iRelle

Here’s a few of the programs and websites I spend a fair bit of time using every day – I’ve taken a step back today, and considered what life would be like without them. What are the alternatives to non-cyber utensils?

Microsoft Word – I use this to write out my blog posts before I cut and paste them to WordPress. I use Word to type up notes and print them off. I write and save creative writing pieces, essays and good ideas that I might need some time. It’s on top of my most-used list of programs, and I could do it all with a notepad or two, a couple biros and a few filing folders. So why do I choose to use word? I love that I can cut and paste and move things around until I find the perfect fit. I love that I can type faster than I can write (legibly), so it’s easier to get ideas down before they evaporate. I love that I can delete a word, a thought, a sentence in less than a second and get the wording exactly right without crossing and re-crossing lines of writing. I love that I’m just a better writer when my fingers hit the keyboard. On the flip side, I love notebooks for random scribblings on the fly.

Facebook – Spruiking this blog, Reading random commentary from other peoples’ lives, playing mindless games and even sillier quizzes… I spend a lot of time on facebook. While I love that it gives me social contact with people I would otherwise hear from on a very hit-and-miss basis, there are a host of more worthwhile things I could be doing. For the social side of things, I could actually pick up the phone and call a few people, or write them a letter – even meet up with a few of them! Of course, that would take a lot more time than clicking the link and finding out instantly whether they’re having a good day or not. As for games and quizzes… little time-fillers that have no relevance to life whatsoever, and could easily be replaced with other little irrelevant time-fillers like Sudoku puzzles or games of Uno with the closest person.

Photoshop – after Word, it’s the most frequently used program on my laptop. I guess the ‘real-life’ equivalent is pencils, photos, paints, pastels and paper. I would miss the layer styles, filters and the huge range of alterables, the almost limitless brushes, and the complete, untainted spectrum of colours. That, and I can’t draw properly, anyway. I don’t think I’d be able to give up Photoshop easily.

Twitter – Usually, my first check in of the is before I clamber out of bed. I log in again (from my phone) when I’m on the bus heading into town, and at sporadic intervals throughout the day. I leave random thoughts, left-wing replies and totally uninteresting glimpses into my life. It’s not necessary. If there’s something I want to share with someone, I could just choose the person standing closest, or I could write it down and use it somewhere later – in writing, in a blog, in a rant. Twitter has absolutely no valid function in my life, but I still like being able to share the little victories, failures and comedies of my day, as they unfold, to people who will vaguely care if I catch them at a good time.

Google – ‘Google it’ is just about my answer to everything. From definitions of words to cupcake recipes, from out-of-print books to that line of a song that’s been stuck in my head for days – I’ll type anything in and hit enter, and usually something good gets thrown up, and my question is answered, seconds after it came into being. I guess books are your friend, or you could ask someone – but they don’t give you the instantaneity and the ability to cross-check answers easily. You only get a limited perspective instead of a multi-million-faceted look at something. And you don’t get to watch YouTube video clips and call it homework.

From that little list, you can see that I’m perhaps a little geekier than you imagined (oh no… maybe I’m not! Now I really feel nerdy.) and that technology really does have its uses, despite the existence of perfectly good alternatives that have been around a lot longer, and are usually more personalised and focused around an individual’s little world, rather than the ever-growing lists of peers in extended networks. Some things are hard to give away, though, and some things are so much a part of my life that without them, things would be considerably harder, and slower.

So… how much do you rely on the internets? Would you survive if there were suddenly no more computers? What  would you fill up your days with?

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