Interview with a Hoover High School teacher, a high school student, and a recent college graduate. I asked them what they use the Internet for in their everyday routine, if they could complete those tasks without the Internet, and how not having it would affect them.
Teacher
- What do you use the Internet for in your day-to-day routine?
- I use the Internet for Facebooking my friends (probably too much), banking, checking the weather, researching medical issues, communicating through email with family and friends, education programs that I have to use in my classroom, communicating with co-workers and teachers throughout the building.
- Is it possible for you to complete these tasks without the use of the Internet? If yes, how?
- NO, some I can but we rely so heavily on the Internet for most tasks that going back would be incredibly difficult.
- How would having little or no access to high-speed Internet make things different for you?
- Communication would come to a grinding halt because throughout the school system and at home we are very reliant on the Internet to communicate with each other, out of state family, doctors, etc. It would also make tasks at work much more difficult because we would have to go back to the pen and paper method. It would also be much more difficult to access information, I feel like I would be much less informed of what was going on around me.
- From a teacher’s perspective, do you think it is harmful that school systems are relying so heavily on the Internet?
- I do think that there is a population that cannot access the Internet and it can be harmful when it makes them feel different than other students and puts them at a disadvantage for completing assignments. It then also becomes harder on the teachers who have to create assignments in multiple versions so that everyone can complete it effectively.
High School Student
- What do you use the Internet for in your day-to-day routine?
- Teachers post the assignments online and they have to be turned in online a lot the time now. I talk to most of my friends on Facebook, Twitter, and post pictures on Instagram. I also use it to practice for the ACT, research for class, and research colleges.
- Is it possible for you to complete these tasks without the use of the Internet? If yes, how?
- I would not be able to complete my school assignments as easily without the Internet. I could do all of these things minus social media but it would take a lot longer.
- How would having little or no access to high-speed Internet make things different for you?
- School and studying would be a lot harder. I would also feel left out if I couldn’t be on social media with all of my friends.
Recent College Graduate
- What do you use the Internet for in your day-to-day routine?
- I use it constantly at work, for paying bills, trading stocks, buying car parts, keeping up with the weather, watching movies, playing video games, and constantly for email. When applying for jobs I had to use it to upload my resume, fill out online applications, take online tests, and fill out forms.
- Is it possible for you to complete these tasks without the use of the Internet? If yes, how?
- There are some things I could do such as paying bills and watching movies but it would take much longer because I would actually have to go places to do these things and with work there sometimes isn’t a lot of time left in the day.
- How would having little or no access to high-speed Internet make things different for you?
- Getting a job would have been very difficult because most of the application processes are done online now. I would also get a lot less done because I work 8-5 I would have to find other times to physically run errands instead of getting it done from my phone or computer at home.
The conclusions were all basically the same. We are all so reliant on the Internet that we make some tasks that should be available to everyone exclusive to those with easy access to Internet. If we try to imagine our lives without high-speed Internet, we can put ourselves in the shoes of those not as fortunate and work to make sure everyone has better access.
