The Internet

What a beautiful thing. I remember hearing about a chat platform when I was a teenager, and the thought of talking to another person that is unknown and far away really excited me. It was exciting to be able to connect with others, and not know who they are – totally defeating the “don’t talk to strangers” rule. This was possible because of the internet. The internet has evolved drastically – from basic static information to real time “EVERYTHING!” Some of our entire lives are on the internet, and we never know who is looking. I believe we are looking at major privacy issues that have already risen but are being neglected or ignored because of the social norms of conformity. I truly think that having the internet at your fingertips will not be enough in the next 5-10 years. People will demand change, people will demand more and the Internet may have to respond to increased capacities.

Devices that I think will become obsolete are going to be cameras and video recording devices. Let’s face it, our “smartphones” are becoming better and better at more than just talking. Someone once said  “the best camera you can have is the one in your pocket”, which makes total sense – Unless you are a professional photographer or offer recording services, items such as cameras and video cameras have already been substituted by Smartphones and in most cases perform better than regular cameras out there.

Other devices that I think will become obsolete are pocket calculators and financial calculators. Again, our smartphone can support applications which will very shortly completely replace such items as calculators – as soon as classrooms get over the “no phones while class is in session” rule.

Lastly, another series of devices I believe will become obsolete are personal desktop computers. The laptops have already taken over and unless you’re in a business setting, personal desktop computers are almost non-existent! Soon enough, they will become extinct! J

As far as where I see the Internet going 10 years from now, I wish I knew!

On the one hand, my thinking hat tells me to look further into the future where microchips can be implanted into our brains – chips that are connected to the internet and that can help you access any and all information. In a way we’re slowly going to turn into robots – after all, we can replace most body parts with artificial ones…what’s stopping us from “frying” our brain. If you really think about it, having a microchip with unlimited information will make our brains lazy..are we heading towards an era of increased idiocy? On the other hand, my realistic self-snaps me back into reality where the Internet will probably not change that much. What might change are the devices we use, but the internet, it can only get better without having to drastically change!