Do something on the web about the web — Final Project
For my final project for Digital Studies 101 I wanted to create something that shows what the internet is to me. I took inspiration from my “rebuild the internet” project. Below you can see the word cloud I created to represent how I use the internet. As well as read my explanations to the seven main topics I included in my word cloud.
What this class has taught me is that the internet can be used in thousands of different ways. Users all have their own unique connection to the internet. This project was for me to reflect and document how I use the internet and then put it out there on the internet.
My use of internet can be put into seven main topics and then into even more subtopics. The seven main topics are Communication, Research, Social Media, Entertainment, Online shopping, Information/News and Online Gaming.
Communication
Since, I’ve been alive the technology for communicating has grown rapidly. I remember being in 5th grade when my family gave me my first phone. The phone I had was an Lg Migo (Pictured on the left). This phone could only call five preset numbers. My mom, dad, grandma, aunt and 911. So my communication circle was pretty small in the 5th grade. After having the Migo for a year my parents decided to get me a new phone. This new phone was one of the earlier droid smartphones. After getting this new smartphone I no longer had a limit on the number of contacts, but I also had internet available at my finger tips. This was the start of internet communication for me. Nowadays I use my phone and laptop to connect with friends over Imessage, attending class over Zoom, emailing a professor about an assignment, or having a conversation with a group of people I’ve never met before over Xbox. It is crazy to think how in 10 years the internet has changed communication as well as many other things.
Research
For me research is used in two ways. The first being for school and researching for an essay, powerpoint or speech. For this kind of research I tend to focus on scholarly sources. Such as databases, peer-reviewed articles, hard copy books and ebooks. The second way I use research is when I’m interested about a topic and I want to find out more about it. An example of this for me is history. I enjoy all kinds of history from inventions to wars. The internet gives me access to all kinds of outlets that allow me to learn more. Outlets like YouTube or Google are good for this background knowledge research.
Social Media
I remember when I got my first smartphone I downloaded a lot of games but I also downloaded facebook. The reason I downloaded it was because of my siblings and parents had it, so I wanted facebook. I remember when I created my account I had to lie about my age and make myself a year older then I was because I was too young. Looking back on it I see why a company like facebook would do that. Facebook was the start to social media for me, but it doesn’t end there. I have profiles for all the main social media platforms. Such as facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, twitter, YouTube, TikTok and etc. Even though I have profiles for all of these platforms I don’t use them all. Overall social media is a way for me and other users to connect to friends of ours, celebrities we look up to, or follow along with companies and organizations we are interested in.
Entertainment
For me entertainment consist of Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube. On my phone, laptop or smart tv you can find these streaming platforms. Some of these platforms are used more frequently than others. Some I have because they offer tv series or movie series that I enjoy that my preferred platform doesn’t. The reason I use these platforms is for entertainment. Most of my internet usage is between entertainment and social media.
Online Shopping
Online shopping is something that has become more popular for my internet use. Before the pandemic I rarely shopped online. Maybe the occasional amazon purchase. Since, the pandemic I’ve found a lot of my time shopping is online now. I purchase my groceries online and pick them up when they’re ready. I can order food to be delivered to my door through apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash and GrubHub. I can buy my clothes online because there is no point of going into stores because you can’t try anything on. My world of shopping has completely changed due to the pandemic and the internet has met all my needs.
Information/News
Information/News is used daily because I receive notifications on my laptop and phone from news outlets. Some of the news outlets are Apple News, NPR, Huffington Post and BBC news. These notifications alert me about important events that are going to happen or have happened. Which sparks my interest and leads me down the rabbit hole of more information. I enjoy being informed, so I will look at the news to see what is being said from multiple sources.
Online Gaming
I’ve been playing video games my whole life. From Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo Switch to PC. I play them all. The kinds of games I enjoy to play are multiplayer based games. Such as Call of Duty, Halo, GTA, Rocket League, etc. I could not play these games if I did not have internet access. I enjoy playing these games because you not only get to interact with your IRL friends you get to meet new people and interact with them. The internet and gaming has connected me with people that I otherwise may have never met. People from all different places and backgrounds. Online gaming has created a new community for me.
