The first recallable experience on the internet would have been at the beginning of Myspace where elementary school was in full motion and life was simple. My experience with Myspace was fun because it led me to introductory coding where I could manually change the backgrounds by entering some coding. It was neat, and I was good at it and all my friends would ask for my help. Beyond the platforms I was able to connect with people, and not just ordinary people. Celebrities and musicians were all available online, and I was actually able to communicate with them – and them with me. The online community broke all borders between social class. And the community was also found while gaming. People of all ages were online gaming with me, and it was fascinating that I could be playing to defeat another team with someone that could be in Chili, China, or Colorado.
These days I find myself using the internet for simpler purposes, whether it is watching TV series, going through social media, or research for academic purposes or interests. I believe that I am less fascinated by the social aspect and am not always interested in participating. When the social websites were new, it was fun to be a part of an emerging technology. But now, I find myself overwhelmed by how everyone is engaged, to the point it feels like I am competing to like, comment, subscribe, share, etc… Thus I feel like I am less involved in a community. If I could do it all again, I would not change my learning journey with the internet and its impact it has had in my life. I am stronger, more confident, and knowledgeable because of my online history.
Click the link to see my evolving journey that helped shape me to who I am today… https://storify.com/nathan_yee/nathan-s-online-journey
From N.Y. 