5. Internet

[Note: this should have been posted yesterday, but for some reason we lost our internet connection for a day – I really don’t know why. Anyways, it’s back now, so I’m going to do a double post today to make up for the day lost.]

For the past few years, I’ve used the internet mainly to read celebrity gossip, research obscure papers for uni, read celebrity gossip, scan the latest news, read celebrity gossip, catch up on fashion/beauty trends/tips and read celebrity gossip. It was essentially my biggest time-wasting tool, and it usually made me feel kinda crappy.

This year I started to read blogs and discovered Google Reader (a little late off the mark, I know). I only tend to pick blogs that I gain something from, be it inspiration, motivation, ideas, or even just a different perspective. Because I’m gaining something, it’s not a waste of time.

Also, despite having started this blog ages ago, I’ve only really begun to use it this year – albeit in a sporadic, inconsistent manner. And I’ve really enjoyed it. Don’t get me wrong, I find it extremely difficult and having to do write regularly challenges my two greatest problem areas: consistency and writing. But I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I post on my blog, and it’s good – even therapeutic – to externalise some of my thoughts. It’s also been hugely educational – trying to find my own writing style, discovering what I can write about with passion and what I really can’t write about, using language in a new way… the list goes on.

In addition to blogging, I’ve been using the internet to learn about new things – things I wouldn’t actually be bothered to do any real research on, but as I’m online, I might as well. These things are usually utterly useless in my daily life (like how guide dogs for the blind are trained), but it’s nice to satisfy one’s curiosity about these things. I’ve also used it to stay in touch with friends by signing up to Facebook – although I’m not really in love with it anymore.