People around the world use their computers to buy goods, communicate with others, listen to music, see pictures and learn about different places and ideas. Now more and more people are using new ways to communicate and contact with each other through the Internet. We take a look at some kinds of technology that become more popular nowadays.

The blog is one form of communication that increases in popularity. Blog is a short way of saying Web log. Through these personal Web sites, people can share their lives, ideas and opinions with anyone on the internet. Millions of people throughout the world are creating and reading blogs. There are reportedly 13,000,000 blogs in the United States alone.

People of all ages have their own blogs. For young people, they are a way to show their writings and other forms of self-expression. Blogs also connect people with other people who have the same interests. For example, teachers use blogs to share ideas, experiences and concerns about their work with other teachers.

Many Web sites offer free services to create personal Web pages and fill them with writings and pictures. These sites include “MySpace”, used mainly by teenagers and young adults. MySpace is an online community that lets people share messages and pictures with an increasing number of friends. About 120,000,000 people use MySpace. It is the most popular social networking site on the Web.

YouTube is another Internet site that becomes more popular. This Web site lets anyone create, share and watch short videos. People can watch almost anything on YouTube: news, sports, entertainment events and videos made by people in their own homes. These include videos of people singing or dancing, or animals doing funny things. YouTube says that people watch at least 100,000,000 videos on the site every day.

High above Earth, a multi-billion- dollar formation of communications satellites stands ready to instantly connect people like pilots and seamen to every available aid when they find themselves in emergency. But what if the communication computers on board these ships and aircrafts broke down? The world could go silent, and leave travelers looking for directions. Not worry. There is a backup plan, in part using technology that was invented in 1835, the year Mark Twain was born. It’s the Morse code, the language of dots and dashes that has survived the “ attack” of higher techonology for a century and half.

Named after its inventor, Samuel F B Morse, the code is a series of combinations of short and long tones(dots and dashes) representing letters of the alphabet that can be transmitted(方法送) manually by a key operator. A telegrapher combines the dots and dashes to form letters and words. It is a seemingly tiring procedure, but skilled operators can transmit and receive faster than most secretaries can type.

Morse telegraphy may seem weird and out of fashion, with its brass sounder and key operated by the world’s most basic tool, the human finger. However, it is sometimes vital to worldwide communications. When the Mexico City earthquake occurred in 1985 and all the power went off, calls for help were transmitted in Morse by an amateur radio operator. “We see the Morse code as a dying art, but we refuse to let it die completely,” says Major General Leo M Childs, the US Army’s Chiefs Signal Officer. “ Newer isn’t always better. Even though it is old and slow, Morse is still the most reliable in difficult conditions.”

Ever since Morse started the telegraph service in 1844, the death of Morse code has been predicted regularly. However, although the telegraph has receded from public view, experts say that they cannot envision an end to its use any time soon. “ I can carry a very small Morse key in my pocket and transmit around the world,” says Burke Stinson, a public relations man for American Telephone & Telegraph Co. “ I don’t think you will ever see the Morse code die. It is going to be difficult to find another method that is as flexible and reliable.”

There is plenty of complaints about how social media-texting in particular—may be harming children’s social development. But a new study suggests that constant instant messaging(IM’ing) and texting among teens may also provide benefits, particularly for those who are introverted(内向的).

British researchers studied instant messages exchanged by 231 teens. The researchers analyzed 150 conversations in the study. In 100 of these chats, the study participant began IM’ing while in a negative emotional state such as sadness or anger. The rest were conversations begun when the participant was feeling good or neutral(中立的). After the chat, participants reported about a 20% reduction in their distress—not enough to completely eliminate it, but enough to leave them feeling better than they had before reaching out.

"Our findings suggest that IM’ing between distressed adolescents and their peers may provide emotional relief and consequently contribute to their well-being," the authors write, noting that previous research has shown that people assigned to talk to a stranger either in real life or online improved their mood in both settings, but even more with IM. And people who talk with their real-life friends online also report feeling closer to them than those who just communicate face-to-face, implying a strengthening of their bond.

Why would digital communication trump human contact? The reasons may have something to do with the fact that users can control expression of sadness and other emotions via IM without revealing emotional elements like tears that some may consider as embarrassing. Studies also show that the anonymity(匿名) of writing on a device blankets the users in a sense of safety. Previous research has shown that expressive writing itself can "vent" emotions and provide a sense of relief—and doing so, knowing that your words are reaching a sympathetic friend, may provide even more comfort and potentially be helpful. This is what the Internet offers: the change to connect—but in measured doses(剂量) and from behind a screen.