The 'Remarkable' Internet
By Rex Chan

It's often said that generation Y, or people born in the 90s, are always connected to the digital world, with online social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Weibo; and texting applications such as WhatsApp, LINE, and WeChat. The Internet has become something that the generation Y could not be parted from, making it one of the conflicts between the Ys with other generations.

The previous generations see the Internet as a tool or an option to do whatever they want. However, the 90s was also known as the "Internet age", people born during this period are more familiar with the informational system. The Internet is not just an optional tool to them but something they feel comfortable with; where they are good at and some even say it is in their blood.

"Get up and do something!" "Why are you always staying home?" "I wonder what you would do without the computer." These are a few commonly heard comments by Ys and we are sure not very happy about it. We are judged with the old standard, no wonder a "good student" in 2013 doesn't equal to the "good student" decades ago. "Having contact with the computer equals to playing in my parents' eyes," one of my friends said.

I agree that there are many things we can do online that have nothing to do with school, but I'm sure that entertainment isn't the only reason for us to stay online. Some of us take a great interest in producing creative works like videos, photography, songs, essays, comments, application development, web designs, forums, and even an online business venture. Therefore, there are tons of information being spread every second for everyone to see and to learn  from it.

Take videos for example, a video posted on YouTube can be viewed, played and replayed any time by millions of users, with greater coverage and directness compared to TV, radio or any other media. Moreover, it takes a few minutes on average to watch a video which contains all the key information that the author wanted to express.

There are some down sides about the Internet when one is too involved or obsessed with it. It may occupy your time and destroy your social life. To maximize its usage, we should balance the time spent online and offline. Be a user, not a loser.

The Internet is powerful. With a few clicks, all the details that one needs will be delivered within seconds. The process of learning has been shortened like never before. Back then it took months or years to write a novel, or to get to know a person, but with the Internet it is only a matter of days. The world has changed so must we.