The Internet is for ____?

Well, for the starter, here's a song from one of my favorite musicals:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtiGd58J0bY

I often wonder what my life would be like without the internet. The internet in my room has been acting up for the past couple of weeks. It's as slow as the highrise elevators or maybe even slower. I saw myself get frustrated over little things because the internet wasn't working. Then I realize how dependent I have become on the internet. I communicate with other people through the internet, I get all the news from the internet, watch tv on the internet, and waste time surfing the web. What is it about the internet that people are so addicted to? It could very well be the instant gratification that we get. It's definitely the quickest way to obtain all sorts of information, and it's only a click away. Convenience becomes a huge attraction factor. When I was reading Sze's paper, I wondered what would happen if the internet connections were to shut down for a day in Korea. It probably would bring the country into an utter chaos.

Recently, when two korean actresses committed suicide, articles circulated on the web blaming the "netizen" for egregious comments made on those actresses, which may have pushed them over the edge. Their managers and other celebrities targeted the netizens (net citizens) for leaving comments, on their home page or on other news portal sites' comments section, intentionally to hurt them. For other celebrities, anti-fans have emerged as a huge obstacle with the booming of the internet. It became easier for people to aggregate to support whatever cause they favor. When you watch Korean television shows with celebrities as guests, they will often discuss about how the internet has affected them. Also, for those celebrities who maintain their own personal websites, the number of hits you get per day or in total matters greatly. In essense, your popularity depends on the number of visitors. The internet, in Korea, has emerged as an integral part of the mass media.

The increase in demand and dependence on the internet isn't unique to Korea. Last year, the Time magazine named "You" as the persons of the year, in honor of one of the most frequently visited websites - youtube. Personally, I think we have come too far from going back to the time when internet was a novel thing. I know I have let it consume my life to some extent (as you can see, I'm blogging), and I probably won't be able to function normally in this world without the internet or my phone. Besides fostering my laziness and depleting my patience, the internet deals with graver and more serious areas as well. From Lucie Shin's essay, the question of freedom of speech in Korea surfaced as one of the issues with the burgeoning of the internet dependent society. The idea of selective dissemination of information goes back to Raymond Williams' cultural theory. The government functions as an agent that decides the appropriateness of information on the internet as well as other media outlets. The existence of media censorship (and even on the internet) confirms the fragmented nature of what we perceive as culture. Before reading her essay, I was not aware of the fact that censorship was imposed on the internet. The agencies with power then discriminately blinds you, but what is even worse is that you do not realize that you are being fooled.

And this last one's in honor of Dubya: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MunMCO3uNdA