A lot of people nowadays are negative about things like the internet and cell phones. They say that these technologies-- which help us tremendously on an hour-to-hour basis-- are destroying our social interactions with others and what not. I don’t think that this is true, and I’m not necessarily going to defend these technologies, but I’m going to rather talk about some of the great things that they bring to the table for us.

Education is hard to come by. Back in the old days, I can only assume that people would have to borrow books and sift through hundreds of pages to learn new things. While that has its own strengths, I’ve never done it before, as I’ve always been able to search for new information on the internet without getting out of my seat. I’ve watched countless hours explaining mathematical phenomena, scientific discoveries, and paradoxes. I’ve used the internet as a primary tool for education, looking into the deep reaches of space on Google images and reading about it in articles that are easily accessible. Looking past how easy it is to find new information on the internet, there are even more ways that learning is aided by the web. E-mailing essays to teachers allows for quicker communication amongst teachers and students. Not only that but having your students e-mail you eliminates the ‘dog-ate-my-homework’ factor. It does, however, allow for a ‘Charter-ate-my-homework,’ but that’s fine. Some people like to say that you don’t learn well when you look things up online, but that isn’t true; trust me, I’ve learned a lot by looking things up online.

Communication with the internet, as everyone knows, is so much easier than whatever people did before. For some reason, people seem to think that because you can’t always see people when you’re talking to them online, it’s less meaningful. I don’t really agree with this. Some of my best friends today are people that I play video games with online, and, though I met most of my friends in real life, our friendships were strengthened greatly through online interactions.

A lot of people are really skeptical about social media. Some people think that it’s destroying our social lives. What are they talking about? I’m not a very social person, and I found that social media was tremendously helpful at making friends and staying in touch with others. It allowed our student body to be more together by being constantly informed of what was going on, where it was going on, when it was going on, and why it was going on. People with similar interests are able to share articles and videos with each other easily and are able to make friends who share their interests easier. So what about the internet sounds like it’s hurting our social life? In my experience, it only helped me socially.

One last thing that these technologies give us-- that is sort of a combination of the last two-- is an opportunity. Countless people have become famous and successful through the internet by uploading videos of their talents, be it singing, joking, animating, or just being incredibly helpful with guides. Businesses can utilize cell phones and the internet to maximize efficiency by increasing communication and what not. I’m using the internet right now to deliver you this article. The internet also makes buying and selling things a million times easier. Imagine yourself sitting outside with a load of stuff that you want to get rid of. We call those ‘yard sales.’ Well, with the internet, you can sell a bunch of different things online, increasing your audience from cars driving by to anyone randomly desiring to get a bargain deal on an old chair and searching for it on the internet. It might not necessarily be quicker, but it’s less of a hassle. You can take a quick picture of the chair, upload it onto the internet, and then leave it alone until someone messages you and tells you that they’re interested. Sound good? It is good.

There are always negative folks who say negative things about change, but the internet and cell phones are truly wonderful tools for the world. It allows us to be connected-- I once had a chat with a kid from Uruguay that I met in an online video game-- and allows us to know those around us better than ever before. It makes communication easier, it brings out opportunities to everyone, and it lets us live life easier.