February 27

Response
I strongly agree with Reid Smith's quote because the web is no longer a place where people go to find information, but a place where people go to do their daily activities. Some examples are how nowadays people are using their phones, iPods, Blackberries, computers, and any other form of technology with access to the web to check their mail and posts, interact with others on social networking sites, entertain themselves and play games. When the internet wasn't as modernized as it is now, people checked their mail through the mail box in the form of letters, interacted with others face to face and through the phone, and played boardgames and card games in the presence of their opponent. With the evolution of the web, people are spending their regular duties and leisure on the internet when they could do them off the web.
Not all my experiences on the web were to find information either. On several occasions I received or sent emails to friends and in that sense I did my communicating with them through the web when earlier in time, people would have had the same conversation on their phones or face to face. For a source of entertainment, I often visit YouTube and watch videos that interest me, and again, if the web was not the same, I would have watched T.V. instead.

In my opinion, Reid Smith's quote is a good thing because it exposes the truth of the web and how it's rapidly changing our lifestyles. I think people have to be aware of the changes occurring around them in order to understand the modern world and the major impact it's having on their lives. I see society facing several if not many challenges upcoming as a result of this shift in technology as people are becoming increasingly dependent on technology to solve their problems, complete tasks for them, educate themselves, and in general putting their lifestyles in the hands of technology. In some circumstances, people are so dependent on technology that when it fails, they don't realize it and blindly follow. This over dependency turns into an addiction and when technology is taken away, people become unsure how to handle themselves any more without its input in their lives. This creates difficulty for proper communication as well. When people are talking online, they are unable to immediately see the effect their comments have on a person because they have no one in front of them giving cues and bodily signals indicating a comment of theirs is hurtful or any one looking them in the face, daring them to say something inappropriate. When something is posted online it seems harmless because you don't see its immediate effects. In my daily life, technology impacts me in a number of ways. While I usually use the web to research my personal interests, I also use it to send emails and entertain myself. It affects how I communicate with others who live long distances away from me. If it weren't for emailing, I'd have to make long distance phone calls. Every so often, I go online to watch videos on YouTube and that kills some time. When I'm researching topics, information is easily found and at times I'm overwhelmed by too much information, resulting in me having to sift through what I find until I happen upon what I'm looking for. Without the web, the opposite problem would occur, I'd be  frustrated with too little information.