Kitchen table activism

I love the internet, and I spend a lot of time on it and I have no problem with that at all. It will never replace human communication, or books, it's juat another tool. There are some folk who spout off about the evils of it all, we should all be up and doing it instead of sitting reading/typing about it, Facebook is the work of the devil - all that sort of nonsense. Well, some of us are capable of  integrating the internet into our daily lives and keeping it in its place whilst still upping and doing and all that jazz.
It had enabled me to keep up with what's going on in the country, and the wider world,  in a far less intrusive way than television, and newspapers to a lesser extent, and it suits me. It allows for participation - one of the greatest tools for getting things done and inspiring others that I can think of.
Just this week there's been a huge amount of activity on Facebook and elsewhere about the Tesco Workshare debacle, and the government cuts to benefits and DLA etc. Now, I would have heard about them, yes, but having access to the internet has allowed me to read so many others'  viewpoints and opinions and has let me take part in discussions and debates all over the net on all sorts of sites. The information I need to make an informed opinion is right there at my fingertips, so off I go. I love it - I can sign e-petitions, debate strong views, have contact with like minded and not like minded folk, share information and inspiration, taqke part in forums for more specific interests; the information I gain can be used for letter writing, joining organisations, boycotting others, etc. I can feel as if I'm taking part and having a voice even if I'm not out there waving a placard and shouting at the government. It works for me.