The one thing I think of regarding Internet technology that has changed my life for the better is convenience of finding information online. I realize that being able to find out things for yourself without having to rely on technology is a admirable thing, the internet makes it so much more convenient and straightforward to find out information that would otherwise be hard to track down. In high school I remember doing research for classes and how frustrating it was that there was always a standard number of book sources we had to have, and how tedious it was to carry piles of books around school for one paper, when we could just have had links on hand to various informational sites. I think in general its just easier to use the internet for certain things. For instance, San Francisco public transportation and the internet are two things that work very well together, if you ask me. It saves so much time to be able to look up when the next bus is coming rather than to blindly wait for whichever bus you need for however long it takes. Also, looking up the bus route to wherever you're going is a great resource to use, and I used it a lot when I didn't know the city that well. I'm not sure if that particular website was around four years ago, but I have a feeling GPS and online maps weren't nearly as advanced as they are now.
While the internet is a great means of convenience, its also kind of a cop out for effective communication, if you ask me. Sure, being able to send emails and talk to people on instant messenger is quick and convenient, but I also think that its pretty impersonal to an extent, though its becoming widely more acceptable as a means of keeping in touch with people. I know myself that there are a number of people I wouldn't keep in touch with nearly as much as, or at all, if I wasn't friends with them on Facebook or if I didn't have their screen names. I guess this hasn't necessarily changed my life for the worse, but its kind of sad to know that many relationships between people are based off of technology.
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