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19. I Have A Theory

© Judi S. Kaminishi

Several months ago, when I began to write for "Suite101," a friend asked me who I was targeting as my main audience. I responded that I was writing for my own kind, older women, simply because it is a subject with which I am intimately acquainted. He is a computer information consultant, so of course he was quick to point out that older women made up the least percentage of Internet users.

I rationalized my motivation by quoting from a movie, as I so often do... "Build it and they will come," a sentiment expressed by Kevin Costner in Field Of Dreams. Also, I offered the trite argument that, if only one person reads the article, one’s mission is accomplished. My first article was posted in October, 1999. I felt, then, that only friends and relatives would ever read me because I told them about it.

Fast forward to April 2000 and the results of a study by Media Metrix on who is using the Web. Doug McFarland, senior vice president and general manager of Media Metrix, informs us that "the Web is now, in fact, very middle-aged. It tends to be used by people in their mid-40’s on average, not young people who are popping pizza all day."

Now for the good part! "The fastest growing group among Web users in the last year, in fact, was about as far from the young male stereotype as one can get: women over 55. Their numbers increased by 98.1 percent over 1999, hitting 3.19 million in April." Mr. McFarland goes on to say that "Web use became balanced between sexes for the first time this year with 31.1 million men and 30.2 million women online in April. In some months this year, female users have significantly outnumbered their male counterparts." Wow! I don’t know about you but this latest statistic gives me goose bumps.

I knew something was going on but I couldn’t account for it. In past months, my readership was a daily average of about thirty or so. Lately, my daily average has doubled with a record high of 216 in one day, I don’t have that many relatives.

Okay, so here’s my theory. Bear with me because it’s a little convoluted. Basically, it has to do with positive energy. You know how our brain impulses can be measured electronically? Along this same line is the Chinese practice of acupuncture, based upon using electrical impulse meridians throughout our entire body. Needles are used to stimulate certain meridians in order to heal various maladies. Next, we have Kirlian photography, which shows a picture of energy waves emanating from one’s body in color. These are just a few examples which show, or prove, how our physical bodies register energy.

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