Just to be clear this post is not about Internet Explorer. That’s a browser that should be left in the past.
Instead this post is about something I think many of us are guilty of: exploring the Internet.
If you’re like me at all you like to surf the web and you like to do so often. Some believe the Internet is only a way for students to procrastinate:
And although that may be true there’s also many benefits to the Internet.
When exploring the Internet I can literally explore the world. The Internet is a global construct. That means you can actually see, hear, read about, and learn about things, events, and people from all over the world. I know, mind blown right?
For example this summer there was a lot going on in the U.S. and around the world. First, there was everything that was happening in Ferguson, Missouri. If don’t know about this you should really look into because this is a serious issue. I won’t go into all the specifics but in short, a young black man named Mike Brown was gunned down by a police man who had no just cause. This then led to riots and a state of emergency in Ferguson.
Your thoughts on the subject aside the Internet played a great role in spreading the word about this, specifically through social media. For example, although I myself do not live in Ferguson my “friends” on Tumblr who do posted photos of protesters, of police tear gassing people, of the marches, of the signs, of the overall pain, anger, and heartache that was being felt there. Though I myself was not there to experience it, through the Internet I was able to see what was really happening (some of which main stream media seemed to neglect but that’s a story for another blog post).
Moving on, the Internet is a global entity therefore allowing us to also see into many global issues. The biggest one currently is the problems in the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Ignoring where you may stand on the issue right now it’s amazing how connected you can become to an issue that is so far away from you because of the web. Honestly, I didn’t know much about the conflict when I first heard about it. I just knew it sounded bad and I was glad I wasn’t there.
Then you hear things on the news and you have reporters telling you what’s right and what’s wrong and who’s side you should really be on and things get confusing. Well, cool thing about the Internet is rather than hearing from other Americans what’s going on internationally you can actually hear from people that are there.
Whether it be YouTube news channels or again Tumblr there are literally Israelis and Palestinians who are making their voices heard and telling their side of the story. To me that’s amazing because now one can get more that just one point of view. You can get multiple and that’s pretty cool.
I say this all to say while exploring the Internet try exploring the world too. Although I focused on the bad stuff that’s happening right now there’s also a lot of good stuff happening in the world too.
Via the web you can explore different countries, look at historic buildings, make a list of all the places you need to see before you die, and even learn about things you just can’t learn about sitting in a stuffy classroom. You can watch lectures from professors all over the world that your school might not offer, learn how to cook a traditional Ethiopian meal, or even do something as simple as Skype with your friend who may be across the globe. The Internet allows us to open up our worldview to something bigger and more awesome than we could probably ever imagine. All you have to do is look.
Zakiya N. Jamal 