The Hidden Dimensions of ‘Cyber’ Culture

The Hidden Dimensions of ‘Cyber’ Culture

It’s 10:30 pm. Everyone seems to be asleep, but not quite. Something

waits for me beyond the walls of my room. I sit on my swiveling chair,

and let the computer screen glow against my face. I launch the

internet browser and with just one click on My Favorites folder

(contains important saved links of sites), I have the home page of “JoliesNipple”

Forum in front of my eyes in no time. Meanwhile, MSN (instant

messenger) automatically logs me in obediently, letting know my

ingroup that I’m online and available for active interaction. I browse

through dozens of topics and responses of members that the forum

gained for the day. As a two-year old member, eventually, I’ll have to

figure out my contribution to most of these topics, something

necessary in order to maintain my rising status of popularity in the

group.

A forum is an online discussion group where members (fans) with common

interests exchange open messages and discussions. “JoliesNipple” Forum

consists of approximately 165 registered users, who are Angelina Jolie

dedicated fans. The ages of regular members mostly range from 14 to 27

years old. I myself have been a part of this troop for two years now.

From all over the world, we are all brought together with one reason -

our admiration for one actress. During the period of the group’s

existence, I have witnessed how it has evolved from specialized member

relationships and formal discussions about Ms. Jolie, to multi-colored

random conversations and warm concerns about each other. Forum

sections, where users can talk about anything besides the actress,

were created such as “General Dis...

... middle of paper ...

...t as previously discussed, still, the community is

more likely be weak that will not last long as opposed to face-to-face

affairs. If it does persist that long, then this group is very rare.

By evaluating the chances we catch and talk to each other online these

days, I have noticed how the group is currently in the phase of “avoidance”

and “deterioration”, as we keep in touch less now. Everyone seems to

be doing their own thing at the moment. It seems as if the rapid

communication link that the internet provides makes forum members get

so easily tired of each other. However, when you think about it, two

years is an extended time for cyberspace and we, the members, didn’t

expect that the group would even be this intimately close to one

another, or even last this long at all. This makes “JoliesNippleForum”

a one of a kind.