Why not try surfin' the web?

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One way I like to relax and relieve stress is when I'm on the internet, or as most people would call it . . . the worldwide web. The number of teenagers who surf the web on a daily basis is amazing. You could be on a 'Teen Chat' website and be talking to other teenagers from around the world. The internet also has its many surprises - you could be chattin' with another teen, who you think is 14 years old from New Mexico, when in fact he's an old man who's alone at 78 and living in a trailer park in Arizona. Trust me, you don't want to download his pictorials.

We all know that sex is the Number 1 thing that everyone downloads, so as teenagers who surf the web for the first time, we are what you would call, "Internet Virgins."

Our journey usually begins at www.Yahoo.com, the number 1 search guide for teenagers. Although it's not meant for teenagers in general, it's a search guide so easy that everyone can use it, even a six year old. When I first logged on, I admit I was no smarter than a six year old and, worse than that, I was computer illiterate.

I was like, "Teacher, how do you turn this thing on?" This was back in 1996. I remember accidentally downloading the entire website for the Sports Illustrated swim suit issue. So, instead of buying the magazine, I had it printed and stapled. As the days passed, I became more compatible with the only computer in the school library than I was with my girlfriend. I was no longer a computer illiterate internet dummy: I was a wizard, a web surfin' wizard.

As I have witnessed in the past, most teenagers like to check out sites that entertain them, rather than educate them.

The net can be both a positive and negative influence on teenagers. Take Littleton, Colorado, for example. The teens who were responsible for the deaths of 12 students and a teacher got information from the net on building explosive devices and shopping for the illegal weapons that were used in the shooting.

However, the positive influence that teens can gain from the internet are sites like: www.ammsa.com This is the official site of our very own Aboriginal Multi-Media Society, which includes Saskatchewan Sage and many Aboriginal youth links. You can find a number of scholarships that are available for youth, and find out how to apply. Check out www.ammsa.com If you're excited about other interesting things like the most anticipated movie of the century, The Phantom Menace, you can watch the trailer-preview at www.starwars.com.

The internet has become an entirely different world than the one we live in today. Soon internet technologies will replace old inventions like the telephone and the fax machine. The net has become a perfect way for people to communicate and find information, especially for businesses. In a world of businessmen and women in a huge market place, we all have become consumers who buy goods and services from big-time producers like Microsoft and Netscape.

The worldwide web is like visiting another planet of pretty aliens who disguise themselves as super models. After your visit, you'll never want to leave again. If you still know little about the internet and have never logged on before, I suggest you do . . . that's if you want to survive in the next millennium.

Well . . . don't you?