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     When someone becomes friends with someone else, they have developed something really special. They can share their thoughts and emotions without being embarrassed. Friendship is probably God’s greatest gift. It is a shame how many Friendships do not last. There was a friend who I have known for seven years, but our friendship is tetering on the brink of extinction due to his eighteenth birthday present: the computer.
 
    Ever since computers became popular, it has become a favorite machine for many people. Young teens like to look up their favorite interests and hobbies. On the internet and talk to their friends on America Online, while adults like to use the computer for their work. It has become a pastime for many. It seems like people do not even go out and party anymore, it seems like all they want to do is go and play on their computer.
 
    When my friend  got his computer, I did not think it would have an effect on our friendship. He would play with his new computer, but we would still hang out. Then he became hooked on his new present and I would not see him for days at a time when I usually see him everyday. Every time I would call him,  I would get a busy signal because he was on the internet. I would go to his house and he would say he was busy on America Online. I became angry every time he said that and all he said was that it was his life and that I should mind my own business. I would ask myself why he couldn’t  just for once go out, have a good time, and then come home and play with his computer. It is not like it is going anywhere.
 
    My friend’s point of view is correct in many ways. Everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion and nobody has a right to take that privelage away from that person. Another thing is that it is his life and if he wants to dwell into computers then I should leave him alone, anyway aren’t computers the wave of the future? Let us think about this, am I not entitled to have a friend? Actually he was a very good friend. My privelage was taken away by something that cannot talk and does not have any emotions. Sure, it is mostly my friend’s fault for breaking our friendship, but it was actually the trend of the computer that took over his mind. It was a number of factors that accounted for our friendship almost breaking up. I am going to say almost because I am not going to give up just because some trend is becoming big.

     I personally do not like computers, so I really resent the fact that I lost a close friend to something I despise. I know many people are reading this and are not to happy, but I have to say what I have to say. Even something so “great” as computers should not break up a very close and personal friendship. Even if computers are the wave of the future, a friendship is a personal emotion, is it not strange or weird that a machine could dwell into a person’s thoughts and tell him what he can and cannot do? People may think I am crazy, but that is how it is with my friend. I was even pulling for Y2K. I wanted Y2K to destroy every computer known to man. I did not care, I just wanted my friend back, is that too much to ask?
 
    What could I do to get him back? At first I thought I should try to get into computers just like he is. I dabbled a little and I found that it was all right. There were some interesting stuff on the internet and chatting on America Online was interesting because you can talk to people from around the world. One thing about me is that I cannot sit still for more than 30 minutes at the most, so I can automatically tell that computers were not suited for me. I did not see how my friend, or anyone for that matter can sit there and talk to people for twelve hours straight and not get tired of it. Even when people look up stuff on the internet, why spend hours on something that you can look up any time you want to? Why do you have to look it up right then and there? What happened to the good old days when people used to go out and party on Saturday nights? Why is it that the typical Saturday night nowadays is checking email or looking up stuff on the internet. That is what boring Tuesday afternoons are for, not party nights. I have all theses questions and yet no answers. I hope my friend and everyone else reads this and before they judge it, analyze it, and realize it where I am coming from.
 
    In conclusion, I would like to point out that I may have angered many readers if not all of them. I do not see what the big deal is about computers is. Many would say that it is because they are fun. Really? Sitting on your behind behind for hours on end, looking up probably nothing, and risk getting carpal syndrome. What is worse is you have to pay money for that stuff. Have I at least put some sense into you? You do not think that AOL is bad, just look at the kids who go into AOL, meet somebody, and run away from home just to see these people, these people are probably serial killers. If you do not believe me, just check out the movie Strange Land and tell me that that cannot happen in real life; it already has, just watch the news. Enough whining, I just want to point out a few questions and facts. The bottom line is that I want my friend back.