Oral History

Interview Protocol:

1) Do you remember a time without the Internet?

2) What do you use the Internet for?

3) Think about the time you first used the Internet (how you accessed it, what you used it for, etc.) How does that initial usage compare to the way you use the Internet now?

4) How has the Internet affected your personal life? Professional life?

5) What are your general feelings about the Internet?

6) How would your life be different if you didn't have consistent access to the Internet?

Oral History:

Sara Burgin can't imagine life without the Internet. Her day wouldn't be complete without sending e-mails, reading the newsfeed on Facebook, checking the weather, and "Googling" for random bits of information. Although the Internet is now part of her everyday life, it hasn't always had such a great influence. Burgin remembers the Internet-free days of elementary school, and vividly recalls the very first time she used the Internet in middle school. She was doing a school report on sea anemones, and performed her first Internet search on this topic.

Shortly after this memorable first experience, the Internet gained popularity. It became more and more common to use the Internet for academic, professional, and personal reasons. Burgin fondly remembers using the Internet during middle school and high school on her parents' computer, which had a dial-up connection. The high-pitched screeching noise, a trademark of dial-up, was a small downfall. The excruciatingly slow loading speeds of the webpages was another flaw to contend with. But even through these disadvantages, she was always excited to log on to the Internet because she could then engage in one of her favorite activities: AOL Instant Messenger. She would log in under her username, Buzzmeister86, and promptly begin a conversation with Spyderman301. Spyderman was actually a boy named Nils who was in her class, but they enjoyed chatting online even after spending their days together at school.

Burgin's Internet usage has certainly changed from her middle school days. As a high school science teacher, Burgin uses the Internet on a daily basis to peruse sample lesson plans and gather ideas for the classroom. On a personal level, she primarily uses the Internet to communicate with others. She frequently sends e-mails to family members, friends, and co-workers, and she recently re-connected with Nils (Spyderman301) through a Facebook message.

Burgin's general feelings about the Internet are predominantly positive. She feels the Internet enriches lives, as it provides an opportunity to communicate with others and gather information. However, she also feels the unregulated nature of the Internet could be detrimental, as children could easily come across inappropriate websites if not carefully monitored by their parents. Burgin's overwhelming assessment, though, is that the Internet can be used positively to maintain connections among people.