The Internet has changed our lives.  Well, not the Internet, but unfettered access to the Internet has changed our lives.  Think about it; when’s the last time you saw someone using a dictionary or encyclopedia?  When’s the last time you saw someone crack open a reference book of any sort?  It’s been awhile, right?  The Internet might have killed them.  The Internet has also apparently killed albums, politeness, the wristwatch, phonebooks, writing letters, and privacy.

Some of these are stretches.  After all, the wristwatch was probably killed by the phone (as was the address book), not the Internet.  And some of these things (like reference manuals) were already on the way out before the Internet went everywhere.

However, there’s no doubt that the Internet has completely ruined  letter writing, reading, and even calling people on the phone for me.  I read books occasionally, but now it seems a special effort.  As for writing letters, I’ve written one in the past, oh, year or so.  I call folks, usually once or twice a week, but it’s always for some specific reason and rarely just to catch up.  That’s what emails and instant messages are for.

How has the Internet changed the way you live?