Convergence Culture: Making the internet a part of our everyday lives

Today we live in a world of a fast paced, technology driven socitey, where new media are becoming a part of our culture. Because of its diversity of web design, the internet is convergence. The internet is all of our old media combined into one. The web looks like the newspapers, the televsion, the movies, It takes on all forms of media that have been used in the past, and only makes them bigger and better because of the strech of hyperlinks. As media consumers we take in all we can get, through radio, television, newspapers, telephones, and especially the internet. We use all of these media combined on a daily basis. In this day and age, choosing a Mac or a PC is a big deal, because whichever we choose will be the interface that we interact with on a daily basis. After reading all of the material today, many questions come to mind. How does the internet effect our day to day lives? Are families being distanced because of the generational digital divide, or are they closer than ever because of the many ways that they can stay connected through the internet? Are communities being torn apart because of the internet's anti-social design or does the internet's interactivity help us to get to know our neighbors in a new way? Do we look on the internet for our favorite candidate and get one sided information from a single sorce, or do we check out every candidate's page because of the availablity of information on the internet? In my opinion, the effects of the internet on socitey are mostly positive. With the internet we are expanding ourselves to reach new dimensions that we could never reach before with older technologies. We are becomming more aware of our surroundings with just a click of a button. We are more involved with politics and get a better more diverse vantage point of the candidtates and their issues. Communites are growing stronger by the day with social networking sites that help you to get o know your neighbors. We are more connected with our families in new ways that help us to communicate faster on a daily basis. The internet is a beneficial part of our everyday life.