If you're not online, you don't exist!!!

No not really, you still exist...just not in any real functional way in today’s society. This topic was brought to my attention by Adam tagging this article in our recommended reading (thanks Adam) and sparked up a few things in my brain.

Ok so this article is based on businesses needing to be online and the article, although averagely written, was right on the money. This is besides my point; it was the title that got me. IF YOU’RE NOT ONLINE, YOU DON’T EXIST. Now that is the whole point of this class!!! We are told and taught week in and week out that we have to be online we have to be constantly active and writing blogs and tweeting AND uploading photos AND creating accounts AND EVERYTHING ELSE! It’s rather overwhelming, in fact its getting irritating. Now here is the part where I just don’t know which stance to take, both sides have relevant points.

Side one: We are media students and this IS where the world is going. And the truth is everything is done online these days, shopping, banking, information gathering, reading, networking, meetings, communicating and hundreds and thousands of other things that would be stupid for me to go into. The thing that really gets me is that we now socialise online with things like Facebook and Beebo which is plain proof that OUR WHOLE WORLD IS ONLINE! Almost every part of our lives revolves around the internet; even one of our most basic human needs, somehow, socilasing online suffices our need for other human contact. Seriously, does anyone know anyone else (in the western world) who isn’t online in someway. So it’s not just necessary it’s almost evolutionary! So for us, it’s vital. I think this is why the title got to me so much. Twenty, even 10 years ago you “didn’t exist” if you weren’t in the phone book, the internet, now, is the same difference.

Side two: All of these different accounts are annoying and hard to keep track of. Also there is the threat of being too exposed online with too many accounts with personal information. Even if you limit your information to what is necessary to even create the page there is still a lot being sent out to the world that could be potentially dangerous. They are total time wasters; I have lost so much of my life online making accounts, updating, commenting, blogging, uploading etc.
Do I really need three email addresses, four social networking accounts, three photo uploading sites, two uploading video sites and seven blogs??? I think not!

So… My conclusion is that it’s a necessary evil; this class has proved that, considering we have to do this to pass, but I’d really like to know what you as classmates and future colleagues think? So leave me a comment!