Just what the heck is net neutrality? Up until last week, me – the emerging media student – was still pretty confused as to what this term truly meant. I had heard the term brought up in conversations, listened as politicians discussed it. But it seemed sort of distant. Like it was a surreal topic that wouldn’t actually effect me personally. Needless to say, I couldn’t have been further from the truth.
“The Principle of Net Neutrality states that if a given user pays for a certain level of internet access, and another user pays for a given level of access, that the two users should be able to connect to each other at that given rate”
Since it all began, internet users have been in control of what content they view and what content they produce on the web. Recent news stories and political campaigns have spread the word about certain broadband companies (such as AT&T and Comcast) trying to limit consumers choices online. In the companies’ opinion they laid the pipes and fiber optic cables so they should get to control what passes through them. But these companies did not “invent the internet.” I do believe they have the right to provide us with this connection and I do not disagree with paying for my internet connection. I do disagree with them only allowing us to connect to their approved websites or being constricted to a certain amount of bandwidth. I think the internet should remain open and free because after all, most of the content that is frequented is completely user generated. In a recent news story, AT&T called Google a hypocrite regarding the net neutrality issue. However in my opinion, this is just a first in a series of big companies trying to distract from their bigger plans.
My life sans an adequate internet connection is boring and SCARY. For about four months my boyfriend and I lived without cable or an internet connection. I know what you might be thinking. “Oh boo hoo, you poor thing. How did you ever survive?!” And my answer to any snide or sarcastic remarks such as that would simply be, “It was complete and utter torture!” The whole cable thing I could do without. Television isn’t really my thing, never has been. But from an early age the internet has been my refuge. I fondly remember sitting next to my sister in front of our old Compaq as AOL would not so quietly dial up to the internet. In an instant (okay, sometimes it took five minutes or so) we were connected to world! Fast forward to today. I am a young college student relying on the internet to provide me with music, videos, social networks, book, and last but not least my school library.
“To be without all of this made my life extremely disorganized and stressful.”
The key thing to note here is that I turned off my connection by choice. Had my personal/financial circumstances been different I could have easily signed up with a carrier and got an internet connection that met my needs. That is why I am an advocate for net neutrality. The only choice I should have to make as a consumer is whether or not I want that internet connection. I shouldn’t be forced to choose between
The two videos that sparked this blog post:
The Future of the Internet & How To Stop It – Johnathan Zittrain
