Life in the Network

Access to me means that you are in reach of the specific product or service and you are able to get to, however that does not mean that they want to or will use that product or device. Almost everyone in America has access to numerous different things, one being the internet. Although they may have access to the internet, many people may not have the education or knowledge behind it to be able to function it correctly. While I was reading each of the different articles, it made me think of my grandparents. They are each in their early 80’s and have no idea how to work a cell phone, let alone a computer. They each have access to these different new technology waves, however they are not educated in the proper use of the internet or a cell phone.
Each of the articles I felt were reiterating the common sense that I thought most of America had. I feel as though I don’t need a 5 page article telling me that the older generation doesn’t use computers and the internet as much as we do. It wasn’t even 6 or 7 years ago that my sister went through college at Madison without her own personal computer. She made it all 4 years and survived very easily. When thinking about this, I know for a fact that I would NOT be able to make it through a week without my own personal computer. I have access to many different computers throughout the University, but I do choose to have my own.
When it comes to adults, I believe that it would not hurt for them to be acquainted with the internet. Further down the road, we are going to have the internet in our lives even more than we have now. The internet is a very exciting and newer technology that the world is becoming more dependent on each year. According to Pew Internet, 74% of 50-64 year olds are using the internet which was surprising to me how high the numbers are, but they did not say what they used the internet for. The age gap between my generation and the age of 50-64 knows the world from a whole different perspective. My age group (around 18-25) use the internet for more social settings like we discussed last week and the children that are younger than us use the internet even more than we do from games on Nickelodeon to different computer games. As these children get older, the internet is going to be completely different from what my generation was used to as well as the older generation from me.
While I was a senior in high school (2003-2004), I was one of the first people to be offered an on line Physics class through Eagan High School. At the times, this was really exciting for our district because of this classroom setting change. I believe that schools should incorporate the internet through different lessons because for the lower-class children, school may be their only time that they are able to access the internet and a computer. As Pew Internet stated, Just 53% of adults living in households with less than $30,000 in annual income go online and the article did not state if this was during work or during their leisure time. If they are not using the internet as much, their children probably are not using the internet as much as they are as well.
Overall, Americans are able to have more access to the internet each year, especially because of the One Laptop per Child organization that is developing. Because of our society and the revolutions that technology is going through, it will not surprise me if in 10 years our world is completely reliant on the internet.