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WebWord Weblog Posting Posting Date: October 16, 2002 WebWord Comment -- Think about how stupid this sounds: I've been on the internet for seven years. Many people use the "I've been on the internet for..." statement, but I think that it is really stupid. It is like saying that you've been "on" the telephone for x years. Or that you've been "on" TV or "on" radio for x years.
Reader Comments...
Yes, perhaps closely related to the *coolness* or *buzz* factor. The more years you have been on the internet the *more hip* you are? ... mmmm ... Don't think the children growing up or being born into the Internet Age say this, as its probably just another extended service for them like water, electricity, TV, radio etc. Posted by: daniel szuc on October 16, 2002 07:45 AM
Yes, perhaps closely related to the *coolness* or *buzz* factor. The more years you have been on the internet the *more hip* you are? ... mmmm ... Don't think the children growing up or being born into the Internet Age say this, as its probably just another extended service for them like water, electricity, TV, radio etc. Posted by: daniel szuc on October 16, 2002 07:45 AM
I'm so old I witnessed the birth of the Internet. It came out head-first with the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck. My pappy handled delivery perfectly and we ate placenta stew afterward.
Can't you imagine the life change brought about by running water, electricity, TV and Radio? Haven't you heard stories about people going to neighbors houses because they had color TV? I'll wager that the "early adopters" of every example given talked about them in the same way for a good number of years. Posted by: Mike on October 16, 2002 09:01 AM
Most times people use the phrase they probably just want to show off but isn't the phrase used in the same fashion as "I've had a drivers license for seven years"? Although it doesn't take much to surf the web, using it for seven years does mean you understand the medium in a way that only comes with experience. Posted by: Rikard Linde on October 16, 2002 09:16 AM
I think you're over-reacting, and a bit too late, at that. While some statements of duration usually don't imply that the activity ceased at any point (I've been a New Yorker for 20 years now), others always have. I've been playing the guitar for 37 years. I've been playing the recorder for 30 years. I've been playing the mandolin for 3 years. And yet, I am only 45. So, I don't think "I've been on the Internet for 9 years" sounds ridiculous. However, I have been working on the railroad all the live long day. Posted by: Frank on October 16, 2002 10:03 AM
Your last counter-examples actually support the statement you're criticising, and raise a cogent point. Saying that you've been on the internet for seven years is a lot like saying that you've been on [the] radio for seven years -- if you work in radio, that's a perfectly valid statement. That people should use similar language about the internet underlines the sense of the net as a participatory space, rather than as a consumed service like telephone or television. I'm glad to hear language like that -- it means that people experience the internet in a deeply personal way. Posted by: Mark on October 16, 2002 10:22 AM
Yeah, I agree that this is kind of a silly observation. Most of the technologies you mentioned have been around since before people were born, so the # of years is probably their age - a few years. And it is probably a point of pride to be an early adopter of the Internet...for a lot of people that might've happened in an
Early Internet adopters are computer nerds. Years-of-use is a point of pride because this geeky activity has hit the mainstream. When someone says, "I've been on the Internet for seven years," they are secretly thinking to themselves, "Aha! Not so geeky after all, huh! Have fun dancing at the night club you attractive, popular person you! Excuse me, I have to get back to my MUD."
Part One - Two Camps So, the fundamental issue is about the nature of the internet. It is about how you use it, how others use it, and what it means to everyone in various contexts. To wit, if it is like electricity or consumable media, then talking about being "on" is kind of silly. The value is low. The analogy is that no one cares that you have been watching TV for 23 years, or that you have been experiencing running water since you were born. However, if the internet is a participatory space, then stating how long you have been "on" might tell others something about your position in that space, and your commitment to it. It indicates you have background and knowledge associated with the internet that only years of exposure and interaction can provide.
Given all of this, I have the feeling that the internet is still very much a blob that is not well understood, even by people that have been "on" since the beginning. Email is the internet. The web is the internet. IRC is the internet. Chat is the internet. This makes me think it is more like electricity. Yet, at the same time the internet infrastructure still isn't defined. There is another point to consider. Electricity really isn't electricity. Electricity, as the term is normally used, is electric content running over wires. But, the wire itself, the infrastructure, is also electricity. You've got two parts: electricity the content and electricity the infrastructure. The internet blob is similar, except I think there are three parts: hardware layer, infrastructure layer (protocols mostly), and content layer. (I'm sure this has been covered before; I'm not trying to be original here.) So, I'd venture that most people don't care about the hardware layer when they say they have been "on" the internet. It is a moot point. But, some geeks would be very interested in saying they have been using internet protocols and the infrastructure (e.g., "MUDs rule and I love USEnet!"). I'm guessing that vast majority of people that saying that "I've been on for..." are talking about the media or content layer.
All of this rambling leads me to my final point: I think you are lame if you talk about being "on" if you are talking about consuming internet media. On the other hand, you are offering something important if you are an internet producer. Example: If you only shop and read articles, but you tell me you have been "on" for years, you are being lame. But, if you tell me you have been "on" for years and you blog, write articles, and more, that is cool. If you have been on and you have participated, tell me about it. Otherwise, shut your pie hole. Of course, this will upset some people, but so what? I've drawn some lines in the sand and I'm feeling satisfied about the topic. (Yes, I know how to ramble.) Posted by: John S. Rhodes on October 16, 2002 11:36 AM
I disagree. I have friends that still do not use the internet. Remember only about 160 million people in the Us are online so say "I have been on the net for ....." is not yet passé. It may only seem that way because everyone on hear lives and breathes it. It is the reason usability is around. To make sure there are checks and balances for the newbies that come on through when they see the light. Otherwise the early adopters would rule and no one could use the net.
I think it is a valid statement for establishing credibility if you are trying to describe something about the Internet. Granted, it is a completely relative statement, since you can be on the Internet for seven years and still be a complete idiot, but it at least gives the person who might be hearing you or reading your words an idea of where you draw your ideas from. If I write an article about the evolution of the Internet in modern times and I say "I've been active on the Internet since 1993" that is going to sound a whole lot better than "Wow, I just found this thing out last year, and let me tell you about how it all evolved." The article could just leave out any mention of the author's experience with the medium, but adding it might give it a little weight, as well. Posted by: Lydia on October 16, 2002 12:02 PM
I agree with Lydia and think that it does depend on the context. "I remember the excitement I felt when I downloaded Netscape" could sound sad, and "I've never sent a text message" could make me look like a luddite. Posted by: Mac on October 16, 2002 12:40 PM
So you've been using the Internet for 7 years. So what? What relevance does that have to anything at all? Suppose I've been watching TV for 25 years, 5 hours a day. I have more than 45,500 TV hours logged. So what? Suppose you amend your statement to say you've been designing web sites for 7 years. So what? Those first few years are a joke from a design standpoint. You read a "Learn HTML 1.0 in an hour" pamphlet and shazaam, you're a designer. Many of the "old" web designers are the ones who have been putting off learning CSS and current coding techniques because they don't want to learn new tricks. In many respects, I would favor a designer who learned coding after the advent of CSS and promotion of accessibility so that they never think of the world in any other terms. Mileage doesn't mean experience or expertise. It just means old. The quality of your ideas and your portfolio are what's important. If I saw "7 years" mentioned on a resume I would laugh. It's compensating for a lack of value.
Sorry I misunderstood you, John. I now see it's not the "time" issue but the "on" issue. To be honest with you, I've never heard people say it the way you're hearing it. I hear "I've been online x years" but can't recall hearing anyone saying "I've been on the internet x years." To me that's an important distinction, and acceptable. Does it matter to you? Posted by: Frank on October 16, 2002 05:12 PM
Frank, it isn't the wording, it is the meaning. When people puff out their chest and make it seem like the understand the internet due to time alone, I think it is lame. However, if they have spent time in the trenches, then the amount of time usually increases my respect for that person. Then again, in light of what The Contrarian states, I also think that too much time can also mean that people can get stuck in a rut. Some people do something so long that they get too comfortable and too static. That's not good, usually. (Caveat: In many areas of life, it takes about 10 years to reach an expert level. Time is good in this respect.) Posted by: John S. Rhodes on October 16, 2002 05:25 PM
Frank, regarding syntax, I tend to agree with you. I usually say "I've been using the Internet for x years" when asked. I also think "I've been online x years" is usable. In conversation, I'm willing to use whatever syntax the other person is using, as a comfort thing, and I have heard people say "I've been on the Internet for x" but that is usually a small number of months or years. That might account for them thinking of it as being "on" it. Sadly, in a capacity where I am trying to help someone do something, I hear too many people who are novice users say "OK, I've got my Internet started now," where Internet means browser. When writing articles or help documentation, I always stick to a "style guide" of online terms. Online is never on-line, Internet is always capitalized, it's always login, not log in when referring to the user name and password as a unit, always sign on instead of log in, etc. Posted by: Lydia on October 16, 2002 06:56 PM
Hi. My name is Chad, and I've been on the Internet 10 years. People do say that. It's on my resume. And I mean "on" by John Rhode's definition: I have poked around the Google Usenet archives and found postings from January of 1992. One of my signatures has a line of poetry in it I still like: my blog Zen Haiku has "a bit of poetry" although it's mainly about usability. So yes, I have been on the Internet 10 years, and I yes, I am proud of it. Oh, and I am bugged by people who use "Internet" without a definite article in front of it "Oh, I have Internet." Not very linguistically correct of me, I know, but I can't help it.
John, regarding the puffing of the chest (I apoologize in advance for the thread drift here), I remember back in '93 I was going to be out of the office, and gave my boss my CompuServe email address (remember? back when it was two strings of numbers, separated by either a comma or a period, depending on whether you were emailing within CS or from outside in?). My boss at the time (bless his ignorant little -- er, very small -- heart) responded as if I was a total geek, rolled his eyes, and said (seriously) "hmph. he even has an email address!" I retorted, "Hey Larry, you use AOL, right?" He responded in the affirmative, and I said, "well, so do you!" Some people didn't know to puff their chests early enough, I guess... Posted by: Frank on October 16, 2002 07:38 PM
"Some people do something so long that they get too comfortable and too static."
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