Cybercultures

For class we were instructed to read Nayar Chapter one.  The chapter starts with discussing a British couple getting a divorce because of an affair the husband was having in Second Life. It amazed me how the cyber world has affected homes and families because of the interaction we share over the web. Cyberspace is defined as a set of relations and actions in electronic space.  Cyberspace shows that cultures can be formed in or associated with online social spaces. This cyberworld has become an extension and augmentation of the everyday one.

People create themselves as avatars online. These Avatars are us and what we would like to be seen as online. People can create and change their identity to be something different then what others see in the flesh. Cyberworld can now affect your identity. People online can see you as one way and others can see you in another. Facebook allows for you to choose what is seen and not seen by others. Friends can add pictures of you and you can untag yourself in order to maintain a certain perspective of yourself. It is now as if people are living two lives. Because people can change their identity over the web it opens the door to problems.

I was watching a show on msnbc about online sexual predators. These predators were seducing disguised under aged women who were really police officers. Men came to the staged house and were caught. Predators use the cyberworld to find women that they can take advantage of and break laws.

I am not saying that the cyberworld is bad, but needs limits. The book states that cyberculture has no boundaries. Parent control can only go so far, where it then just becomes a problem.

Technology has become so advanced, but comes at a cost. Many areas of the world cannot afford to keep up with the cyberworld and it cuts off people who would like to know about their culture. People can blog and tell about visiting the cultures , but we cannot see their avatar or perspective.

Technology has become a way of life for many people, but because many people do not have access to technology they cannot use it. If technology wants to continue to prevail and become important in our lives it needs to become more accessible. This is still hard because technology is like a second language to those who have not used it. Technology is a form of culture and many cultures would rather keep things the way they are. Cultures can be so far back in adaptation that technology is not the next step for them.

We can see technology is important and we now NEED it in our everyday lives. Cyberworld is going to continue to grow and we will continue to adapt. Because the internet has become so important I do not want it to become the next Frankenstein. The creator needs to take a step back and improve the creation before the creation becomes seen as a monster.

http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/424/69100.html