The Internet at home - E-talk

In my everyday work environment at PhilWeb, the use of the Internet has become essential and thus second nature to all my colleagues. I believe that this is becoming the case in most office settings, even here in the Philippines where statistics still show low Internet penetration. But what in-roads has the Internet made at home? Are housewives, students and children utilizing the Internet? Is the Internet a luxury (like the VCR that nobody ever learned how to program), or is it a necessity (like telephone communication)? In order to satisfy my curiosity, I thought of doing an informal survey in my own home.

I never considered my family to be particularly advanced in what I will call "applied technology," we don’t own a DVD (note the VCR example above!). Excluding my office-issued cellular phone, our family only uses one other cellular phone. You still see Filofaxes around our home (and the electronic planner I got as a gift a few years ago is still in its box). And my children don’t wear glasses with half-inch lenses, and pocket protectors with five pens! So, I felt that the results of my survey were pretty revealing.

The revelation that I consider most significant is that the Internet is obviously a utility, and definitely not a luxury in our home. Must be Dad’s expense control over unnecessary surfing! While my son does use the Internet for a bit of online chatting, and some research on gaming sites (for the latest in Playstation cheats and codes), even he prefers to use the Internet only when necessary. Of course, the definition of necessity requires some flexibility in our home; is downloading music through Napster a necessity? Perhaps, if you want to listen to a song before you consider buying the CD (we do have a CD player at home!). My son also uses Internet greeting cards that he downloads from the Net or sends to friends electronically.

In general, however, my son’s biggest usage is for e-mail (which I do consider a necessity), and research for school homework or projects (did you know that there is a whole website that is dedicated just to the periodic table?!) Science, current events and history are subjects where the Internet has been particularly helpful. My son also keeps in touch with relatives abroad through PC-to-phone communication. And, while we only have one cellular phone at home (or maybe because we only have one phone), the "texting" or SMS bug has bitten us as well. My son sends some of his text messages through the Internet.

How about the wife? Well, it is amazing how much information there is on the Internet about cooking, food preparation and recipes (there’s a whole website just on ways to prepare and cook lamb!!!). Gardening? Home improvement? Interior design? All available on the Internet. My wife had a friend who was involved in a commercial photo shoot for an ice cream product. How do you shoot ice cream without having it melt under the hot spotlights? Consult the Internet for a recipe on "fake" ice cream that doesn’t melt!!!

My wife is a doctor, and she’s currently pregnant. Get all the medical information and latest research you need on the Internet. You want to know why the baby is kicking your stomach like crazy? There is an infinite number of Internet baby sites! We’re still looking for a name for the coming baby, so where do we look? The Internet will ensure that we don’t have to resort to using Roberto Junior. All this research has even made my wife a bit of an expert on search engines; current favorite, Searchalot. It may not be the most powerful, but it is user-friendly.

Then, of course, women need to shop. And a heavy baby in her stomach is not going to stop my wife from getting a few "necessities" when you can shop right from the comfort of your bedroom 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! What would a woman be without her magazines; the number of e-zines today probably exceeds those available at even the most stocked magazine stand.

Even grandma is finding the Internet priceless. My mother is an avid researcher and writer on antique ceramics, culture and history. Aside from e-mail communication with other researchers she has met from throughout the world, the Internet has become a library right in her home. And no dust-catching books to trigger her allergy!!!

Necessity or luxury? Grandma’s computer broke down recently, and she was calling all her sons looking for a PC she could borrow. I almost directed her to an Internet café. I don’t think I’ve ever seen grandma look for a VCR to borrow; she’s worse that I am, she doesn’t even own a VCR!!!

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