Assessment Item 3 - Long Essay

Question - The idea of the internet as cyberspace has been a part of our contemporary culture for some time, particularly in the popular medium of film. But is the concept of cyberspace still relevant to our contemporary society? Discuss with reference to your own experience of contemporary media.

In today’s day and age, the approaches to communication and person-to-person interaction have been transformed significantly. No longer must an individual remain restricted to a single form of technology that may limit their social and networking capabilities. What we are talking about is something that is famous, and notorious. Its concepts have sparked countless additions and ideas into popular culture. Films and movies have been manifested through its numerous persona's. People interact with it. People talk about it. People are addicted to it. It dominates over us like a God; feuds have been fought over it and its teachings have rallied mass supporters. Without it, some would question the point of ‘social existence’. The idea of internet cyberspace co-existing within contemporary culture is undoubtedly present and growing at a spiralling rate. With this analogy, internet cyberspace incorporates a plethora of creativity and freedom that ultimately governs our social existence. In this essay, I will draw comparisons to my personal experiences of dealing with internet cyberspace interspersed with academic opinions and knowledge. I will furthermore undertake the necessary investigations to unravel the mysteries and addictions from various aspects of contemporary media and analyse its outcomes; creators and consumers.

Before I detail my personal experiences, one must understand the definitions of cyberspace. The origins of the word cyberspace were developed by “cyberpunk writer William Gibson” (http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/cybspace.html). He literally introduced the numerous ideas that surrounded cyberspace and the emerging technologies that were soon to engulf contemporary culture. Cyberspace essentially incorporates “personal computers, the Internet, computer graphics and virtual reality” (Whittaker, 2004, p4). The internet “is a strategic research site in which to study fundamental social processes” (Smith, Kollock, 1999, p4). It is literally a ‘utopia’, “an imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal” (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=utopia) in the sense of the sheer possibilities it possesses. Internet cyberspace’s sole purpose it to connect it’s users by any means necessary. This could potentially be through text messages sent through e-mail or IM (instant messaging) programmes, a video game with “multiplayer” accessibility, or even establishing an online profile for other users to access and comment upon. Some forms of ‘personal media’ (iPhone’s, iPod’s) encourage its buyers to access the internet from these devices to purchase games, ring tones and updates, to “use media technologies to create and share personal expressions through digital networks” (http://nms.sagepub.com/cgi/content/short/10/5/683). Cyberspace exists in every possible medium. In contemporary culture it has become a necessity. As a famous quote by Nicholas Negroponte suggests, “This is just the beginning, the beginning of understanding that cyberspace has no limits, no boundaries.” (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/nicholasne381691.html)

My experiences with interacting through the worlds of internet cyberspace are a long and varied one. With the Internet essentially accessible to the vast public in 1993, “[users] would benefit from information, support, resources… and connection” (Castells, 2003, p154). With the primitive line of home computers available in the early 90’s, it incorporated a simple OS (operating system) parallel to a basic user interface and most actions performed through DOS (Disk Operating System). I didn’t fully appreciate the world of cyberspace until the late 90’s. This period of time saw the introduction of e-mail and a handful of online gaming to compliment the internet’s networking bliss. It allowed users to experience a sense of variety. This online gaming trend established cults worldwide and continued to grow; in both popularity and the amount of games available. Online Role Playing Games (RPG’s) allows the player to create and customize their own ‘avatar’ (character in-game) and interact in worlds, often fiction/fantasy, which can quickly become an addictive approach to the way users can communicate with other players. IM programmes took a drastic leap forward sometime after the year 2000 with the addition of MSN messenger – an in-built application to Microsoft’s OS that allows users to connect and talk to others. Still existing today, the programme itself is updatable and will frequently introduce new features such as ‘webcam’ support and streaming media to another user. During this time the internet was regarded as a top priority as a means of sourcing information and media content. With ‘Youtube’ available from early 2005, anyone could upload videos onto a web page for the world to view. Youtube’s content ranges from “funny clips from TV, homemade blooper reels, goofy short films, musical performances, bite-sized serial dramas” (Biersdorfer, J. D., Pogue D., 2007, p174) and many others amongst literally thousands of videos. With the emergence of the ‘online profile’ phenomenon such as ‘Myspace’ and ‘Facebook’, the aspects that surrounded cyberspace was slowing beginning to transform into a plethora of user profiles. It engulfed the world of cyberspace and created a trend that almost every person you were to meet had a profile of some kind. People familiar with the ongoing ‘Twitter’ movement consists of small updates detailing “social statements, inquiries and answers, massively shared experiences, device state updates, news broadcasts, and announcements” (Makice, K., 2009, p3). Contemporary cyberspace ultimately consists of miniscule and trivial updates created by its users in today’s day and age. With this said, my preferences lie within the alternatives, which include gaming and streaming media as both a source of entertainment and connecting with others.

Contemporary media and the content that surrounds internet cyberspace have created two distinct groups – creators and consumers. Look at it this way – think of contemporary media as an organism. With cyberspace analogising the role of a ‘God-like’ standing over the internet, the organism that is contemporary media ultimately feeds off consumers and grows by creators. In a nutshell, almost every user of internet cyberspace incorporates a bit of both of these factors. In relevance of this within our contemporary society, users are able to create their own profile; their own addition to the cyberspace. Targeting ‘Twitter’ as a prime example, people consume the techniques and approaches others have created in order to mimic their popularity. Users consume this content, whether it may be in the form of media, text or interaction, and are enticed create something of the same or better. People consume information for their own benefit; to further create and learn from what has been consumed. But what has been created can ultimately consume their lives - a result of online 'addiction'. And so the ‘life and death’ cycle that inhabits cyberspace continues through greater and more popular outlets of contemporary media, “Those who deserted MySpace… [for] Facebook” (http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=neo_cities) for instance, and will continue to grow and maintain itself as a vital aspect within contemporary culture.

A majority of people living around some aspect of technology is inevitable to have any relevance to cyberspace access. It has expanded and infiltrated almost every device conceivable, allowing it’s users to experience the sensation of cyberspace efficiently however they may choose to access it. With this said, internet cyberspace exists and thrives dominantly within our contemporary society. Conclusively, its impacts upon communication, networking and information have redefined contemporary media.


Bibliography


Castells, M., 2003, “The Internet galaxy: reflections on the Internet, business, and society”, Oxford University Press, p154

Makice, K., 2009, “Twitter API: Up and Running”, O’ Reilly Media Inc, p3

Biersdorfer, J. D., Pogue D., 2007, “iPod: The Missing Manual”, p174, O’ Reilly Media Inc., p174

Smith, M.A., Kollock, P., 1999, “Communities in Cyberspace”, Routledge, p4

Whittaker, J., 2004, “The Cyberspace Handbook”, Routledge, p4

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=neo_cities

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/nicholasne381691.html

http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/cybspace.html

http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=utopia

http://nms.sagepub.com/cgi/content/short/10/5/683