The Internet's Impact On My Daily Life

The internet had quite a bit of daily impact in my life.  Not only in my personal life but at work as well.  In my personal life it has significantly changed my media consumption methods.  Over five years ago I decided to eliminate Direct TV and use a digital antenna, a Roku, and my home desktop (via a wireless HDMI router to the living room TV) to stream my favorite shows and movies. Thus, reducing not only my monthly spending but actually reducing the amount of time spent mindlessly flipping through channels and getting sucked into random shows. This change alone made the convenience of renting and purchasing a movie over the internet extremely easy. The internet has also slowly evolved me and my family’s shopping habits.  Not just for movies, but everyday products that might be more convenient to just order from Amazon.com or any other major retail website.  Depending on the item, typically I will at least research the internet to see what my options are and where I can find them. Recently, I needed to purchase a lawnmower.  For something like this I prefer to actually see something hands on in a brick and mortar setting.  Though, while in the store I chose to browse Craigslist for used versions in my area that were comparable to what I saw on the shelf.  I was able to pick one up for less than half that mows the lawn just fine.  I used a similar tactic for my weed eater.  I looked in a couple stores, browsed Amazon.com while shopping in the stores and chose to purchase one from the store I was in. For me the internet has just broadened my options, allowing me to conduct my research for product not only from my home, but also from my mobile phone. I would say that my purchases are pretty well balanced between buying directly from the internet on sites such as Amazon.com and within brick and mortar stores.  It really just depends on the product. Clothing and shoes, I am going to go to a store and try them on unless I already have something exactly like it.  Lawn care and tools, I want to see it first, then if I can find it online and don’t need it right away, it may depend on how much I would save ordering it online. In my work as well, the internet is a significant research tool. I work in a government acquisitions position for in-flight emergency equipment.  The internet and search engines provide the ability to quickly find applications that might be applicable to my needs but were not necessarily designed for my application.  It is hard to think how my job was done in the days before the internet.