And What Did You Do With the Internet?

I'm reading Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island. It's about his travels through England and is packed with his inimitably sweet yet silly prose. Bryson with his unusually keen eye chances upon the Ashington Group in the book. It was a painting club started by a bunch of impoverished miners. They didn't have any formal training in painting yet they made a name for themselves in the 40s British art scene. What's remarkable about these men is not the fact that they had humble beginnings but what overcame to learn to paint.

This isn't just a painting. This is the painter showing you what his day job is like.

These miners put in what 16 hours every day under subhuman conditions. Still gonna complaint about that all-nighter you pulled in your AC office? Not to mention the fact that the work environment wasn't exactly safe. Profits took precedence over safety. Accidents were a normal occurence. Yet despite going through this 'average' workday, these miners put on hats and suits (for some reason it's necessary to be formally dressed to learn how to paint) and then found enough energy to paint. They were happy to find an outlet that let them learn something new and get a chance to build a skill.

Now, fast forward to 70 odd years. In comes internet. You have the world at your fingertips. That line is so true  that it's become trite with overuse. But what did you do with the internet? Watched cat videos? Went through Buzzfeed? Mashable, I can respect but Buzzfeed, bro?

Internet's pure potential goes to waste till you put it to use. And with that, I hope, I learn to stop killing time on the internet. Instead of going through IMDB's quotes section, I hope I finally find the drive and the time to learn something new online.