#cyberbiography

Of course, like most people, I think that the internet has in some way or form shaped me into the person I am today.  In a world where the internet and technology are only getting more and more advanced, it’s becoming easier to believe that the internet has been able to influence the lives of many people on this earth; it may affect some people more differently than others, but all the same, it affects them.  For me, it has mostly helped with school-related things, and using the internet greatly increased how I performed in school, especially high school and even more so now in college.  For example, I am a frequent user of things like Quizlet (for any class with tests), Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com (for writing papers), Google Translate (for my Japanese classes), and more to enhance my learning, and I can say that it definitely helped me keep my grades high, and I will continue to use them to keep my grades high.

(and with the internet, who doesn’t feel more confident in what they learn haha)

Although the internet has shaped the kind of student I am, it has not really shaped me socially.  I am naturally a quiet and shy kind of person, so it would make sense that I would be just as social on social media than I am in real life:  I’m quiet in real life, so on social media I am just as quiet if not quieter (meaning that it is rare for me to post anything on social media, even if it’s to give a like to a photo).  The only social media that I somewhat use is Facebook and Snapchat. I have an Instagram, but I don’t post anything on it anyway, and I only posted on Tumblr for this assignment (but who knows, I might start using it more after this assignment).  When I do use social media, I use it to interact with mostly my older sister and my close friends on Facebook and Snapchat.  I guess I can say that the internet has allowed me to stay close to my sister because at least once a day we send each other random, funny videos that we find on Facebook.  Other than that, I don’t really use any social media often because I’m a person with a small family and a few great friends; I see them often, so I don’t have much use for social media.

When I use the internet, I use it mostly for school and for my own entertainment.  If you would ask me what my hobbies are, I would automatically respond saying “reading and watching TV series or movies.”  That’s why I spend most of my time online catching up on TV shows and finding interesting movies to watch rather than on social media like many others.  I also spend a great time online satisfying my love for reading.  Although nothing beats actually having a real, physical book in my hands to read, I also enjoy reading stories that I find online.  I frequent various reading/writing platforms such as my favorite reading app/website Wattpad.  Because of all these other books that I can find online, I have further increased my interest in reading my favorite genres that include YA novels, fantasy, mystery, and thriller novels.

Not only has the Internet re-shaped how the entire world works, it has shaped me as a person. 

In my early years, I would spend my time on the Internet playing games on websites like MiniClip and AddictingGames.com. These sites would serve as great time-wasters at school or while “doing” homework. Another part of the internet that I spent an immense time on was against other people in Xbox games like Halo and Call of Duty. These games became a big part of the lives of my friends and I. In fact, I enjoyed playing these games so much that I decided to start making videos of them, which brings me to another one of my favorite sites, YouTube. 

I used YouTube to watch my favorite gaming commentators and montages. I used to spend hours watching gamers like Whiteboy7thst, SeaNanners, Nadeshot, and FaZe. Gaming commentaries consisted of someone (of above-average skill) playing my favorite game while telling a story or simply discussing the game. Montages, on the other hand, were simply a combination of short clips of people performing in-game tricks or just impressive skill accompanied by cool editing and music. Nowadays, my time on the Internet is spent on Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram, and Snapchat. Reddit allows you to find communities filled with people with similar interests as you. Tumblr, like Reddit, allows you to find people with similar interests (and great memes).

I have had plenty of ups and downs on the internet. When I was young and naive I came across people who would trick me into giving them important information like account information, and even credit card information. Luckily, I was able to learn from my encounters with these people and began to have an understanding of the morals that some people have, especially on the internet. Now I can tell if something is too good to be true from miles away. 

Some other things that the internet has taught me, specifically Tumblr, is a whole new community of people who share photographs like I’ve never seen before. The aesthetic of these photos has inspired my interest in photography, and opened my eyes to the beauty in the world, even if it is not easily absorbed. For example, a lot of the photographs that I enjoy contain aesthetically-pleasing patterns or obscurely zoomed-in photos of textures found in both urban and natural environments. Tumblr has also taught me how to network myself through people with a larger following than I, and how to maintain a steady growth in interest within current followers, and those who have not yet followed my blog. The last thing that Tumblr has taught me is that if you want to be “popular” (especially on the internet) you have to create original content, rather than simply re-posting other people’s art.