With the internet wrapping it’s tendrils around humanity, networks run rampant through the Earth. Although the picture I might have painted illustrates this negatively, it is anything but. My choice of words are simply to emphasise the connections, nodes, and liveliness of the networks that exist within our society.
If I had to sit here at list out every single network I am a part of this blog post would be painfully long, and if I am quite honest I think I would miss out quite a few. Networks, in it’s social form, are formed daily and can span from life-changing connections to minuscule interactions (for example the day you’re born and meet your family for the first time, to smiling at the stranger walking past you on the way to uni). Not to mention physical networks like transport and, of course, the internet.
A quick side note: in writing this I am overcome with sonder, the realisation that every person around you has lives as full and messy are our own. The vastness of the world is truly terrifying..
To finally answer the prompt, I would say that social and physical networks have impacted me the most. Connections with my family, friends, and environments have shaped me into the person I am today, moulding my personality with every new link attached to my body. Whereas physical networks grant me ease of access to locations and information, which adds to my experiences and knowledge, ultimately also altering my path in life. You are merely a byproduct of your associations, which leads me to think about how no one’s characteristics are ever inherently unique.
This also closely links to Chaos Theory, more specifically The Butterfly Effect, as one shift could potentially be able to change the whole trajectory of your existence.
I wanted to throw out a thought experiment to end with. Imagine the world right now without the advances we have made in technology, in fact picture the internet never existing at all. Daunting and frightening are the first words that come to my mind (and this is not coming from a dependent, addicted, Gen Z take), it is just the fear of the unknown. That being said I only feel that way because I know what it’s like with the internet now.
In conclusion, thank you Tim Berners-Lee and thank you to my past self for making the decisions you did.
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