The last time we moved internet service was just becoming an issue.When we first came to our Somerville apartment we had dial-up.Do you believe it?Shortly after that FIOS came to town and we decided to give it a try, but at a fairly low speed.We’ve always tried to be responsible with money and I naturally balk at paying for something as intangible and amorphous as “internet connectivity.”I guess I’m a naive realist after all.In any case, one of the top priorities in moving to our new place was getting internet set up.Even before electricity or gas or water.It has become THE utility.The place to pay the bills for all the other utilities.And since I’m now telecommuting, the umbilical cord that connects me to work.
I don’t mean to sound all grandpa-ish on you, but just twelve years ago we struggled for any connection at all.We had one computer (and one work laptop) and only the desktop had internet access.Many of the arcane pieces of hardware found in the attic were from attempts to get us onto the net more efficiently.We even had to draw up a contract for who could use the computer and for how long since all of us wanted that magic window onto the virtual world.Now, like most households, we have wifi and high speed access.When we’re not at the computer, we have our smart phones at hand.The strangest thing about all of this is that now that we’ve got constant connection, our nation has become as polarized as it has ever been.Perhaps we see a little too much of each other?Or too little?
The web has connected us to those we like.Walking down the street it’s rare to find someone not staring at their phone, ignoring all living beings around him or her.We’ve been able to filter out those we don’t like.Those who have different points of view.The net shows us that we aren’t alone, and even those with extreme views can find plenty of compatriots in cyberspace. There’s a reason we used to be told not to discuss religion or politics. Now we know everybody else’s business.
There was a time when moving meant going where the jobs are.Especially in academia.Colleges and universities exist in set locations. In space-time. Telecommuting isn’t an option (although even that’s happening in some cases now).Moving these days means weighing your internet access options.Satellite is just too slow and unreliable.Who would’ve imagined, for those of us born just after Sputnik went up, that now even space-based connections just aren’t advanced enough?Cyberspace has become more infinite than outer space. And I still prefer pencil and paper.
