The Digital Civilization

Henry Cheung
Aug 28, 2017 · 4 min read

Our outside society and our world online is almost synonymous with each other. Being the ones partaking in the digital world, it’s no wonder why the internet is so similar to our world, all you have to do is look.

A Postal Service on Steroids

In our society, assuming there were no electronic methods to make certain tasks more efficient, we humans would still have a way to get things done. Want to send a friend a message? Mail them. Want to purchase something? Go to the store. There are other ways of doing what we do in our everyday lives. Technology just makes it easier. And faster. A lot faster.

Everyone remembers those typically white letters you get in a box with your street number on it, delivered by some person in some white truck? For the new kids on the block, that’s called “mail.” That mail has to go through a journey and a half before reaching your place of residing. First, one writes the letter, gives it an address to send it to, and puts it in a mailbox. Then, the mail goes to a postal office, where mail is divided based on demographic area, and is then delivered via mailmen to your house.

It’s a lot, but it gets the job done. However, there are faster ways to do that. Google’s mail application allows users to send mail by just typing in their email address (which is basically another form of their actual address), followed by the message(s) you wish to send them, then hit enter (which sends the mail to the receiver). The most incomprehensible concept throughout this entire process could be the fact that all this can be done within the same minute. No more of those 8–10 business days, am I right?

Acquiring Credentials

On a lot of places throughout the internet, many will ask you for a username or password. Do not be too alarmed, because they’re just online jargon for something you may know very well.

Say you’re meeting someone for the first time, perhaps of higher authority than you. When you introduce yourself to them, you’re essentially giving them your username, or in real life, your actual name. By doing this, the person of higher authority now has a way of identifying who you are, differentiating you from others. The online service does the same thing with your username, and for the same reasons. Chances are you’re not the only one on that service, so it’s going to need a way to know who you are.

You may then ask what the password portion is for. Let’s go back to the person of higher authority. Now say that you would like you meet that person at some time later, whether it may be for an interview or for a meeting. In the off chance that you are not the only person they know with that name, they’re also going to need another way of knowing you are you. One way could be an appointment time that differs from others, so you have a unique meeting time with this person.

Passwords serve the same purpose, to differentiate you from others who may share a similar username on the service. It is also a good secondary precaution to make sure that you’re not just someone who happens to pick up the user’s username to spy on their account.

The Weak Leak

Plumbing is always a hassle, having to constantly maintain them, making sure they are in tip-top shape so no clogs or tears in the pipes occur. Just like how these pipes connect you to your local water supply, the internet is interconnected via wires, and just like how water pipes could easily wear out or be tampered with, the same goes with your online information.

Wear and tear comes naturally, but still needs maintenance nonetheless. When this happens, you improve the condition of the wires however you see fit. Online, your privacy and security also depends on you. Your level of security online typically declines gradually as you grow more into the internet, and it’s up to you to regulate internet safety procedures.

Sabotage is also very real, and it could happen to you. When people mess with your pipes with intentions of making them worse or even broken, that’s when you have a threat on your hands. Similarly online, when people mess with your online connections, they could very well be trying to steal personal information from you, whether it is your email account or usernames and passwords. In times like that, fix up your pipes and make them stronger!

Don’t be intimidated by the transition over to technology. At first sight, it may seem like a whole new world, but once you get into it, you’ll realize that you’re right on the nose with everything the internet has to offer. So the next time your mailman is delivering you mail, tell him or her all about this new thing you learned today called “e-mail,” and how using that can avoid being barked at by the dogs.

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    Henry Cheung

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