iWrite: Will Atkins

What does one think of when pondering the benefits of technology? Is it the convenience of talking to your friends through social networking? Is it saving yourself the hassle of paying for a newspaper to catch up on current events? Or is it easy access to other things like TV shows and funny internet videos? While most would say that all of the things I listed are benefits I'm going to say that being able to read up on current events is the only important benefit of the internet. This is due to one reason: Newspapers are often bias and only give you one perspective.

To share you a story: When I was six or seven years-old I started to read the paper. I read the Lexington Herald Leader (often to hear about the UK football team's latest defeat) and the easier parts of The New York Times (give me a break, I wasn't the best reader at six or seven). By the time I was about ten I realized that many of my viewpoints had become extremely conservative as I expanded my horizon and read other newspapers. This is when I found the internet and the internet found me. It was no more of writers putting out stories just to get people to buy the paper, but people just writing what they actually thought. It was no more of newspaper companies twisting the President's words to fit their state's political affiliation. I mean don't get me wrong, online papers and news websites still do that, but the best thing about the internet is ability to flip from one source to another. When you do this you have the ability to read the words of conservatives and liberals and you have the ability to formulate your own opinions, not the papers'. So if you ever ask me in person: Hey Will, have you ever pondered the benefits of technology? Just be prepared to hear a rant about bias newspapers.