Internet - Exploring Our Inner-self in Cyberspace Essay

The functional unit of our society today is centered on the Internet. In our day and age, people are prone to isolation because all communication can be performed online. We are missing key human interactions and our technology is shaping

Advances in the internet have changed the way America works,learns,and communicates. The internet has become an integral part of our social life. This has assisted us by communicating and research purposes.

In “Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.” by Sherry Turkle a Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been studying the psychology of online connectivity for more than 30 years. For the past five years, she has been focusing on topics: What has happened to face‐ to‐face conversation in a world where so many people say they would rather text than talk, families, friendships and romance. She has also studied schools, universities and workplaces. Among this topics she has talked and provided studies on how we have become distant from “who we are.” She reports that we as a society have lost a lot of virtues as a society such as a lack of empathy for one another, solitude, and communication with one another. As the “digital world” continues to grow we as a society continue to grow with it and apart from one another. Sherry also emphasizes that we

Multiple identities have been increased by the creation of cyberspace communications according to "Cyberspace and Identity" by Sherry Turkle. Turkle uses four main points to establish this argument. Her first point is that online identity is a textual construction. Secondly she states that online identity is a consequence-free moratorium. Turkle's third point is online identity expands real identity. Finally, her last point states that online identity illustrates a cultural concept of multiplicity. I disagree with many aspects of her argument and I have found flaws in her argument. Technology is an area that does not stand still and consequently outpaced Turkle's argument.

In the present day, the development of internet causes considerable changes in social relations and people lifestyle. Internet users spend most of their life online. One of the recent trends is the development of social networks, which encourage the creation of realistic communities. In such a situation, the question concerning the impact of Internet on human being, especially on human brain and behavior arises. In this concern, views on the impact of Internet vary consistently. On the one hand, Internet is recognized as a valuable intermediate, which helps users to share and broadcast information easily. But, another view on the impact of internet, that Internet is noticed as a threat to the social life and identity of individuals

Author, Senior editor of The New Atlantis, and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Christine Rosen, in her article “Virtual Friendships and the New Narcissism,” analyzes if technology can provide what it promises- “a surer sense of who we are and where we belong.” Rosen’s purpose of her article is to argue that social networking sites are doing more harm than good. Rosen uses multiple studies and quotes to present her argument.

For our generation to have the chance and ability to use technology in a way of expressing ourselves is a beautiful thing. In his article, Seeing Ourselves Through Technology, Jill Walker Rettberg discusses how there are three distinct modes of self-representation in digital media itself. The three are listed: written, visual and quantitative. The history of each of these is elaborated more throughout the entire article. According to Rettberg, “blog and written status updates are decedents of diaries, memoirs, commonplace books and autobiographies. Selfies are decedents of visual artists’ self-portraits, and the quantitative modes of lifelogs, personal maps…” (Rettberg, 3). He uses famous philosophers such as Parmigianino, Augustine and Montaigne to help explain the ways in which we as a society represent ourselves today through the use of digital technologies. Commonly we all have a form of a digital camera, or a smart phone and even social media. This way it is easier and convenient to upload and share our own self-representations. This is technology being put to use in a form of expression. I agree with Rettberg when he states that we use the mediation of technology. This helps us as individuals to see ourselves in a clearer view, to understand who we are or simply improve ourselves to be

I totally agree to the idea when people are online they tend to transform to a whole new PERSONALITY. I am one of those people who have a personality change virtually. On a personal approach I tend to be shy, and quiet. This shyness develop into fear; fear of being laughed, fear of embarrasing myself, and fear of not fitting in to others. On the other hand, going to social media transforms me into a happy-go-lucky guy. I engaged in conversations, socializing with others, and etc. My MINDFULNESS of how I act towards others becomes nonexistent. There are millions of people around the world who acts just like me. Chaos is created due to the attitude difference when having a personal interaction or through social media or "learned

Workman illustrates what he believes is an accurate portrayal of the internet with several analogies. In his first point, or rather “digital norm”, Workman compares the internet to a playground, “As with the playground equipment in the schoolyard, however, what is intended as fun can still produce bruises and bleeding”(Workman, 371). Providing an analogy allows the reader to better understand the author is trying to make. The vast majority of people can easily visualize children playing in a park- but there are several people who have little experience with the internet or social media. In this case, Workman uses this analogy to show that the internet is, for the most part, a place for recreation. Websites such as Tumblr, Facebook, and YouTube are the equivalents to swings, slides, and monkey-bars- they are all intended to entertain the user. However, just as children

Representation of oneself is sometimes different online than it is in person, and that is because social media and online gaming such as; Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, World at Warcraft, etc. gives everyone the ability to create an online profile with no limitations of who that person can become online. Therefore online users tend to feel more uninhibited, and they express themselves more candidly than in the real world. Thus making their own self- representation online different from the "real world". However some online users fall into false self-representation because they do not stay truth to themselves or others become cyberbullied  victims do to self-representation.

For the young generation, in particular, the online relationships are as influential and evocative as the face-to-face relationships. In addition, as broadcasting and broadband technologies are being accessed by more and more people, the swiftness and suppleness with which the world inhabitants are communicating and socializing (both online and offline) is increasing day by day. As far as the virtual space is

The article “Digital Subcultures” mentions how geeks online are not geeks in society. Although some people might think they are geeks, they do not actually admit that they are. They pretend that they are average people that do regular day to day things as any other person. In actuality, they are proud to be geeks but society does not allow them to be themselves. Because of this, the internet gives them a window to escape the boundaries of society. “The Internet is an accessible and user-friendly arena in which subcultures can form, meet, and interact,” says J. A. McArthur (McArthur 70). When they are in to society they can’t really meet and socialize with people of their geek culture, so they find chat rooms with people that are geeks also.

Macklin’s point is that people have become so dependent Internet that is has strongly effected everyday life. This is risky because feelings of loneliness or insecurity could often lead to depression and depression is a much larger dilemma than Internet addiction. “Even 15-year old boys are sharing some part of their feelings with someone out there”(Goldwasser 237). By stating this Goldwasser demonstrates how dependent teens have become on the Internet. Goldwasser also shows how a popular trend of teens today is that instead of expressing feelings in a person they will express them online. People are beginning to avoid any personal interaction and they

The second concept I want to talk about is virtual communities. Virtual communities are social groups whose interactions are mediated through information technologies, particularly the internet. Like modernism, virtual communities are very dependent on technology and the internet. Since science and technology has advanced in the past decade, people don’t need to go to different places to meet different people and can meet others over different social media platforms or even video games. Sometimes, those people met over the internet can become very close friends. For example, I play a lot of video games and I have acquainted myself virtually with many people playing those games. Some of them I even ended up meeting in real life and are still friends with today. Virtual communities have become such a social norm, that soon, people will have friends all over the internet. I think the aspect of virtual communities is good for society, because it allows people to have a greater awareness of other cultures all over the world. With more insight of how other societies and cultures operate, there is a greater chance to expand one's own social

As of 2017, there are 3.77 billion internet users in the world and of these 3.77 billion users, it is estimated that 2.80 billion use social media. ("Digital In 2017: Global Overview - We Are Social UK") Along with this, the fact that the average user spends over 20 hours per week on the internet (Anderson, Elizabeth.) makes for a truly intriguing set of statistics. However, does access to this type of technology really serve to foster a sense of community and closeness within these virtual settings or is the internet simply acting as an agent in social isolation for those who become engrossed in its marvel? While the internet and its boundless connectivity can act as an addictive agent for some people and a simple convenience to others, it is undeniable that the internet acts as a major agent in social isolation for many people by cheapening the value of socialization. Social isolation is defined as “a state or process in which persons, groups, or cultures lose or does not have communication or cooperation with one another…” ("The Definition Of Social Isolation") The internet acts as an agent in this ‘process’ by cheapening the value of online interaction versus face-to-face interaction, permitting users to have near constant access to communication almost instantly, and even going so far as to create addictions to the internet, ultimately leading to social isolation.