The Internet

The internet and technology in general is a double edged sword when it comes to communication and interaction. Growing up, the dinner table has always been a device free zone in my family. When I was younger that meant no TV or gameboys, and as I reached high school it meant no cellphones or tablets. It was always very important to my parents that we interact as a family for an hour or so every night. But then things changed when my sister's long term boyfriend was stationed overseas in Afghanistan. Because of time zones, sometimes the only opportunity for my sister and her boyfriend to talk was around six in the evening, right when we normally would have dinner. When the reality of the situation sunk in that any given evening could be the last time for my sister to talk with her boyfriend, the rule was amended. No devices at the dinner table, unless there's a good reason. Since then things haven't changed much, the majority of dinners are uninterrupted by texting or snap-chatting or tweeting or whatever, but occasionally it's important to talk to someone while you have the chance. 

Communication isn't the only thing the internet can be used for, though. Digital gaming has become very popular also. For me personally, I'm a fan of completely mindless mobile games. Sometimes it can be nice to just check out and swipe some colorful candy for thirty minutes. Because of this I don't really participate in the community aspect of gaming, it's more of an escape to solitude for me. Mobile games can be a huge life saver on long car rides with toddlers, also. I can't count how many times free apps have saved me from listening to a fussy two year old. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying everyone should just plug their kids into a device all the time so they can have peace and quiet, but desperate times call for desperate measures. An occasional "play this and stop whining" never hurt anybody.

When it comes to how much time I spend on digital games I would say the number is fairly low, maybe a half hour a day on average. I will admit that I spend more time on social media, but it's hard for me to put an accurate amount of time on it. Oftentimes I'll surf social media while doing something else at the same time (watching a movie, doing homework, eating, etc.). It's very rare that I just sit down and do nothing but check social media, so it can be hard to really put an exact number on the time spent. If I had to guess an average, I think 1-2 hours a day would be the closest. I'd like for this number to be less because I think that there's a really negative connotation for people who spend a lot of time on social media, but at the same time I want to stay up to date and informed on everyone and everything going on. It can be hard to find a good balance sometimes, but I'm going to continue trying.

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