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I MAY yawn every time that I have to explain the internet to my grandparents, but truly I am not 100% sure what it is myself.
I guess that it is a bank of never-ending information, a platform for all of our inner thoughts, a way of connecting and communicating with people who we would never have the opportunity to speak with.
It has firmly planted itself into our everyday lives and I can hardly remember a time without the internet, and some ways, I am not sure if I want to.
But then I think about the way that it shaped my life. What would I be doing without it right now? What would we all be doing if you weren’t reading this on your laptop or your mobile right now.
I myself think that we would be a lot more innocent. I think that the way that children develop would be drastically different to the way they do now. The life of a child or even a teenager, would probably be a lot easier.
Growing up doesn’t seem like the most fun task, and then you add the fact that you have to grow up in a world where everyone can freely judge you from an anonymous username. A world where you display your highlights reel on your instagram, hoping that someone else might aspire to be like you; while you aspire to be anyone else.
I personally think that the internet strips us all of our innocence. There is no longer the need to ask questions. Why waste your breath when you can just type it into Google.
I am not saying to stop children’s access to the internet, because if you ban something, they will probably just make more of an effort to use it. Everything in moderation applies to all sectors of our lives.
I know that nowadays it is a bad thing to be labelled as innocent. But isn’t it a fact that when someone (or in this case, something like the internet) takes something away, doesn’t it give us more license to fight for it?
But don’t worry, pitchforks aren’t necessary for this one.
Follow Zoë O’Connor on Twitter @Zobo2402
