The Young Girl and the Internet

It was a hot, sunny afternoon in June. A girl of seven walked lazily down the road to seek out a playmate for the beautiful afternoon. That day was a perfect day for playing in the creek and catching craw dads with her friend Emily. Emily lived just down the road so there was no need to call ahead, the girl just walked in (they were practically family after all).
However, something was different about that day. Emily was not at her normal station in front of the television playing Nintendo. The girl called out for her friend and heard, "Back here!" from the back office.
The girl was tentative. That was Emily's dad's office, and they were not supposed to play in the office. Despite her trepidation, she went back to find her friend.
The girl found Emily typing in short slow intervals on the keyboard to her dad's computer.
Then there was a noise.
"Oh no! What did you do?!" the girl fretted.
Emily was calm. "What are you worrying about? It's just my instant messenger. I'm talking to Amanda about meeting up for ice cream later."
The girl was shocked. How could Emily be talking to Amanda without a phone?
Emily just shook her head and explained that all you had to do was download the program, enter s screen name, and start talking to anyone.
So began the era of instant messaging. Few summer days were spent romping in the creek without first checking to make sure there was no one worth while online to talk to. The internet opened new doors of communication that the girl had never dreamed of. It was new and exciting. Children all around the world could meet in one chat room and talk in their new language at speeds no parent could comprehend.
There was an invention of abbreviations and "text speak" which allowed children to express their ideas in 5 letters or less; P.I.R. meant "Parents in Room" to warn the sender not to say any dirty words or make any dirty comments; LOL meant that something was funny, but LMAO meant you were literally laughing your ass off (or so to speak). Kids learned to type faster than most adults could follow, and they learned to edit and condense paragraphs into sentences and sentences into letters. The internet provided an exercise in a new form of English that had never been considered outside a courtroom stenography class.
With just a few clicks and keystrokes any one could communicate with any one else, anywhere. Children in Matthews, North Carolina were talking to kids in Florida, Canada, France... The possibilities were endless.
This revolution in communication did lead to more awkward conversations and disturbing situations at times, but one thing was for sure: No one could resist the glowing screens and endless opportunities the internet provided.
In a matter of years information became accessible almost instantly. Within a decade everyone was buying into online instant communication. Today people can chat with experts, movie stars, politicians, and tech support crews. A woman can video chat with her husband in Iraq and a child in India can learn a new language from a child in Sacramento.
The internet brought the world together and allows for countless options and opinions to be known. The internet is a beautiful invention that is just as new and exciting now as it was that first fateful day that two girls sat down to talk to a friend a block away.