The Importance Of The Internet To Us

Introduction

I am really enjoying "The Outrun" but Amy Liptrot, and it is making me think about a lot of things in my life as well as teaching me about wildlife, the stars and the islands of Orkney, where I intend to visit.

I knew Montrose had covered "Connection" by The Rolling Stones, and was going to include The Stones' version, but the Montrose version is far better, so I included that here.

What The Outrun Has Made Me Think About

One of the first things that Amy did when she got to Rose Cottage on Papay was to sort out her broadband and wifi. It was (and still is) important for her to have a connection with her friends around the country and further afield.

She uses her phone and laptop to check out and record things that she finds and researches on Papay, and something she said struck a chord with me.

Thanks to the internet, remote working is possible in many industries, which means that remote islands such as Orkney and Papay can now be seen as a base for everyone if they want to live somewhere away from the bustle of the city. I don't think I could do it on a permanent basis, but it would be great for a holiday or an even longer break.

When COVID hit and we were forced to work from home, I did not like it at first, but I created a setup with which I eventually became comfortable, and now I find working from home easy and productive and a far better use of my time than having to spend part of the day just travelling to get to work and being subject to the foibles of cancelled transport and traffic jams.

When I left my job with EE in Darlington and started with CQC in Newcastle, I took a light pay cut, but then realised I was saving three and a half hours of travelling time each day, five days a week, which worked out at seventy hours a month, that is nearly two working weeks. That is how much time many of us spend travelling to work.

I have used the internet since the last century, and seen communications go from email to video calls. I have seen the rise of YouTube, and we can now video call each other from anywhere in the world.

The internet has a lot of failings, but it is now probably my biggest reference library when I am researching things.

Without the internet, I doubt I would have realised my dream of actually publishing a book, and even though the first one was an accident, which I documented here many years ago, my latest one and everything since my second book, I am extremely proud of:

So the internet and the social group software such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram have enabled me to easily make contact and keep in touch with people.

But It's The Connections That Really Count

I have run a blog for twenty years and only had a few people really follow it, but I keep it going, and it gets a lot of robot visits (36.000 so far this month).

When I switched to Vocal, I gained a lot of friends, and I communicate with many of them on a regular basis. Without the internet, this would never have been possible.

I can message you, share things with you and share things with you at will. You may be on the other side of the world, but we are now close friends, and the only thing that physically separates us is physical distance; but in all other ways, we have become as close as next-door neighbours.

Conclusion

Thank you so much for reading, and thank you for being a friend as well.