Anxiety in A New Year

It is 2008 finally. In the coming new year, the fear of the growing age is natually justified. But in the internet era, age is just a relative concept. I am undergoing a different kind of anxiety: the concern that you will one day get lost in the cyberspace or be left behind by the even younger internet users.

I am faced with a surplus of choices between Msn, OICQ, skype and Google Talk; between Facebook, Msn space and blogcn (a huge blog website in China). I try hard not to be old-fashioned and to keep abreast of the times, but as I mentioned before, I become a bit technicophonic. And I find myself at a loss when hear some younger generation talking about their favorite gadgets online. Webpages and software are ever-updating and ever-refreshing, keeping you always in the state of anxiety.

I guess this new kind of anxiety comes from the feeling of getting "old" in the ever-young internet. Internet is young and continues to be young. What about these internet users? For example, in China, the first internet generation may start using internet in their teens, and now most of them are over 20 and may reach 30, which means they may have work and family and enter a new stage of life. Will they stay young like the internet itself? If not, will internet become a less charming place for them? Will they turn to some more mature venues? I still don't know the answer.