The chapter “‘Reading’ Cybercultures,” by author Pramod K. Nayar is the first chapter of his book An Introduction to New Media and Cybercultures. Nayar speaks on the topic of new media and cybercultures, arguing for a connection between this alternate reality, and the material world. He argues that there’s almost a symbiotic relationship between the internet, and the physical world; a relationship in which cause and effect bounce between both spaces.
Nayar starts with his definition of a cyberspace, claiming that this “space” is not limited to just the alternate realities of programs such as Second Life.
While virtual reality (VR) environments are fashionable for academic
studies of cyberculture, they do not, as Lisa Nakamura (2006) rightly points out, constitute the bulk of the experience of users of digital technology. Blogs and games, the homepage and social networking, online shopping and chat are more central to the common and the everyday, and if cyberculture studies hopes to draw from the frameworks of cultural studies – which is grounded in the everyday – it must turn to the popular Internet rather than the exotic environments of VR labs.
Because of the breadth of cyberspace, it’s only natural too that there exists many cybercultures. This is Nayar’s next argument. He develops this concept by examining cultural groups that exist both in cyberspace and the material world. This includes, but is not limited to, race, gender, and sexuality.
While all this may seem like common knowledge, we have to remember that a few years ago, possibly within a time frame we can still remember, none of this existed. Cyberspace was still the stuff of movies, and the idea of carrying the world wide web in your pocket was far far away. Now, with all this new technology (or new media as Nayar puts it) there are social ripples that some of us may not even see yet — especially the newer generations.
A specific ripple that can be noticed within Nayar’s text is the contrasting events of the digital divide and civil society. In it’s simplest form, the digital divide can be defined as the gap between society caused by the ownership, or lack thereof, of digital technologies. It’s basically the Matthew effect, driven by technological advancement. In contrast, Nayar’s discussion of civil society reflects an idea of a more globalized world aided by the universality of the internet.
Nayar’s overview of the existence of cyberculture, and it’s effect in the physical world is a very brief and basic discussion (yet appropriate for it’s purpose), especially when considering the extent to which cyberspace can, and is, really effecting the world.
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