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Generation Y And The Internet
By Rowan
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Going With The Flow
As a
whole, our generation just goes with the flow without much of
a unique opinion about the internet. Statistically we are very
wired, logged on, etc., but then that's not an organic idea of
our own, but the ambition of older generations who are encouraging
us and selling it to us. There's this outlook that has become
status quo in America which looks at a kid without internet connection
as if they were a starving Ethiopian. Every politician wants to
basically enforce cyberspace upon our generation, and there aren't
many people voicing opinions to the contrary. Certainly Gen Yers
aren't. Nobody wants to question the supposed internet revolution
because of the shear force of the thing.
Steeped In Consumerism and Technology
In a way, Generation Y was the first generation to be fully dragged
into the mosh pit of consumerism at birth. In the 80's, there
were whole armies of people whose job was to sell things to us.
We grew up in the early heyday of video games, and for many of
us, they were an integral part of our daily existence. Thus, we
are very at home with technology and I think for many of us it's
been a part of our identity. Video games have prepared and groomed
us for our recent marriage to cyberspace. And our birth into consumerism
has prepared us as well.
My Relationship To The Internet
As much as I
basically hate the tech industry for it's greed and irresponsibillity,
I myself have spent a great deal of time with computers and the
internet. My parents never allowed a television in the house,
but they encouraged me to use our computers. My mom has worked
in the tech arena for over a decade and my dad has for a few years
now, and computers were looked at as good things in my family
of course. Once we got internet connection, I wasted no time in
exploring all the ins and outs of it, and I especially have spent
a lot of time chatting online. I've also used the Web to study
things, and it has been a great tool for that. It definately is
an interesting technology.
My Opinion
My main
complaint against the tech industry is the environmental impact
it has and the damage in health that low level employees suffer
from. Silicon Valley, my home, has the most toxic soil in America
and most of the toxins are from tech plants. This is the area
John Steinbeck's book, Pastures of Heaven, was written about,
between the ocean chill of San Francisco and the scorching desert
further south. It has some of the most fertile soil on earth.
Why have they chosen here, of all places, to dump their toxic
sludge? I'm not against the technology as long as it's handled
responsibly, but it isn't.
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