How Email and Online Communication Have Changed My Life

Although I would be considered relatively young at age 31, I am "old" as far as technology is concerned. I remember being a child and listening to records while reading along in books, and listening to music on personal tape (cassette) players as a teenager in the late 1980's and early 90's. I also remember having several pen-pals with whom I corresponded through old-fashioned hand-written letters. Most women my age can remember this pre-email era, where we picked out pretty stationary and stickers, sent off letters, and waited eagerly for the postman to bring us a reply.

When I entered college, computers and email were coming of age, and I progressed to some digital correspondence. I have to confess, email really amazed me at first-the very thought that I could write to someone who lived hundreds or thousands of miles away and they could receive my message within seconds was astounding. My first email account was on Juno's free email service. It took a few minutes on my ancient computer to dial up and connect, but I still found email to be amazing.

In college, I began to access the internet for the first time, as it became more and more prevalent, and available to all dormitory students through the campus network. At that time I set up my first Yahoo email account, and learned about early instant messaging networks. The first instant messaging account I set up was in my final year of college on ICQ. It was truly wonderful to me to be able to communicate so easily with people from all around the world.

Email and online communication has changed my life by:

1. Allowing me to correspond freely and easily with friends and relatives all over the country and the world. I still keep in touch with college roommates, my relatives in Florida, and former co-workers. If I had to write letters of the "pen and paper" variety, I would probably rarely be in touch with these people, other than the obligatory yearly Christmas card.

2. Enabling me to meet new people and feel connected. Even when I am at home with my children, I can have an "online" social life with other mothers through instant messaging, chat rooms, and message boards. I can join the latest argument about child-rearing or politics, or discuss a bargain I found. I am positive there are many other people who have found support, even during a life crisis, through online avenues. A simple web search turns up support groups and chat rooms for cancer survivors, moms who have experienced the loss of a child, wives of soldiers, and so much more!

I cannot even begin to imagine how the internet and online communication forms will change the lives of my children. I only hope they will be as personally enriched by this technology as I have been.