Internet, Introspect

Introspecting the Internet for fun & games

Somewhere between the ages of thirteen and fifteen I discovered the Internet. And what a blissful age for discovery. Anything I wanted to see, know or listen to I had in a second, literally. This was before the age of sharing, before the explosion of hashtags. I can't recall if my imagination shrank from the immerse world of any information I could effortlessly get my hands on, or if it flourished.

In this day and age, there isn't one person alive and breathing (without psychiatric illness) that would disagree that the Internet is now essential. It has become so normalized that if you walk into a person's home, and they have no wifi you won't hesitate to give them backlash for it. The same goes for that one guy that just won't tell you the password to his wifi. He's obviously annoyed of the NSA knocking his door down about Twitter posts like "that was a bomb barbecue"!

Internet dating. I always felt like it was such a taboo. Talking to older men or obese women in disguise of a pretty girl before catfish was catfish. I've made friends from all over the world, from Florida to Ohio, Kentucky to Nevada, Canada to England. The same feeling surfaced in those romances though. A sense of longing and subtle despair to meet this person. Although it has nearly become second nature for online dating, for teenagers it isn't that fun anymore when you want to finally meet and don't have the means to.

The porn industry is like a business. A very horny business. It thrives off of the thirst of others (no pun intended). It's modern day prostitution. Women get paid to flaunt their nude bodies for a price. I never understood that; paying for premium adult sites. There are clearly free ones! Besides that, I've never thought of paying a woman for instant gratification. But, there is a person in the vastness of the adult Internet world that would happily pay it forward.

Maybe I'm cheap or a square, but there is something about pornography that is like a double-edged sword. It leaves nothing to the imagination, but it is ridiculously addicting (to others!). There was a time in my young teens where I found a Victoria's Secret magazine and that sufficed for my "discovery". In modern times that wouldn't be enough to even get it up. We all want more now. Bigger busts, fatter butts, fuller lips, and this is becoming a "standard" for women by the way.

We are all familiar with the other side of the Internet. The dark and ugly microcosms of the Internet. The forums of women hating, the shocking sites of gore, and don't forget the sexual deviancy. Yes, those. I have to admit that after subjecting myself to hours of that, I am convinced that this country truly has the freedom to say whatever the hell they want. Within reason of course. It's similar to the Wild West, without the Sheriff. I recall a post concerning a portion of the site Reddit, one claiming "it will rot your brain and eat you from the inside out". All to accurate I would say. Mostly because I have nothing further to say about that.

The Internet. A love hate relationship. It has its light moments, sharing informational knowledge world wide. Connecting us to outside world. I do think it has become essential to everyday life, which is why all the bad and ugly and straight bizarre are tolerable.