In my opinion cyberspace and the internet aren't as different as they are complementary. After all, it was said in class that, "the internet is a computer net work and cyberspace is that network visualized as a virtual space." Using these definitions it would seem that they work together to create a whole, a system, we use to create an "interface" to information. So, taking this into consideration I will discuss the parallels between both the internet and cyberspace and I will discuss what they lack when separated from one another. "The problem of reality is always; social reality The problem is always the difficulty or impossibility of coping with or recognizing social reality, that is, human reality, the reality of other humans." (Robins pg.77) One of the main differences between the internet and cyberspace is the fact that cyberspace allows you to visualize and personally experience your own perception of reality whereas the internet simply as a narrative or interactive space is used for the purpose of allowing you to see other peoples interpretations of the world around them. At the same time there is something that cyberspace loses in creating this personal narcissism. Further into the article, Robins emphasizes the significance of reality in the lives of society. Politics, responsibility, self-identity, and meaning are all explained as things that preserve our humanity, things that cyberspace cannot intrinsically supply but that the internet still has. Because cyberspace is less concrete and more an idea, somewhere out of nowhere, I cannot supply an example in that respect. However, to illustrate the want and/or need that people have to instantiate their own reality in an interactive space, one need only look to message boards on the internet. It is here where people discuss and most often argue about everything from instant oatmeal to intelligent design. Every person forcing their opinion, their perception of reality on the other, trying to present their opinions in such a way that any who oppose would have to eventually surrender and see it the other way.
As capitalism runs its course and develops new technologies, society is left to pick up the pieces and figure out where these new technologies will lead them. Ever since I learned to use the Internet as a child, I have become accustomed to seeing more and more fascinating technology developments that have changed the way I communicated as the years went by. Now that the Internet has infiltrated more aspects of human life, it has become necessary to reflect on how this critical juncture will continue to affect our society. In Digital Disconnect, Robert McChesney provides an analysis of the arguments that the celebrants and skeptics used to express their views of the Internet. McChesney then moves past these arguments to explain how the PEC plays a key role in determining the direction that the Internet is heading towards. By assessing McChesney’s views, I hope to develop my own interpretation of the Internet’s impact on society.
In conclusion, Carr and Gladwell’s essays have proven that the internet positive effects are outweighed by its negative effects. Carr has found he is unable to finish a full text anymore or concentrate. He thinks that the internet has taken our natural intelligence and turned it into artificial intelligence. Gladwell discusses how nowadays, social activism doesn’t have the same risk or impact as former revolutions such as the Civil Rights Movement. The internet is mostly based on weak ties based among people who do not truly know each other and would not risk their lives for their
Nicholas Carr says, as our work and social lives come to center on the use of electronic media, the faster we’re able to navigate those media and more adroitly we’re able to shift our attention among online task, the more valuable we’re likely to become a employees, and even friends and colleagues. When using the Net most seem to lose focus on others and can seem disrespectful. The Internet has so much on it besides information that can be very distractful. The practical benefits of the web uses are many, which is one of the main reasons we spend so much time online, and why so many have trouble paying attention and not being social. “The internet has changed the way we communicate with each other, the way we learn about the world and the way we conduct business.” -Ron
Branley, Dawn. "The Cyber Psyche." The Cyber Psyche. N.p., 18 Aug. 2013. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
As a result, she turns to the internet for a “community” where she is able to confess and socialize. While it may seem natural to use community when referring to an “online community”, Turkle disagrees and criticizes Molly for her use of the “community” when referring to online confession sites. Turkle defines community as a place where “one feels safe enough to take the good (opinions) and the bad” and where “others come through for us in hard times, so we are willing to hear what they have to say, even if we don’t like it” (Turkle “Seeking Communities” 2012). Although online “communities” may seem to some to fit Turkle’s definition, to Turkle, online “communities” fails to meet Turkle’s criteria/definition; it fails because people are not “willing to hear what [others] have to say”. When interacting online, it is easy to ignore opposing opinions. In addition, Turkle further expand on her definition, stating that “communities are constituted by physical proximity, shared concerns, real consequences, and common responsibilities” – that its members “help each other in the most practical ways” (Turkle “Seeking Communities” 2012). By evaluating Molly’s use of community to describe online confession sites, Turkle asserts that Molly’s use of community does not pertain to her definition of “community”. Online communities are not constituted by physical proximity; concerns, consequences and responsibilities are only experienced by one side of the screen and not by the other members of the
Howard Rheingold, who established the definition of the virtual community, touches on his personal experiences in being deeply involved on an emotional level with people he has never personally met before: “The idea of a community accessible only via my computer sounded cold to me at first, but I learned quickly that people can feel passionately about email and computer conferences. I’ve become one of them. I care about these people that I met through my computer, and I care deeply about the future of the medium that enables us to assemble” (273). He considers these people his “family of invisible friends” (Rheingold 273), a group of individuals that he goes out of his way to connect with on a daily basis. The computer is as advanced as it gets; the internet is still in its beginning stages at this point, and already the founding threads of make up the virtual community are being woven together. Aside from the advent of the home telephone, this is the first time that people don’t have to be face to face with each other in order to interact with purpose. What begins as only a small, tightly-knit community can progress into something exponential and all-encompassing as the age of technology thrives. It is the role of not just one community, but many, to develop their own customs and traditions and
. Cyberspace is a realm of communication. Cyberspace is like its own way of talking. People are part of this cyberspace as well. I say this because humans don’t really talk in person anymore. Do humans intentionally do this to the community or were it unintentional, and we were just consumed without knowing? Intentional is something done with a purpose or pertaining to it. Unintentional is something done by accident or no reason. A community is built by people with a purpose, or it can be built by accident because people decided it would be a good idea. The purpose of this essay is to explain the difference in an unintentional and intentional community and how the author feel about these two different types of communities.
In Michael Heim’s essay “The Cyber Space Dialectic”, he discusses how our culture is going through an ontological shift fashioned by the Internet. Heim articulates his theory of what dialectic is and how this ontological shift is creating a new dialectic. The Internet is the main place today where people from all over the world exchange and communicate their ideas and feelings. The Internet is a new community in itself. The ontological shift into the cyberspace times will change the way we think, and the way we act; it will change our overall sense of being. These change that Heim calls an “ontological shift” has brought on questions about changing society. These are similar to the questions that Peter Drucker and Benjamin Barber brought up when they discussed about creating a new society. Will society benefit from this new society in which its central being is cyberspace? This is a serious question since we are living in the phase that is changing into the cyber world now. How will this change affect this new technologically inclined society?
With a world sharing their experiences every second of the day as the earth rotates elliptically around the sun, while day turns into night; such posts can heavily affect us and possibly others around. Social Media has managed to evoke emotions such as happiness, sadness, and even jealousy amongst its users. Social media is a very large melting pot of emotions which can be a great thing but what about the negativity, online trollz, and hate? People generally feel the need to disconnect from social media and technology in order to prevent the repercussions that may occur. “The Internet is an incurable condition—but we can’t recognize that as good news until we find a way to treat the various aches and pains of life online” (Samuel e-page 32). Alexandra Samuel states that technology is beneficial to society, but people have not found a way to fix or to prevent the cruelness of the digital world. Technology has been implemented into society as a necessity in which people are not able to live without therefore causing people to become addicted to this digital drug that has created “aches and pains”. A notable problem that exists on social media websites is cyberbullying, the fact that people are not able to express themselves online and have to suffer harsh criticism or conflicting opinions
10. Suler, John. The Psychology of Cyberspace. Course Home Page. Department of Psychology, Rider University. (1996) Access: http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/psycyber.html Retrieved: November 18, 2004
"Finding One's Own in Cyberspace." Composing Cyberspace. Richard Holeton. United States: McGraw-Hill, 1998. 171-178. SafeSurf. Press Release.
...ent times, the television mediums has been slowly transitioning to digital format. Digital television has the advantages of high definition resolution and an electronic television guide. Despite these evolutions of the medium of television I don't consider it new, I see the television mediums as new features a result of inevitable technological advances. The evolution of the internet can similarly observed in this way. Packet-switching technology gave way to the ability to efficiently transfer files over the internet, this ability gave way to the dawn of the world wide web and faster internet transfer speeds lead to bigger and bigger files being transferred over the internet. From this it can be seen that the internet is not a new medium, it contains features which make it seem new. There are certain implications that are observed when the internet is seen as new.
Carter studied the social experience of the users of the Virtual communities”Cybertown” in his research. Based on the results, he argues that “ Online friendship can be evaluated in much the same way as offline friendly relations, thus illustrating the many similarities between them” (Carter, 2004). However, the virtual world provides a more fair environment with less bias towards people’s background. Furthermore, Socializing online is more secure for some people since they can avoid the disclosure of embarrassment when interacting with others online. In Sumner’s word “because I had nothing to lose, there was no real consequence.’’(Sumner, 2011). Carter also argues that some users find socializing online more comfortable than making friends in real
proponents of Carr’s are right to argue that “the modern mind is like a fictional computer”. But he exaggerates when he claims that the internet makes us unintellectual or “Shallow”
The internet has revolutionized all forms of communication since the beginning of its existence. The world has now become smaller' or more like a global village', so to speak. The internet was first used by the U.S military for communications purposes. The internet, from the communication point of view, has brought on new developments and techniques to keep in touch not only for individuals, but for businesses as well. An example of how the internet has impacted communication would be an example of doctors now communicating through live video feeds via the internet with patients or other doctors to diagnose patients or to even guide and advise surgeons through complicated procedures.