There’s the Greatest Generation.

There’s the Baby Boomers.

There’s Generation X.

And then there’s us, Generation Y.

Although, considering our excessive Internet use, we could probably be called the Internet Generation.

Every day, no matter how much homework I have, as soon as I get home, I check my e-mail, the Gargoyle, my Facebook, my MySpace, YouTube, and the news — all while I listen to music on iTunes.

Thankfully, I’m not among the army of high-schoolers addicted to instant messaging. For me, it’s just way too distracting.

The Internet is great. Seriously. I am so in touch with the world. Not too long ago, people had to wait for weeks to hear from a friend who lived far away. Now, I don’t even bat an eyelid when I see someone from Norway on Facebook.

Also, once during the MySpace craze, I was able to get help from fellow sophomore Linda Ly for the night’s math homework, because she happened to be online at the same time as me. Without the Internet, it would’ve been a lot harder to finish the assignment.

Of course, I could have used the phone. Despite the stereotype of teenage girls talking on the phone constantly, I only use it for urgent things or serious conversations.

However, when I realize how much time I actually spend on all these social networking
Web sites, I can’t believe myself. I sometimes even find myself looking at pictures of people I don’t even know, just to stay "in touch."

Of course, the Internet isn’t perfect. There’s spam, there are are scams, some information can be questionable, I’m not a fan of "lol," and sometimes you can stumble on things you did NOT need to see. The rolling eyes and hanging tongues you often see in pictures aren’t too gorgeous either.

But nevertheless, I’m happy to be part of the "Internet Generation."