Essay.

The relevance of Cyberspace in todays contemporary society.

Cyberspace the most over hyped term of the late 20th Century is really transforming our lives. The way we work, find information, find entertainment, how we do business and how we communicate with each other. It has created many beneficial aspects in terms of the Internet as a tool for communication and research but also an escape from the reality. With both positive and negative connotations that the idea of escaping from reality suggests such as escape from limits, institutions and responsibility. 'Far from a vision of the future, the vision of Cyberspace is an attempt to make the future literally unthinkable.' (Agre 2002, p.149) So the idea of Cyberspace is for it to be something intangible but with the creation of mainstream movies such as the Matrix and irobot bringing the idea to life it has resonated with people a bit more. Everything it encompasses and represents is relevant today as we are almost totally reliant of things such as the Internet and World Wide Web. 'In 2007-08, 67% of Australian households has home Internet access and 75% of households has access to a computer'. (H-Ref 1) Cyberspace is also widely thought of and seen as an extension of the idea of virtual reality.

Cyberspace is defined as the 'realm of electronic communication.' (H-Ref 2) The first thing that jumps to mind when thinking about 'Cyberspace' is of course the Internet. Cyberspace used to be very much an abstract term and feared by a lot of people as it was not well understood but as the Internet has gained in popularity, it has been accepted into mainstream life. The Internet is defined as 'an international computer network with information accessible to the public via modem links.' (Oxford Dictionary 2007) So the idea of Cyberspace now becoming the Internet has been widely accepted in todays society and it is still very relevant today.

The relevance it has to contemporary society today is monumental. Just think about the uses the Internet has when before if you had to run errands, buy things, pay bills and meet people to name just a few it would entail that you leave your house, now you can do all of this and more from the comfort of your own home.

'One of the most essential human needs is the communication among people, and Cyberspace created new media by means of which people communicate everyday with each other.' (Dodge & Kitchin 2001, p. 30) People can interact socially over the Internet with social networking sites like Facebook which has soared in popularity and at the start of the year the total amount of users came in at 125 million and its still growing. (H-Ref 3) Other popular social networking sites include Twitter, MSN, and also Skype which is a unique service that incorporates convergence technology very well. Skype allows you to talk to people in real time through your computer anywhere in the world for free computer to computer and you can also buy credit to make low cost international mobile calls. Using Skype you can hear the persons voice through the computer speakers and if you have webcam it allows you to see who you are talking to in real time.

Another form Cyberspace has taken is the in the context of virtual reality. Virtual reality is defined as 'The creation and experience of environments. The central objective is to place the participant in an environment that is not normally or easily experienced.' (Oxford Dictionary of Computing 2008) Virtual reality is placing the individual in a fake or 'virtual world' that has been created. A virtual world is defined as ' A representation of an imaginary world created by a program.' (Oxford Computing 2008) The user generally views and interacts with the world from the inside, often via an avatar.

Cyberspace as virtual reality is relevant today as people use these imaginary 'worlds' as forms of entertainment and escape and they have become so popular that they are now a cause of a host of problems arising from their creation.' If illusions generated in the artificial environments of Cyberspace can supplant common sense and reality, a potentially dangerous precedent is set – the creation of an amoral universe where people have no limits or responsibility.' (Slouka 1996, p. 23) The concern here is that people will start blurring the lines between virtual reality and actual reality with detrimental effect on themselves and others. 'The overpowering stimulation and excitement that virtual reality produces can lull the imagination and numb sympathetic feelings for pain and suffering.' (Ikeda 2001, p. 53) Keeping in mind that the 'average player is 35 years old.'(H- Ref 4) The concern has become so relevant in todays society that popular shows such as 'Dr Phil' been inundated with queries on the subject and coincidently done extensive segments on the topic, revealing not only the problems it causes the individual when it becomes an addiction but health, financial and even social problems including the distress and impact it has on others.

My experiences with contemporary media is mostly pleasant, personally I can not live without the Internet, I use it for everything that I do in my life. I use it to shop for clothes, cosmetics, books, birthday presents to send flowers, find services and phone numbers, to get directions, talk to friends and family, see what my favorite celebrities are up to, catch up on news & current affairs, book travel, online banking and research and the list goes on. I think its the most fabulous time saving thing ever thought up. I can not tell you how many times 'googling it' has helped me out, I ask my computer anything and it never fails to give me an answer, pure genius. Suffice to say I would be totally lost without it so the personal relevance to me is huge. Now there are some things that I think have gone too far or are on the verge of going to far and this has a lot to do with convergence technology in my opinion - on steroids. For example the Blackberry, I had one of these for about 6 months and then I sold it, there are just far to many functions and applications its plain confusing. Are we supposed to actually comprehend and use on a daily basis the millions of things it is capable of, after all its supposed to be a phone. Another example the iPhone phenomenon, I get that it makes calls sends messages and emails and you can use the Internet but do you really need any of the other applications. Possibly the most pointless application I have heard of and my final point in applications gone to far and beyond purpose is the 'Hold On!' application. The purpose of this application is to see how long you can press a virtual button. The timer will measure your endurance levels, and then you can submit your score to your own personal mini league. Ah, the satisfaction of beating your own personal best... I rest my case.