The internet has become so pervasive that we forget all the ways it is infused into our lives. It’s obvious that we’re on the web when we’re using Google or following a hyperlink, but it isn’t until the internet is down that we realize all the other ways we have connected to it.
My printer is wireless. The thermostat. My new washer and dryer have wireless functions. Streaming entertainment. Many security doors and key codes. This blog relies not only on WordPress to publish but also for picture sites, research links and social media posting. We think of the smartphone as its own source of knowledge, but it, too, uses the internet as do Siri and Alexa.
Amherst College lost internet for a week and buildings automatically unlocked, the classroom management system was down, students couldn’t scan their ID cards for meals or laundry and the communication system was crippled.
We are all linked with the invisible connections of the internet and we have come to rely on it, even if we don’t explicitly recognize that we do.
The same is true of other people: we are connected to them and we rely on them – even if we don’t notice it until they are gone.
Take a moment today to appreciate all the webs that envelop you.
