ANI AMIRKHANIAN
The Internet is perhaps one of the most useful and ingenious tools
ever created for the purposes of research, information, entertainment
and e-mail. There are, of course, other multiple and endless uses for
the Internet, but one use that stands out from the rest is that you
can connect with anyone around the world who also has access to it.
I utilize the Internet for the sole purposes of research and
e-mail. The extent that I can sit and stare at a computer monitor is
about one hour; any longer than that is almost unbearable. Sitting
down for a long period of time in front of a computer screen actually
drains all the feeling I have or previously had in my upper and lower
extremities.
There are numerous observations that I've made about the Internet.
My observations come directly from working in the public service
sector of the city.
First, children have the longest attention span when it comes to
the Internet. At my place of employment, the public library, they
will sit in front of the monitors without any distraction and go
about their business of playing games, chatting online or listening
to music.
But when it comes to more constructive and important activities
such as reading a book, doing homework or research for a school
project, their attention spans drop to zero. The younger kids often
play Disney character games or race to "Hot Wheels" while the
pre-teens and teens surf the Web in search of their favorite pop
culture icons and music to download.
I have come to the conclusion that it is almost impossible to
unglue these children from the computers.
The second observation I have made regarding the Internet is that
it is becoming more of culturally friendly medium, although so many
people with cultural or language barriers are still unfamiliar with
it or find it difficult to learn.
With respect to the diverse population here in Glendale, the
Internet is still unfamiliar to many people who may not have been
exposed to it in their native land or have limited English skills
that hold them back from making use of it in their daily lives.
Yes, there are websites like Yahoo!, for example, that can be
accessed in various languages such as Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese,
etc., but people, especially adults raising children who are
practically born knowing how to use a computer, are not aware of the
advantages (and disadvantages) of the Internet, nor do they
understand its concept.
With the Armenian community, the Internet is the least culturally
