I am a bit of a romantic. I might even classify myself as someone who falls into the
“Golden Age” notion of the past was better than the present. That being said, I am, admittedly, a
bit of a late bloomer when it comes to technology and my own digital
literacy.
When I was young, we didn’t have a computer in our home
until my mother remarried when I was in the 6th grade. Up until that point, if I had homework
that required the computer or internet access, my mother would trek down to her
office with us after our after school activities, and we would get on for only
what was needed and get right off because it was a company computer, and we now
had thirty minutes to drive home.
My first real interaction with the internet came with the advent of the
middle school social scene taking to Instant Messenger.
I remember that in order to be allowed to use the internet
in my new step-father’s house, you had to pass a typing test. I don’t know if he had software or
there was a site we used, but regardless, we had to show progress to be able to
do what we wanted to do. I hated
it! But, I believe that it was one
test that I passed that enabled me to create a screen name for AIM, and that
was the primary means of communication, and the way I was the most comfortable
in expressing my identity as a young teen. As a shy girl in person, I really felt as though I was given
an opportunity to express myself when I spoke with my friends and with boys
online.
Even when I did finally have access to the internet, I was
completely flummoxed when it came to the idea of “surfing.” I didn’t understand what it was that
people could possibly be searching for, and it all seemed quite overrated to
me. Give me AIM, and I was good to
go. As the years passed, my next
major interest in the internet came with the myriad of song lyric websites. I searched for all of my favorite
songs, and made them my screen names, or my “Away Message” on AIM. And for a very long time (all the way
through high school), email, AIM, and Microsoft Word were the only things that
I utilized by way of technology. I
even had an old Canon camera with the roll-up film all the way until my
sophomore year of high school (which was 2004, by the way).
I loved to communicate over the internet. It helped me to navigate my youth and
adolescence in a way that I didn’t feel I was capable of in person or over the
telephone. I was a different
person online; very funny and outspoken.
In person, I was the shy, wallflower type. AIM gave me the courage to say what was on my mind because
no one could see my face, and when no one was looking at me, I was much less
likely to blush. But despite my
love of online conversations, I never went into chat rooms; I didn’t have an
interest in talking to people I didn’t know. I never have utilized MySpace; mainly because I found myself
disinterested in learning how to navigate my way through a site. And as far as Facebook is concerned, I
did not create my first profile page; a friend of mine did when we were all
going off to college, insisting that this was the only way we would be able to
keep in touch.
I did learn much more about the internet, and expand my
technological knowledge base in my first year or so of college, but even still,
it largely consisted of Facebook and the “Chat” feature, therein. The purchase of my own laptop opened up
a world of music in mp3 format, PhotoBooth, and YouTube, however, I have only
just recently made my first YouTube video, and that was only because it was a
class assignment. I must admit
that I am not all that interested in being a producer of media that can be so
closely connected to my likeness.
I still much prefer the anonymity of blogs and chatting.
What about you?
Kelly Osbourne and Christina Aquilera are both very talented women in their own right. The two have been notoriously feuding for years and it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. In an interview with Glamour magazine, Kelly calls Christina fat, and states that she would tell her that she is fat to her face. Why they are feuding is beyond me. In my opinion it is very childish, and when girls say hurtful things like that to each other it just makes it fair game for guys to be that mean to us. Kelly goes on to say that before she lost 50 pounds she would be made fun of and that even now she doesn't think of herself as skinny. If it was a hurtful time for her, maybe she should be a little bit more considerate not only for Christina, but for other women who might be battling weight issues who look up to her as a role model. Just a thought.
