Is reliance on the internet turning us into zombies?

The popularity of internet use has grown to the point where it is almost considered a household utility. It is even to the point for many where paying the internet bill supersedes the cable/satellite bill. There are many people now who forgo the television and use their computer and internet connection for all their entertainment purposes.

When the internet was first coming to widespread use in the mid 1990s, some thought it was a fad, others a waste of time and money. Few people believed that it would grow to the point where the average household today has more than one internet-connected computer.

What does that mean for the average college student? Is a home internet connection a requirement now to function as a student? Are there downsides to the rise of internet use?
If you are currently a student without a home internet connection there are plenty of places it is offered. From college libraries and computer labs to local coffee shops and restaurants, access to the web is easy to find if one looks hard enough.
In many cases however, you need your own computer to access it.

Even with all of these available places, convenience still plays a large role into the benefits of having the web at home. Doing research at home without the interruptions of a public place is definitely worth the price for some.

The great thing about the advancement of technology is that it gets cheaper every year. There is also competition among internet service providers that drives prices down.
It is becoming more true that the   internet is the cheapest service you can pay for in your home.

Are there negative effects to the internet's popularity rise in the home?
Some say it will be just like the rise of television.
People will become less and less active when all they need to keep themselves occupied for the day is an internet connection.

With social networking, massive multi-player online games, and many other forms of entertainment, internet users have plenty of things to do to burn  daylight. This can lead to people not going outside to enjoy nature, or not even going out to meet people, thus having no social interaction beyond their online persona.
Students who do their research entirely online may never step into a library for their entire college term.

Whereas years ago students relied on public and school libraries to help them, it seems that libraries are becoming less and less appreciated by people of this technological age.
Communication has also changed drastically in the past 15 years.

With the convenience of email taking over, people are less likely to make a phone call or personal visit to those they want to get in touch with.
The downside of email based communication is that there is no way of knowing the tone of the conversation. It is very difficult to communicate varying degrees of disappointment, anger or humor by simply typing text.This may lead to more people not being able to socially handle themselves in a professional setting.
Is the internet turning our brains to mush? It's becoming a home utility and now is accessed by most people with a mobile phone.

If the internet was shut down today would it be the collapse of our country or just a loss of convenience? Is your reliability on the internet to the point where you cannot live without it, or does it simply assist you in your day to day life?

These questions are important because we do not know what the future holds. There is always the possibility of things happening that could dismantle the current technological infrastructure of our country.

Maybe we should be wary of how much we rely on technology to help us live our lives, and think about how to cope with a world without having tons of information at our fingertips.