Guest Column

Welcome to the Now Generation! If you don’t know what the “Now Generation” means, Google it.

Today, we have everything we need to know in life right at our fingertips, literally.  Just type it, click it and you got it.  It’s that simple. It’s no surprise why everyone’s addicted to the web, no matter the age group. Almost 2 billion people use the Internet and over 48% of all Americans who use the Internet do so every day. It’s understandable. Without it, you would have to actually go to the library, go to the supermarket, go to the mall, go to college and go to sleep.  Now, we don’t have to do any of that.

Unfortunately, there are a few problems that come with all this progress, a few problems rarely acknowledged but definitely felt by all of us that subtly nullify our existences and threatens our freewill. When we rely on the Internet for every single thing life has to offer, not only is the journey of life itself degraded, but we also become more susceptible to being brainwashed by the wrong people, corrupted by media perversion, and even worse, abused when we’re at our most vulnerable.

People don’t even bother to go out and make friends anymore. Now, they find all the friends they need in the world without leaving their bedrooms, thanks to Myspace and Facebook. Grocery shopping? We can do that online. Buying clothes? We can do that online, too.  Making love? Well… it’s the next best thing.  In short, too much dependence on the web has turned us into telecommute friends, telecommute citizens and tech-savvy but heavily unmotivated individuals who whimper when it comes to finding something out all by ourselves.

There are some things the Internet can’t teach us. Life is to be savored and it cannot be savored in our bedrooms, or at least not only in the bedroom. Now, a serious issue arises when we rely too heavily on the web: the bad influences we pick up at early ages. Kids surfing the web can gain access to so many nasty images, perverse ideas and altogether inappropriate interactions all behind the backs of their parents. Thus, nowadays kids who search around on the Internet can easily be manipulated and psychologically harmed because of the prevalent porn and violence that’s so easy to find off the web.
It’s unbelievable how many things they already know that they shouldn’t have known.

Even other kids can take advantage of one another and victims can become targets of derision and humiliation among their own peers. Cyberbullying, as sissy-ish as it sounds, has pushed so many kids into nationwide depression, low self-esteem, and suicides—it’s even worse than going to school itself. What’s weird is that now even the puniest kids can hide behind frookiecookie784, or some other bizarre web name, and “push people’s buttons.” Those who don’t have the guts to sell wolf tickets in your face can now diss you all over the Internet. And on the web, nothing gets deleted. Nothing.  You’re on air forever. Understandably, this can destroy the confidences and self-esteems of numerous victims, especially those young ones who have no experience in the real world, leaving our nation with a future generation of demoralized and corrupted youth with no drive to succeed or even to live.

And then there are the health problems: eyestrain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and radiation. Not many people address this issue, but what do you think hours and hours of surfing the web does to your body?
People don’t need to be in shape to use the web. Our unfortunate statistics of obesity, especially in children, cannot be attributed entirely to web surfing, yet the idea of living solely off the resources of your bedroom computer is definitely not helping the problem. Technically, you don’t need to get up! Just bring over the junk food and get your type on.

One cannot possibly argue that the Internet isn’t convenient. It is definitely the most convenient form of research, enlightenment, and study our species has probably ever known, and it should not be ignored.
However, there should be a healthy limit to our dependence on this brilliant technology.  Progress is always positive, but we cannot use progress to regress in our thinking, emotions and humanity. It just can’t work like that.  As long as we use the Internet to advance our intellects, broaden our imaginations, and contribute to the beauty of our species, the Internet will always be a blessing and a gift to us all. However, if we use the Internet to replace our intellects, restrict our free will, and degrade and corrupt our true beauty, such usage should be completely reformed.  

Peace, brothers and sisters. LOL, OMG, and LUV.

This article is also available in English.

Pasando casi la mayoría de mi vida en Tulsa, Oklahoma, estuve constantemente rodeado de gente religiosa. Y cuando digo religiosa, me refiero a cristianos. Afortunadamente fui a iglesias con mis padres que fueron más progresistas y aceptaban diferentes estilos de vida. Mis padres me inculcaron que el odio es malo sin importar nada y que amar a la gente por todo lo que son y no son es esencial para la humanidad. Con el tiempo, llegué a mis propias conclusiones acerca de la religión y decidí que no había sido un buen cristiano: maldije demasiado, tuve mucho sexo, bebí bastante y por todas partes que me había etiquetado como cristiano y realmente seguido muchas de las reglas habría estado viviendo una mentira. No me disgustaba la cristiandad, simplemente no encajaba con mi estilo de vida.

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If you haven’t heard about the 2012 doomsday prophecy yet, you’ve probably been living in a bomb shelter.  But scientists are warning people not to max out their credit cards just yet, because they too have a prophecy—there will be a 2013.

Many believe that the Mayans, the ancient prophet Nostradamus and the Book of Revelation all predicted that the world will come to an abrupt end on Dec. 21, 2012. Buying into the hype of History Channel shows like “The Nostradamus Effect” and recent movies like “2012,” some are letting fear and paranoia consume them.

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