If you really want to know how much precious time is dedicated to match-making Web sites and online games that require little skill, just visit your local library computer lab. Be a spy for the day. Slyly drift through the lab, taking a quick peak at what patrons of all ages are specifically there to accomplish. While you might believe students solely come to the library to finish research papers and complete extra credit assignments, think again. At 3 p.m., thousands of kids ages 8 to 17 flock to their local book institution to log onto a young bloggers heaven called MySpace.com. Aside from MySpace, teenyboppers waste time on computers conducting after-school chat sessions with friends (and enemies) about whos dating who, who dumped who, whos jealous of the new who, and who is dating the now ex-who of the first who. Sound complicated? It just goes to show that the world of technical ingenious is not going away anytime soon. Observing the student body gives us a glimpse into the future of the influence of the Internet. But lets be fair. Online time wasting is not just for young school-goers, but also the young at heart. There is a whole community of adults who hit the keyboard first thing after work to browse through chat rooms and experience short-lived romances with other night owls all around the world. |
