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I've got mail, too

 

The Internet is my esteemed servant. My personal messenger, reference librarian, and secretary, as well as the library and file cabinet for the universe. Other people love shopping on the Net and joining interest groups, but those features don't excite me.

E-mail does. I love it. This singular form of communication is informal, unintrusive, and convenient. Without e-mail, my favorite aunt & uncle in Florida, my sister-in-law in Pennsylvania, and old friends in California would be lost to the Christmas card list. We don't call each other or write letters, but we do trade e-messages, and have grown closer over wires.

My sister and I used to talk on the phone a few times a year; now we connect at least every week. My son at college zaps me messages when we're online at the same time, and then we "talk" with our keyboards. It's amazing to me that he can converse like this while watching TV, chatting on the phone, and continuing e-conversations like ours with one or two other friends. Truth is, today's youth culture produces experts at simultaneous information processing, while we grown ups manage one channel at a time.

Professionally, connecting with my editors, employers, and readers via e-mail is also easier and more natural than the old form with official stationery and polished reserve. I know many of you arrive at the office and dread the daily "You've got mail" that pops up a hoard of messages pressing for answers. People who use e-mail heavily for work, are less likely to welcome great aunt Sally's missives about her tulips sprouting in Ohio.

Another thing I love about the Internet is all those resources that allow me to search for anything from a particular movie review to the NRA's latest discourse against gun control. Sometimes it takes a few tries, like the time I was looking for information on the history of coffee breaks. I searched using the terms: coffee break and research, and received a world-wide collection of research conference agendas that included a coffee break in the schedule. Another time I needed information on date rape, so I typed date rape and research. My screen flashed a list of porno websites that peddle rape scenes, along with the crisis centers and sexual assault data I was looking for.

If you're not already online (of course, you are, or you wouldn't be reading this), or reluctant to bring the wide world home, it may be that you have concerns. Like whether the kids will go shopping with your charge card numbers or start searching for smutty pictures.

Legitimate concerns. If you're not sure they'll comply with your rules, use the tools that limit their access. Teach them not to give away passwords or download files from strangers, where viruses are sometimes spread. And make sure they understand the cool kid they think they're befriending online, could be older and dangerous in person.

But, it's not likely, and there are risks in every new adventure. The Internet is worth it, at least I think so. My teenagers go online daily to do research for school, and to follow their interests in music, fashion, sports, and whatever. They also visit chat rooms where the language can get pretty gross (like in some school hallways), so my kids take their conversations to private chat rooms, or they click out.

Some people blame the Internet for promoting youth violence in our country, citing the vicious website of Eric Harris at Columbine High School. But that website didn't cause the 18-year-old's killing spree, it was the means of expressing his awful intentions. Indeed, his website was like a flashing neon sign, a blatant warning signal that could have prevented the tragedy, if authorities had stepped in when they were informed.

The Internet is everywhere, and it isn't just a symbol or a symptom of our culture today, it is the culture. The pornography, rage, and violence right beside the latest research, oldest wisdom, and most effective help. Our best and worst right there. Perfect for those who can distinguish trash from treasure and act appropriately.

Most of us can. So if you manage to get yourself online and discover the new world-the culture that we are and don't always recognize-let me know what you find.

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