The advancement in information technologies has played a pivotal role in the creation of the societies we live in today. In the digital age, products of the evolution in information technology such as the internet have become essential tools in the running of daily life from being the pillars of economics and commerce, to the enabler of personal communication as well as the distribution and consumption of information regardless of geographical location. The internet itself, is not only an established medium for communication, but it has also opened the doors to a whole new space for humans to exist; cyberspace.
The infiltration of the internet into the home, and ultimately, our every day lives marked the next level in society’s move, or at least, society’s extension into cyberspace. When the computer became a household item, and a little later, was able to be connected to the telecommunication network, cyberspace was officially open for business. The increasing number of internet subscribers around the world, coupled with the easier methods of gaining access (prepaid contracts, internet cafes) and the development of new internet technology (enabling faster browsing and longer periods of internet time) has created a parallel universe coexisting and mimicking many aspects of real life. In online communities, members communicate through computer mediated communications, across geographical boundaries in virtual landscapes. Cutler (1995) argues that the resulting social space constructed in cyberspace is fertile ground for new social relationships, roles, and a sense of self. As society continues to extend itself into cyberspace, investigators of online social phenomenon have attempted to understand the dynamics of the internet as a social space. Today, the technology of cyberspace is creating the social situation for the formation of a new understanding of community (Jones 1995).
The increasingly social function of the internet forms the foundation of online communities. Jones (1997 p9) examined emerging social formation online to determine whether they provide some of the things we desire offline such as like friendship, community, interaction and public life to determine whether moral ideals we seek among one another, in community, are realized online. As the evolution of internet technology continued to progress creating even more ‘techno savvy’ forms of internet activity, real life individuals began to utilize cyberspace for extra added interaction. Kim (2000) terms the web as a collective town square where more people turn to get their personal, social and professional needs satisfied.
Long after it’s invention, the internet has become an essential part of our everyday life. Throughout the years, it’s pervasiveness in our real life social lives can not be ignored. When you meet someone new, it’s more then likely that they have a face book profile. I myself keep in touch with the daily life dramas of my sister (who is studying in Malaysia) through her blog. Right now, she’s just started to study overseas and is homesick. Daily posts keep me updated on her struggles, her highs and lows. Her friends leave supportive messages multiple times a day in hopes of cheering her up. Not only does this new internet ‘town square’ keep people informed and updated on our friends’ lives, they also provide the same convenience to relationships which exist across oceans and seas. I have also recently congratulated my sister on completing her studies in Aberdeen through a wall post on her face book wall. Her graduation pictures are now online and I get to see the location, people, and overall environment of the event. With cyberspace seeming to exist parallel to real life, geographical boarders no longer exist in the way humans are now communicating. Cyberspace is simply, one giant global village.
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