by Alexandra Samuel
IRL: In Real Life. It’s used as shorthand all over the Internet, to distinguish what happens online from what happens offline.
And it’s a lie.
If we still refer to the offline world as «real life,» it’s only a sign of deep denial — or unwarranted shame — about what reality looks like in the 21st century.
The Internet’s impact on our daily lives, experiences and relationships is real. Our world is deeply affected by networks. From the moment you wake up to news that was gathered online to the minute you fall asleep listening to a podcast, the Internet shapes how you experience the world around you. From the lunch date you make with your BFF («r u free 4 lunch 2day?») to the colleagues your company recruited online, the Internet shapes who you interact with. And from the boss who fills you in on a Twitter rumor to the kid who fills you in on her Facebook activities, the Internet shapes how you interact with them.
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