This past week, the Internet blew up with frustration over a picture of a dress. I’m sure you all know exactly which one I’m talking about. Was it white and gold? Blue and black? Apparently science has an explanation, but all I really care about is how the blowup showcased the potential of the online community.

The dress was posted on Tumblr by some debating friends and was instantaneously featured all over the Internet. It only took a few hours until the debate was feuded on every app, from Twitter to BuzzFeed, pointed out by celebrities, and even made its way onto national news stations. All of that just because one person posted a simple picture.

We live in a world so connected by technology we don’t even realize the instant gratification constantly surrounding us. It’s second nature to log onto a device and see what our friends are doing at that exact moment. It doesn’t even surprise us when a person, or in this case, an object, gains instant fame just because the right people hit “reblog” at the right time. This tells so much about our generation.

I’m sure a lot of you have heard your parents and teachers say, as young people, we rely too heavily on technology. They argue we have become overly obsessive and dependent on things other than our own minds. I have always been a bit turned off by the idea of technology due to the overload I am bombarded with every day, but recently I have come to realize this is what defines us. This is our generation.

Social media has generated such a bad reputation just because of the excessive use teenagers around the world have displayed. But what is so bad about that? We have the luxury of being constantly connected unlike past generations. We grew up in the trial era of modern technology, and it wasn’t considered damaging until we learned how to use it.

Sure there are downfalls and loopholes, and too much exposure may not be in our best interest. Constant typing will probably cast us into a worldwide diagnosis of carpal tunnel by the time we turn 50 years old. Even so, lack of understanding from those who criticize technological advancement shouldn’t stop us from enjoying the wave of the future we happen to be in prime time for.

I don’t think it’s right for anyone to become overly dependent on his or her devices, but what’s wrong with building our future businesses and connecting with others via digital social platforms? We have new ways of communicating, and we shouldn’t let anyone tell us not to overindulge in the defining advancements of our lifetime.

“The Dress” was just another Internet phenomena that should demonstrate how fortunate we are to have the resources we do.

We can be confident our friend, the basement-studio music producer, has a chance of being discovered overnight. That article you posted on your blog could receive thousands of hits just because the right person shares it. If that doesn’t scream endless opportunity, I don’t know what does.

We should be proud of the online community we have helped develop and continued to support. It has become a location where mainstream celebrities can communicate with undecided college majors, and people who have never met can exchange ideas and start companies. The unending network of connected people should be an inspiration to all of us, and we can rest easy that success might be a little bit closer due to the constant waves of trending information.