Garlic and piano trump Internet

Midway, actually maybe just a quarter of the way (or is it more like three-quarters?) of this Internet experiment we’re experiencing, I’m still not sure how I feel about the technology that has changed the world.

As the Federal Communications Commission decides how much of a role the federal government should have in regulating access to the Internet, I’m recalling three events in my life that immediately come to mind. They also happen to make me happy.

The first is a January afternoon spent with my brother and mom driving around her old neighborhood. The second was a family gathering in which one of the discussions revolved around whether or not babies should be allowed to purchase handguns (you had to be there, I suppose). The third smile-inducing memory is that of the sound of someone tinkering on a piano keyboard combined with the smell of garlic roasting in olive oil.

None of those events involved the use of a computer or Internet.

On the other hand, about 90 seconds before writing this sentence I checked the ‘net — Twitter specifically — to “see” what was going on in the neighborhood and the world. I saw that the FCC just voted to treat the Internet like a utility, allowing the government to regulate access and business practices.

From Twitter I followed a link to a story online and skimmed the brief news story. From the webpage I checked my email because it’s a habit I’ve developed over the years. A quick scroll revealed nothing of immediate interest and so here I am, poking away again at the keyboard.

None of what I just did with the Internet fills me with any particular emotion. The news is relevant and interesting but

I’d be surprised if even 48 hours from now I recall any of this. And if in the off chance I do I can almost guarantee the memory will not evoke a smile or even a glimmer of a warm glow.

Which brings me back to my original point.

Without a doubt the Internet is the tool I use most, probably six days of the week. From work-related searches and communications, to weekend games and score updates I’m plugged in virtually most of my waking hours.

However I don’t know that I dervive any great joy from its use (except for maybe the ability to watch Juventus on my laptop, Barcelona on television and Arsenal on a tablet all at the same time). But pressed to remember an Internet-moment that makes me feel good, I struggle. However I can think of general instances in which reading, hearing or watching something online prompted me to roll my eyes. Or sigh.

The Internet is a space thatmakes available a cacophony of voices, opinions and news; not all of it good, a lot of it bad. Make of it what you will. But forced to make a decisioon I’ll take the smell of garlic roasting accompanied by the sounds of a piano and the laughter of loved ones. Every time.