Nowadays it is very easy to talk to anyone essentially anywhere in the world regardless of distance or time differences. This is a great time to be here if I’m being honest. Things are much different now than they used to be and we as people have different interests and different levels of anxiety and social batteries and it is much easier now to cope with that.
For my people that do not like going outside because they feel like they either do not have enough or any friends, people that just have social anxiety, or people who do not relate to anyone around them the internet is doing them such a great favor! They can make friends on so many websites and apps that are plenty safe as long as they are aware of what they are doing. For example, many people like to play video games and find online friends this way and may add them on an app called discord allowing them to message each other, audio, and video chat while not having to give out any private information if they choose not to! It is so great to have other options where you can truly be yourself and vent to people that are unbiased and learn about what their life is like wherever they are in the world.
The possibilities seem endless with internet communities. While home for me is here in Boston, Massachusetts and I now attend Penn State World Campus this was not always the case for me. I actually used to attend Penn State Mont Alto in person up until the end of my Junior year. I lost my mother and felt I needed to come home and support my younger brother and my grandmother since we are all we truly had left. However, I had come too far with my Penn State degree and had been loving the experiences and courses at Penn State so I was and still am very grateful to be continuing my experiences through Penn State World Campus. Through my classes alone I have made more connections and experiences and friendships I had not previously expected and am very grateful for the possibility itself.
The Internet is a powerful place whether it is being used for online learning due to unexpected circumstances, learning differences, communicating across the world, making new friends, therapy, working from home, or whatever else it is that you are doing, we as people everywhere should recognize or begin to recognize and give credit to the internet for all the incredible things it can do for us as well.
Reference
Bekalu, M. A. (2020, January 6). Social media use can be positive for mental health and well-being. Hsph.harvard.edu. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/social-media-positive-mental-health/