How We Surf

     With a single exception, as I looked over my classmates internet logs one website always popped up, Facebook. Now really, I’m not that concerned about “what this means” for our generation. I’ve found that people tend to talk of their time spent on Facebook as an addiction or a time killer. Many a time have I been sitting with friends doing homework and have asked what someone is working on, only to get a sheepish, guilty look in response. That is usually followed by he or she (I thought that was appropriate) updating the rest of us on the latest Facebook news. I’ve also had a few friends tell me they are going to erase their Facebook or “cut themselves off.” Personally, I don’t see it as that big a deal. Facebook is not evil. It’s useful for keeping groups up to date on meetings or rehearsals, setting up plans with your friends, and keeping in touch with old ones. I wouldn’t have half the photos I have of myself if not for Facebook; I shudder at the thought of having to print off or email a bunch of jpegs as a way to share pictures. Facebook is great; don’t be ashamed to use it.

     Aside from Facebook, I was interested to see that similar to me a lot of my classmates have a pattern to their internet usage. I usually log on, check my email and the weather from my iGoogle home page, check Facebook, look for new posts on dearblankpleaseblank.com, maybe check the Woot Shirt of the day if I haven’t so far and then get on with my other business. I noticed that others had their few favorite websites that they visited periodically as well. One person always checked the weather in the morning, others would check Facebook and then go surf YouTube, and one person cycled through their favorite news outlets. Other than the normal set of sites, people visited relatively few sites otherwise, and those they did seemed to be from a link on one of their favorites. For every person, these websites provide the structure for internet surfing; they are a place to start and come back to.