Week 2 Writing Assignment

Dear Professor Brooks,

The internet and I go way back. Some of the earliest recollections I have of using the net are instant messaging people from school that I normally didn't have any interest in chatting with (but using the computer was cool back then), looking up info on obscure cartoon shows (this took forever being before the days of Road Runner or whatever the kids use these days), and downloading porn with Dave-o. These days, I pretty much use the internet for the same reasons, minus IMing and whatever the other non-porn related activity I previously mentioned was.

I feel as a whole, the internet has been a positive force in my life. However, upon closer inspection, this might not be the case. For example, thanks to the internet, my music collection continues to grow and grow. I have nearly 100 GBs of music, some of which has yet to be released. It really impresses my friends when I somehow acquire a new album that isn't set to be released for months. Oh yeah, did I mention that most of it was free? I have the internet to thank for that. Of course, in the eyes of the law, this makes me a criminal. So while the internet has given me hours of free music, it could also lead me to a jail cell and/or a hefty fine.

Another example of how the internet has helped improve my everyday life is the wealth of information held within and throughout the world wide web. If I need to know an obscure fact like who the first president of the US was, or when Keanu Reeves birthday is, or even the addresses of all my current college professors, I need only to peruse the net. Of course, like with the previous example, this bevy of info is a double edged sword, particularly when it comes to school. I remember way back when, a research paper only needed two sources. Now, thanks to the internet, students are expected to use more, which means they have to read more, which takes away valuable television watching time. Also, who's to say the information on the internet is reliable or even accurate? Recently, it was believed that Sinbad (the comedian, not the sailor) had overdosed on cocaine and died, this according to the popular website Wikipedia. As you can imagine, due to Sinbad's ever increasing popularity, this caused quite a frenzy. As it turns out, Sinbad didn't overdose on cocaine and die. In any case, everybody knows that he prefers meth over cocaine. The point is, anybody can make a website or add their own opinion to the myriad of sites on the internet, and thanks to our crutch for using the web to access all of our information, this can be a big problem sometimes.

Of couse, the internet remains a remarkably reliable place to download porn, with or without Dave-o.

Love,
James