The Spiders Web

The Spider’s Web
By Paul Donnelly

A fly must have a boring life, you would imagine. It flies around, as flies are wont to do, landing occasionally, before flying around some more.
Simple pleasures for our little fly.
However, not all is blissful for the simple fly. Tragedy can strike in the form of a spider’s web. Sitting at a computer in Callan Science Building, one such tragedy unfolds before me. I watch as the fly struggles to escape from its imminent doom, which only results in the fly becoming further entangled in the web. Weakened from its exertions, the fly gives up the struggle and the spider finally strikes its prey.
Strangely enough, this whole episode takes on another meaning for me. It raises the question: is the internet being also known as the World Wide Web more accurate than we think?
Given thought, the similarities of the internet with a web are striking. Like a fly, one becomes trapped in the World Wide Web by their own direction. And, in the majority of cases, any attempts to escape its clutches result in becoming entrapped further.
So, are we the flies doomed to be trapped by the virtual web?
Far from looking for surveys and statistics, I simply look to either side of myself. To the left, a girl, who most likely swore to her friends that she was never going on “Bebo” when it first became a craze; is checking her page for new comments. To the right, a guy with headphones and an hour to kill is searching “You Tube” for some light entertainment. In fact, all along the open space, students can be seen in “time-passing” endeavours. Far be it from me to preach, though, as I sit among them, presently logged in to My Space.
Can this really be? Are we all caught in the web?
Such habitual use of the internet may not be an absolutely terrible thing, as students can also avail of resources like Moodle on the internet. However, a quick search of the number of participants in one of my own subject modules returned five pages of names, equaling 100 people, who have never used the resource. Even though a large amount of time is spent on the internet by students, there seems to be an air of apathy with regards to Moodle, as well as other academic resources.
Open access to such a large amount of computers for students within colleges is bound to lead to misuse in some respect. With this in mind, colleges have moved to block the use of sites like Bebo, among others, in particular areas. Unfortunately, when it comes to stopping students in this way, it is akin to swatting flies with a newspaper. Simply put, more often than not, a fly will escape. The way students escape is by using proxy sites. These act as external links to websites, completely bypassing any barriers or blocks. In a time of frequent technological advancement, it is no surprise that progress in security is often equally matched or out-passed by those who would manipulate such advancements for the worst.
For its purest intentions, the internet is a wonderful service to all. However, since its inception, the World Wide Web has been a breeding ground for as much of the base and depraved nature of the human condition as it has been for the good and wholesome. For example, a child could easily access pornography, while copyrighted material, such as music or video, is illegally available for download to anyone.
This is internet misuse with broader implications, however. Even though misuse among students is relatively more innocent, solutions are few and far between. After all, it goes without saying that students are fully entitled to spend their time as they wish. But when searches of the internet can return material like “The Complete Lyrics to 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” or “The Official Rock Paper Scissors Strategy Guide”, it is clear that a solution is not only necessary, but urgent.
In all truth, the metaphors that refer to the internet all imply risk and danger. “Surfing the web” surely implies the risk that one may fall and become immersed beneath crashing waves. We should realise the truth behind the metaphor of the internet also being “the web”. Though it is a weakening struggle to escape the web, a persistent struggle will pay off. However, those of weaker will who simply give in should be prepared for a spider to pounce, first tearing off the head and then feeding upon the internal juices…so to speak.
My point is; would you prefer to fly, or be left dangling from the ceiling?
And remember, even though it is a struggle, it’s worth it in the end.