The other day I set off to meet friends for some food at London’s South Bank. Exiting Waterloo station, I switched on good ‘ol Google Map and off I went.
After fifteen minutes, as the scenery began to look uncomfortably close to water, I began to question its navigational skills.
by Jim Linwood
Twenty minutes later my suspicions were confirmed – as cheeky Google tried to lure me into the Thames River (wtf).
My immediate reaction was to launch into a load of profanities, both about my phone and the Internet in general. It was only after being cheered up by the amazingness of Wahaca’s sweet potatoes (SO GOOD), I was able to reflect on how lucky I am to live in the age of the Internet.
So, to compensate for my moment of doubt, I’m sharing here my top five favourite things about the net.
1. It’s inspiring. Have a look at this amazing Egyptian boy talking politics, revolution and women’s rights. Blew. My. Mind.
2. And super-funny. Like the kind of funny that makes you do that weird, ever so slightly creepy, soundless laugh. Challenge: try and watch any of these videos without laughing, smiling or feeling just a wee bit better about the world: peanut butter jelly time bus stop lady dancing in speedos are the best.
3. It’s a great way to keep in touch with your family and friends wherever you are in the world.
by Ewan McIntosh
4. An incredible amount of information is literally only a few clicks away. Super helpful if you’re a student and for learning about important stuff like science and politics, but also for all the random stuff you get to find out about. (My favourite random fact has to be that under Alaskan law you can’t look at a moose from an airplane…)
5. Consumer power! I mean how did people figure out which hotel to stay in before the Internet came along? And I’m not the only one that rushes off to check Amazon after spending a lazy afternoon browsing the shelves of Waterstones right?!?
How about you? Do you think you could live without the Internet? How does it help you to live better? Wonder more?
