I always wonder what school would be like now. I went to a regular school with regular kids and we could use our phones at lunchtime, now I remember having this old beat up Motorola that was handed down to me by my sister, it was just about the time smart phones were becoming popular. When they were first out it was usually businessmen and women who would have hold of them because there wasn’t such a big hype about them. My parents just wanted me to have a phone so they’d be able to contact me, I never really used it otherwise, I enjoyed going out and socialising with friends, it just seems like were all stuck in this ‘technological internet hypnotism’. It’s addictive.

 

I look at my younger brother who is 11 and he is so different to me when I was that age. Yes, he’s a boy but he acts so much older and wiser than he really is; we all learn mannerisms and different traits from the internet, a big one being sarcasm. It’s unbelievable how different we can be on the internet- you can be anything you want. When I was younger (about 10/11) and I joined up to Habbo, I had quite a troubled personal life in school so I lost confidence and I became reclusive and shy, so when I came onto Habbo I completely changed; I was confident, I was happy and I was making friends left right and center. This was definitely a pro, I would watch the school clock tick away and think about how long my walk home would be (roughly an hour) and I’d be straight on Habbo as soon as I got home. It consumed me: I hardly ate or came out of my room, I’d put Habbox on, or watch a little HabboxTV. It was simple and my daily routine, it was all so innocent when I was at that age… It was my escape.

 

Now that was almost 5 years ago and I’ve grown and become a little bit wiser, not much.. but enough, but I feel like the internet has grown too and become a little more sinister. You can truly get lost in the dark corners of the internet and its terrifying what you may find, thus resulting in me being very interested in my younger siblings adventures of the web. I believe the internet has its pros and cons, but from my own experiences it frightens me knowing I have younger siblings using smart phones and computers, I think we all need to take care and tread carefully and take a stroll around the neighbourhood once in a while and leave technology at home. I’m yet to see someone not on their phone constantly when they’re out, even my mum is glued to her smartphone -facepalm- it’s just funny how we’re evolving.

 

The internet opened me up to all sorts of experiences, good and bad, but of course we all make mistakes and we all live to tell the tale. I joined lots of different gaming communities, I was completely in love with this fake reality I could build – it’s dangerous! I even had my own little catfish story at the age of only fourteen, but that’s another tale for another day. I got addicted and it’s possible for anyone else, too. I guess the moral of this article is to take care on the internet, you are at all sorts of risks and you never know who you may meet.