(June 25, 2011) Over a decade has passed since I arrived in Ecotopia. Unfortunately, progress has been stagnant over the past 12 years. Ecotopia’s relations to the United States are still nonexistent, which is backed up by the fact that I haven’t heard from anyone in the U.S. Maybe they think I have been sentenced to jail, or even executed?
However, there is one new aspect of life in Ecotopia: The Internet. It all started when Ecotopia decided to conduct an undercover operation in the U.S. to determine if the U.S. is considering a second war. Instead, the Ecotopian agents were amazed by the invention known as the Internet. Top scientists and researchers in Ecotopia have been able to create a copy of the U.S. Internet, and consequently have been able to monitor U.S. policies.
The Internet has also become a part of daily life in Ecotopia. TVs have been swapped out exclusively for smaller devices called computers. There are rumors of even smaller, lighter, pocket-versions of the computers in the U.S., but these are yet to be confirmed.
The Internet has several perks. We receive Ecotopian news and can talk to people through chat rooms or even videocalls. We have even been able to access some of America’s most popular websites, such as Google, YouTube, and major online newspapers. In fact, today was a breakthrough in this respect. The Ecotopians have gained access to Facebook, a popular site where people can connect and keep in touch. However, it has been received with immediate criticism. Citizens of Ecotopia are skeptical to the website’s capitalistic traits; people essentially compete socially by rating each other, creating a quantitative social hierarchy. In addition, there is an online susceptibility associated with Ecotopians creating Facebook accounts, as the U.S. might find a way to access Ecotopian information through these accounts.
Time will only tell if this website is a vice or virtue.
