Internet, What Would We Do Without You?

I really think we are becoming too dependent on the Internet. I mean, we can hardly do without it in the early part of the 21^st Century. From banking to social networking to research on essay topics and dating, the internet is a part of everyday life for most of us.

I wonder if this dependence is really a good thing. In its original format, the internet was simply a method for sharing information. Used mostly be the military and later research scientists, it was a way to move information from point A to point B quickly and somewhat easily. Now the internet is a bastion, not only for people looking to share information, but for those with too much time on their hands. Do we really need to see video of a stupid kid abusing a cat? Or some overly distraught fan of Brittany Spears crying and ranting like the end of the world has come? How did we ever survive as a species when we actually had to go out and meet people in order to find a date?

I got thinking about this the other day when I was online, vainly trying to find an accurate weather forecast (you already know my feelings on this subject). As I scrolled down the screen I noticed a little box that said "See What The Weather Is Doing Where You Are". I have to admit, it caught my curiosity and I clicked the link. What followed was a list of webcams that showed real time footage of various locations across the country. Not a bad feature I guess. Especially if you never leave the basement and daylight burns your skin like a vampire.

I think we are finally coming to the end of society as we have known it. We no longer have to leave the house to do our banking, pay the bills, shop or date. Now it seems that we no longer have to even look outside to see what is happening with the weather. Perhaps more people should follow the advice my father used to give us when he thought we had not been outside enough. He would enter the room, have a look at the destruction we had wrought and ask "Why don't you go outside and blow the stink off?" Why not indeed, Dad.