady of Shalott." Of course I had to read the poem that Anne was in love with, so I remember looking this poem online. 

At once I was mesmerized by this epic poem. 

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,

Little breezes dusk and shiver
Thro' the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
   Flowing down to Camelot.
Four gray walls, and four gray towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
   The Lady of Shalott.

This is only one stanza of a poem that tells of a Lady trapped in a tower by magic. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/shalott.htm In the book, Anne is so inspired by this piece of poetry that she and her friends decide to play act and actually send Anne in a boat down the pond, pretending she is the Lady of Shalott. I was later looking for this poem online, when I found many others had been inspired by the Lady of Shalott and had attempted to recreate her in art.

This pattern can continue on forever. Literature has the power to connect all things. An idea or a character can remind you of something else you read. A favorite author can inspire you to delve into their original inspiration. Life has a way of guiding you to the books that connect to your current situation. I am continually amazed at how the internet supports literature. It has become so easy to find a book you have been looking for, or to give you ideas on what to read next. But not only does it help you find what you are looking for, it helps intertwine all things creative. Art, poetry and literature can be found in the same place, just waiting to be discovered. At first, I believed the internet to be an ordinary, practical thing, used for convenience. It was Barry's Pond. Now, I have been converted and the internet has been transformed into my own Lake of Shining Waters, full of mystery and all things beautiful, just waiting to be discovered. 

Too Many Thoughts

Where to begin? This is always the question that leaps into my head the minute I sit down to write. I always feel like there are too many ideas in my head, and they become tangled together until I am unable to form a coherent thought. When thinking about the digital age, it reminded me of an article I read last semester called "Is Google Making us Stupid?" by Nicholas Carr. I also believe this same article was mentioned in the E-book Writing about Literature in the Digital Age. Nicholas writes about how we think changes based on the current medium we are using. When we write by hand our thoughts become slow and methodical, while the internet makes us want to process a million bits of information at once, constantly scanning and flipping through different pages online. I was thinking about how I used to absorb information from books like a sponge. Now, I always feel like I have to be multitasking with 10 different tabs up on my computer, never being completely focused on one thing taking in a few sentences here and there. I can relate to the way Carr compares our way of thinking to a staccato note, short and sharp. Bouncing from one thing to the next. It makes me question if despite the new and wonderful ways of learning the internet provides, if it doesn't come at a steep price. Is the internet worth the toll on our minds and the way it changes the way we think?