10 Awesome Things the Internet has Given Us

We are so wired. There's plenty of well-justified backlash for the amount of computing we all do. It seems like everyone you know is trying to take an "unplugged" technology-vacation, whether they're leaving town or not. Still, before you pull on your granny stockings and start beating your "the Internet has ruined everything" soapbox with your granny stick, here are 10 Awesome Things the Internet has Given Us:

1. Education

You can take classes and get a doctorate while half-watching E! in your basement. Naked. 'Nuff said.

2. Safety

There are a lot of ways the Internet has made us safer. We can Google potential dates, Bing our medical symptoms to find out if they're really that severe, put webcams in our safes and even call for help on the Internet.

3. Communication

When e-mail was first getting big, parents would hang their heads and fork over the cash to AOL so that they could communicate more easily with their college kids. Now you can communicate for free with people all over the world — millions at a time, in some cases. There was a time when instead of sending a group e-mail, you had to make a phone call to each one of those people. That's a day-killer.

4. Entertainment

Whatever you're into, you can find lots of it on the Internet. Games, pictures of cute puppies, llamas who tell you what to do and hilarious satire sites are abundant. So is porn, and all kinds of it. Of course, it's up to you whether or not you think that's a good thing.

5. Community

Ah, Facebook. Each one of those little groups you join is its own micro-community. And just think about LiveJournal, friends you make in online games and message boards you use. The Internet lets us know we're not alone. There's a club for everyone online. Somewhere out there, there are people who totally get you, and with a little luck and a speedy connection, you can find each other.

6. Anonymity

We all have embarrassing questions, and sometimes, it's really nice to be able to find something out without asking anybody. What's more, because of our jobs and other constraints, there are some things we want to express that we could get in trouble for saying; enter the anonymous world of blogging and anonymous e-mail addresses.

7. Convenience and Timesaving

From checking your bank account to paying your bills, to ordering groceries and getting ordained, the Internet makes so many things easy and saves so much time (see #3 as well). Remember when you had to go to the library every time you had a question?

8. Actor Names Information

That brings us to #8, Information. I have four words for you: Eye Em Dee Bee, not to mention Wikipedia, Google satellite maps, the Library of Congress and WebMD.

9. Thrift

Never before has it been so easy to compare, contrast and ensure you're getting a deal. You can shop for airfare on a bunch of airlines at once, you can shop for anything on countless websites just by typing the item into a search engine and you can even get stuff second-hand from Guam on eBay. You can explore what your rates would be with different insurance carriers or check the prices of two local restaurants before you make your pick for the evening. An Internet-savvy consumer is a wealthier consumer.

10. A Voice

No matter who you are, you can start a blog. It wasn't too long ago that people with something important to say and the words to say it didn't have a venue unless they could find a publisher, an interested media body or a lot of cash. The internet has given everyone with a computer the power to speak their mind to an impartial audience: the whole world.

Basically, from charities making money (like the over $155 million raised for US nonprofits by eBay's Giving Works) to keeping in touch with Grandma, the internet really has made our lives easier and allowed us to do more good things with our time. (Naked.)

Photo by Andrew* via Flickr.