Trying to survive without your AIM

A few weeks ago the Bradford lost its Internet access due to a storm. This was readily apparent when I looked at my computer screen and there was no Instant Messenger screen to greet me. Since a few other buildings had also lost power or Internet, I didn't fret, for it has happened in the past. This time, however, it didn't come back after just a few hours as it had in the past. While everyone else on campus was happily online after a few hours, the 4th floor of Bradford was without Internet access. After the first 12 hours, my roommates and I had become quite disgruntled, and started calling the help desk to ask them to fix it as quickly as possible. It would have been a different matter if no one had Internet, but we were the only floor that didn't have it. This just was not acceptable.

I needed my Internet. It's not that I'm a computer nerd, as some will argue, but it's almost become a necessity in everyone's life. While checking e-mail and news were pretty important to me, they did not even compare to the need to sign on Instant Messenger and talk to my friends. I felt completely disconnected from the rest of the world, and the Internet stayed down for five days.

You don't realize how much you miss something until it is gone. Sure, that may be one of the biggest clich?s known to man, but it's absolutely true. Ever since some time around freshman year of high school, I have used Instant Messenger to talk to my friends online. Back then, only some of my friends used it, so it wasn't such an important part of my means of communication. Here at Hopkins, however, I only know a handful of people who don't have a screen name, so it becomes a very widespread method of communicating with others.

What was I supposed to do? Actually talk to people face to face? Actually leave my building and go outside? The options seemed quite unspectacular when compared with the joys of AIM.

Losing AIM probably doesn't seem like a huge deal to you. To me, however, it was a catastrophe. I was no longer able to just sign on and randomly talk to my friends about anything, with a lack of formality that really makes it vital. Instead, I had to use my phone and call them if I felt like talking to someone, and I would imagine the person on the other end would find it quite odd if I called for no reason other than to say hi and to talk about sports. Thus, I was no longer able to just chat with many friends at the same time about whatever came to mind. There are also people to whom I am just an acquaintance; I don't feel comfortable enough to just call these people, so I just talk to them online.

Instant Messenger has also made organizing a large group of people much easier, for I am able to just tell everyone something at the same time, as opposed to calling each and every person, and then having to call them all again if there was going to be a change of plans. No one really gets annoyed when they get two IMs from a person in a row, but two calls one right after the other can get bothersome.

Being able to share files and random jokes is also a great way to pass the time. I enjoy waking up to a few messages from my friends with random links to funny pictures or videos. Another huge loss was the ability to put up and read away messages. While many find them annoying, I thought that it allowed me to know, or at least think I know, where my friends were. It also let me know if it was a bad time to call them, in the event that I really needed to reach them.

The next time someone complains about losing Internet or Instant Messenger for a few days, don't just assume that they're addicted to it. You have to realize how important it is to many people for communication. Instant Messenger is past the level of addiction, because the entire world seems to be dependant upon it.