WiFi as Culture: Response to Rant!

 Since I wrote my Rant!, I have spent some time thinking about what WiFi means to our culture and why it is so important to be constantly plugged in.

In my rant I wrote about spending so much time just to discover that my problem with my iconic symbol of technology, the Kindle, required a simple fix, get connected to the WiFi.  I then asked why everything has to be connected to the WiFi.  The internet is a major artifact of our current culture.  It is to the point that if you don't not know how to navigate the internet or find information on the internet, you are limited on what information is available to you, the things you know and even the strength of your relationships of other people.  However, the internet is a culture of its own requiring members of that culture to be constantly plugged into it. 

This brings us to WiFi.  We have all seen the iconic sign of the upside-down cone shaped triangle of curved stripes that represents wireless internet shown on our computers and devices and on the doors of establishments providing wireless internet.   This sign and the term WiFi (also a sign) are each artifacts of the internet culture.  Put the two together and you get an even more pronounced artifact that becomes a text of the internet culture.

So, why is it so important to be constantly plugged in through WiFi?  Well, the whole world is at my fingertips.  I can work, do homework, even go to school from anywhere.  I can also shop, do research, read books from a library and watch movies from any where.  The possibilities really are endless.

Yet, we have this question of privacy.  Many of our private friendships are maintained on a public forum like Facebook.  Besides maintaining friendships, what pictures and videos are added to Facebook by ourselves and others?  Isn't that living our lives out-loud?  What about letters?  Most of us use email for that.  Many more people have access to our inboxes than we realize.  Email administrations have access as do network administrators. 

This leads to the way we pass around personal and private information on the internet.  How many times have each of us applied for school and jobs or even done taxes online requiring a social security number, a credit card number, and address, or other personal information?  Personal information gets passed around the internet on a regular basis.  Is it really private?  Lets not forget location tracking through our devices and WiFi.

So, why is it so important to be constantly plugged in through WiFi?