"What will NY152 say today, I wonder. I turn on my computer. I wait impatiently as it connects. I go online, and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words: You've got mail. I hear nothing. Not even a sound on the streets of New York, just the beating of my own heart. I have mail. From you."

This quote is, of course, from the great 1998 movie "You've Got Mail," and spoken by the character Kathleen Kelly (played by Meg Ryan) in an email to Joe Fox (played by Tom Hanks). For a little perspective, in 1998 when the movie was released, approximately 275,854,000 people lived in the United States and only 76,000,000 of them were internet users.  Most users earned a yearly income of $25-75,000 and had more than a high school education.  Over 50% of internet users lived in North America.  So, as you can see, the demographics of the internet were distinctly different than they are now, when the large majority of Americans are regular internet users.  

With this difference also comes a massive difference in the uses of the internet as well as the emotional and cognitive meanings of the internet.  "You've Got Mail" is an especially vibrant film depiction of the role of the internet in the culture of 1998 compared to modern culture.  In 1998 the internet provided us with a romantic, enjoyable, fun, entertaining, way to spend our time.  Email was a romantic and exciting way of communicating, and because so few people had access to the internet, email was a type of communication that was used (at least mostly) for pleasure rather than business.  In fact, for business, Meg Ryan used an old computer (without internet access I think) and her boyfriend used a typewriter!  Email was a safe and fun way of communicating, and when Kathleen Kelly got an email, she was thrilled!

Fast-forward 18 years and you'll see me and my mini panic attacks every time I hear a quiet "ding" coming from the general direction of my phone.  A ding which could indicate one of two things: 1) my mother has just sent me directions to whatever event I am attending that night in my life, despite her 500 mile distance from me and lack of intention to attend that event, or 2) someone from work wants to tell me what to do. That's not to mention the hours I spend sitting in front of my email all day stressing about the various questions and many assignments held within it's virtual walls.  This is further exacerbated by the fact that emails containing impending jobs are often left for long-term residences in my inbox for me to see in all of their painful glory every time I sign in.

So what happened between the days of Meg Ryan and the days of me and my computer-induced-anxiety?  Well, the internet went from being a toy, used primarily by the everyday wo/man as a form of entertainment, to a tool, used primarily by the everyday wo/man as an efficient way of accomplishing work.  Also, whereas in the days of Meg Ryan we had to "dial-up" to the internet, thus making it a time-contained event, now we're constantly wired-in and connected.  There's no reprieve which serves only to add to our cognitive loads and exhaust us...and make us eternally available to "the man."  

So, the internet is great, and so are the many many technological advances which have made our daily lives simpler and more efficient. But instead of looking back on the internet of Meg Ryan as an archaic and slow thing of the past that we laugh at, look back on it as the romantic form of entertainment and communication that it truly was.  Because, really, they just don't make things the way they used to.

Keep on thinking,
Josie