Picture of Kieron Vanstone
Cyberspace
by Kieron Vanstone - Thursday, 31 January 2008, 03:40 PM
When i think about how to begin this post it occurs to me that any sort of planning i could do for it would be completely null and void. The idea to me of this forum is that i write in a way that is cohesive yes, but most importantly it is free writing. When anybody logs in to a forum or web chat area they have not sat for hours writing an essay plan, therefore for this project neither will I. In fact by writing this directly in to the forum space and not using Microsoft Word first who knows how many mistakes i might make. Consequently this is the main point of my contribution to this project; by proposing our own ideas on culture on an internet forum to help us pass our degree is post modern in itself, it is a brilliant way of exploring todays internet culture by actually performing in it. And yes before you ask it will link to theatre in a magical, original and completely unexpected way, lol.
It's clear that everybody using this forum knows exactly what i mean by the term lol; when i was younger i used to think this meant 'lots of love' but being brought up in the age of cyberspace i soon came to find, in an embarrasing internet faus pax, that it in fact means 'laughing out loud.' It's one of the most commonly used text based slang in communication in todays society and can be found littering the internet. People that use cyberspace are all too familiar with these acrynyms and dont think twice about using them, check out http://www.sharpened.net/glossary/acronyms.php if you want every single internet based acrynym ever, or it would seem if you have a look. Im sure if you have a look you will recognise many of the phrases used.
Basically what im trying to show is that everybody is aware of the methods of the internet. My main chunk of reserach comes from a man called John Suler, who i will talk about in detail later; he was one of the earliest cyberpsychologists to emerge as the internet grew over the past decade. Most recently he has commented on how adolescents are so well clued into the world of cyberspace that it is second nature to them. It is clear that Julian is also clued in to the world of cyberspace enough to want us to use it as a medium of communicating our ideas to each other. However, with Julian the exception, many people were lost in the "internet curve" and the 'generation gap' is clear to see in cyberspace. If trends continue as they are with the next generation it is likely that the 'generation gap' will become extinct.
In Spetember 1994 a programme of software was released called The Palace. You may or may not have heard of it, perhaps even used it. The idea was the early rival to The Sims except that it was solely internet based software and was designed for people to interact with each other in a social environment. The creator of The Palace Jim Bumgardner was interviewed by John Suler and called it a "place for people to 'get away' with things." John Suler's first interaction with Jim Bumgardner, while logged in to The Palace was:
"So jbum, what's it like walking around inside your own creation?"
"Like being God, only worse, i don't get to visit any nuns."
He seems to relish the idea of being "God" in his own creation saying "i get a lot of praise all the time, which is good for my ego of course." To mention his own ego and with this first comment you to start to get an idea of his mentality towards The Palace and cyberspace and what it is used for. He doesn't seem to pretend about what people do there and why they do it. He is constantly aware that his creation is an opportunity for people to meet each other and spark relationships of a sexual nature. Cybersex is often a comedy spin off of cyberspace. When used in the film Closer, Jan 2005 Icarus Productions, cybersex is recognised and used as a joke. A lot of research from John Suler indicates that a lot of activity on The Palace is always aimed at cybersex or the excitement that leads to cybersex. The idea of internet romances is often described as "exotic" and is an opportunity for "the lover to enter the home (or office) without the person physically being there, which feels very magical." Looking past The Palace and at the infamous site Facebook you might argue that this is not about sexual relationships and simply networking. However, a recent study showed that over 80% of people use Facebook to see what their ex-boyfriend/girlfriend are doing. Facebook offers the user a chance to 'poke' other users; a group on Facebook suggests that poking is a cyberspace form of sexual interaction or flirting. There are more than one of these groups called "Enough With The Poking, Let's Just Have Sex Already!" http://bruford.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2231755076.
Back to The Palace
The Palace itself as an environment has been considered "Art" in its own right. It offers only socialisation in a highly visual environment. Jim Bumgardner studied music at the Californian Institute 1980-84 and remarks, "I've always been a creative individual." His attention to simplictity through imagery was one of the major resons for success within The Palace. There are few physical rules that restrict a character in The Palace, otherwise known as an Avatar. "Your avatar experiences no gravity and they are simply abstract "smiley" heads." Please take a look at a few of the pictures of some Avatars and read a little about the sub classes that people within the world are put in at http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/psyav.html#Types
The Palace is an incredibly interesting place because it offers very little excpet how it makes the individual feel when using it. Like so many other forms of internet based chat The Palace is a reason for people to be someone they are not. It's the opportunity to say things to people you wouldnt normally. Its the chance to look like an animal and flirt with a picture of Brad Pitt. The amount of randomness that can occur is almost infinite and is restricted by only imagination.
This idea about an opportunity to be someone else is what the internet is often about. Online games like World of Warcraft offer the same feeling, the chance for someone to be different. Jim Bumgardner says that he was influenced by Scott McClouds Undertsanding Comics and the notion of masking. By allowing a character to only have a face on The Palace is simply a mask in itself.
I know this may seem a bit like clutching at straws but i would like to link what i have written about The Palace to acting. When the actor gets on stage it is their opportunity to be someone else. They have the chance to dress differently, act differently and they are also restricted by their own imagination. Cyberspace references are often used in todays theatre because writers are aware of the power it has in todays culture. Facebook and MySpace are the prima donna's of networking sites and they are so often quoted in theatre i find myself cringing. To me the reference often sounds like an excuse for the writer to make the play more 'with it.'
Cyberspace does draw strong relationships with modern culture because it has become an extension of everything we love. Forums are created to make comments on entertainment like gaming, movies and music; chat rooms are the chance to spark relationships as well as friendships. The internet offers almost everything you could wish for and often more.
Ironically the most competent book on cyberspace can be found as a web page and is so highly regarded that it is clear other views have been shunted. The book can be found at http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/psycyber.html. It enthralled me for hours and is well worth the time to look at John Suler's studies.
By typing in this forum we are all doing something we have never done before and that is to read each others writing. Due to our cyberspace culture it is likely we are writing in this forum sub-conciously pretending to be someone else without even realising it. I've tried to write as naturally as possible to highlight the difference between my posts and others and will continue to do so. The notion of doing a project on a forum is what has inspired me to look in to the psychology of cyberspace which is thriving.
I realise that this thread is extremely opinionated but that again is another reason for the cyberspace culture to thirve because it allows the opportunity to give your opinion. Your opinion on a forum is what counts and is what your peers want to see because that is what sparks debate, argument and excitement.
I think i will stop there; i do have a lot more material linking towards cybersex and how paedophiles operate on the internet, because of its dark nature i feel its a brilliant topic to explore and make people aware of. The Palace is a great place to start because of its addictive nature; and too often some users take The Palace too far. An example of some of the darker things that can occur on The Palace is one Avatar sitting on another Avatar's face and not getting off. This may seem trivial to us but would warrant an avatar being kicked from the server; this is an indicator to how seriously people can take, and become addicted to, cyberspace.
Thanks for reading and i look forward to your thoughts.
K
ps. attached is an example of a cartoon avatar and how they would look with their names on The Palace.
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Picture of Julian Bryant
Re: Cyberspace
by Julian Bryant - Wednesday, 6 February 2008, 07:10 PM
Interesting stuff probably belongs with Anthony's post on digital culture. All the avatar stuff, including the whole Second Life phenomenon, is getting a lot of interest at the moment. Lizbeth at UEL is very interested it (See post on digital culture thread)
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Picture of jordan noble-davies
Re: Cyberspace
by jordan noble-davies - Friday, 8 February 2008, 11:44 AM
Cyberspace
As most of you know I am not exactly down with the grove when it comes to the internet, so this whole forum idea is new to me. From what Kieron has said he seems to be all for the internet and the Cyberspace generation but call me a technophobe, I think I prefer things the old way.
Let’s start with this Face Book/ My Space thing. It would seem that I am very much in the minority being that I am one of the last people in the world not to have Face Book. But I just don’t get it? I often get asked why I’m not a member and regularly have all its “amazing” uses pointed out to me. I have no real reason to hate these sorts of sites, I mean; they have never killed anyone close to me, its just; I don’t see the point?
First of all there is the hole safety issue, you are putting your details on a web page accessible by millions. I know the idea is that you only add your friends, but how many of you have got celebrities on your friends list? How do you know it is them? In today’s Cyberspace generation it’s not had to get an image of someone well known and claim to be that person.
And these companies are not stupid. They don’t offer any protection, once you’re logged on anyone you talk to is down to you. This web site tells the story of a 13year old girl who claims she was sexually assaulted after meeting with someone she met over My Space. http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2885&iArticleId=3685357
I know that you are all thinking well I know all about these sort of people, I would never meet up with anyone I met over the net. Your not untouchable. Last year internet fraud rose by 44% to just over 33 million pounds and internet shopping fraud amounted to a massive 155 million pounds. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/03/nface103.xml
These fraudsters are now able to ring up banks with information they have gathered from your web page including the answers to your security questions i.e. our mother’s maiden name, order a new card to a different address and spend all your money.
I don’t know what you think, but I think these two reasons alone out way any advantage to being online?
Don’t you worry, if you not convinced that the Cyberspace generation is not necessarily a good thing, I still have a few more points to make.
My next point is very relevant to our year and college. With a huge number of people being labelled as Dyslexic (me being one of them) is the internet contributing to the increase? Statistics show that around eight per cent of the population - an estimated total of 2 million or more people worldwide are severely affected by Dyslexia. http://www.dyslexia-teacher.co.uk/t16.html
Now I guess like me the majority of you would have gone through the early stages of school without having computers. I know I remember our computer suit being installed while I was in my last few years at primary school. For storeys or essays it was a case of writing it out (using a PEN) once in rough, getting all the spellings and grammar checked then righting it out in neat. Now when you think about it, this cant be a bad thing? Righting everything twice and having to look words up in a dictionary can only assist in the learning.
Now with today’s generation of computers are children growing up not needing to know how to spell and relying on a spell checker? I know I can’t remember the last time I picked up a dictionary to help me spell a word, and for people like my 12 year old brother, as far as he’s concerned a dictionary is a thing of the past!
Right now you may not really care, but in the long run it will cost you money. As we know if you are dyslexic you are entitled to a free laptop to help with your studies, and if the number of dyslexics keeps going you so will the number of free laptops and there for so will your kids university fees or you tax’s!
I realise that I went a bit of track there talking more about computers then the internet however I felt it all relevant to back up my point that Cyberspace will be the down fall of our society as we know it! (Perhaps a bit strong, but hey!)
Keeping it on the topic of schooling I feel and know from personal experiences that the internet is making it a lot easier to cheat and cut corners. Not only is it very easy to Google a subject, copy and paste the content of your search result, change a few words around and play with the lay out a bit, but there are also web sites such as this one. http://www.coursework.info/?gclid=CIvH6bins5ECFQVOMAoduWdVOA
This internet site actually gives you full length essays for most school subjects. It lists thousands of essay questions and for a small fee you can have access to unlimited essays. Now for a site like this to actually exist proves that the internet is giving young people in education an easy way out. (They didn’t have anything about Cyberspace, I checked) therefore not helping to overcome dyslexia.
My last point is that with it being so easy to develop your own web site, as proved by our trendy tutor (Julian) how reliable is all the information found on the web? We all know that Wikipedia can be added to or changed by any Tom, Dick or Harry.
http://www.wikipedia.org/
So how reliable is all the information that we trust to be correct? With children growing up in the cut and paste life are they being educated with reliable information?
So just to some up, and before any of you bring up the fact that I have used the internet as part of my research and therefore contradicted myself. I am not completely opposed to the internet. I feel it is a fantastic added resource and another brilliant way to communicate. However I feel it is being trusted far to much with and that it is taking on roles that it is not needed for i.e. this forum. I know I hate them and I can’t believe I am saying this, but what happened to a good old essay? No offence Julian!
Is the internet becoming the only way to do things rather than another way?
We managed for years without it, so why do we need it so much now?
Is the internet making children lazy with their spelling?
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Picture of Aimee Hulme
Re: Cyberspace
by Aimee Hulme - Friday, 8 February 2008, 02:28 PM
Yes some of your points are good Jordan, but do we not put ourselves into unsafe situation everyday..Card and Identify fraud can happen everyday.
Also is the meduim of Cyberspace not just another way to keep in contact with friends and interact..also a way to organsie socail events like going to the pub. Groups and mass emails are also a cheaper way to speak to friends on a larger scale and not always using generic text messages and phone calls.
Therefore bringing around your point about money you seem to be able to relate alot of things too..by having things like Myspace and Facebook and even MSN is a good way for someone like me and im sure other who live away from home will agree, a good way to keep in touch with your family.
Also would you not agree that you would rather have a laptop/computer in the Rehearsal room not only saving time but money and the enviroment by having everything digitally stored?
I dont think anyone is saying that we want to stop writing all together, note making is always useful and although your point about writing essays is good, do you not use the internet for research? and then to type your essay don't you use a comptuter.
Actually i take that back, yes writing is very useful and we all use it alot but how does this change the idea of cyber space? we still need a way of meduim to communicate that isnt writing a letter, even phone calls now seem to be slower than the times. why not move at a faster pace? does this change our ideals? we are still the same people just with more means to commnicate.
one point I would like to make agreeing with Jordan is that recently it has been seen that Universities have been using facebook and myspace to look at thier perspetive students especially for students in medicene and law. They like to see thier socia background and they will look at your pictures and messages. This i think is a huge invasion to personal information.
The artcle is about people looking on myspace and adding you as a freind to see your website.
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/comment/story/0,,2067053,00.html
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Picture of Kt Milne
Re: Cyberspace
by Kt Milne - Friday, 8 February 2008, 03:05 PM
Jordan, i think you have made some very good points and it is worrying the amount we rely on computers these days. When i was in primary school we had one computer in our classroom and we used it for very simple games and to program the tortoise, i don't know if anyone else had this? I had spelling tests every week, was made to write out at least three copies of any written work i submitted, my rough copy, my improved copy and my final copy, which meant that i had to know how to spell, use correct(ish) grammar, and when i was eight i spent many months doing extra work on my handwriting to make it legible. Nowadays that is all a bit obsolete as you can type it up on the computer, which spell checks, grammar checks and is definitely neater than my handwriting.
However my education was based on giving me the basic skills that i could build on to become a useful member of todays society and when looking into the curriculum and it, they argue that teaching Key Stage 1 ICT, is giving them the basic skills to function in our society today. http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk/WhyUseICTs/WhyteachwithICT.htm
Your comments on cheating are also interesting as with a forum like this anyone can post comments under any name as long as they are signed in. Reading the comments from Jordan and Kieron i can hear their personalities coming through and so am inclined to believe it is them speaking. however with other members of the year that i don't know so well i cannot picture them saying these things which makes me wonder whether they have actually written the posts or are getting help from other sources. Or whether i just need to spend more time with them! smile
The cases of fraud are increasing, as people get better at it, but there are no recordings of the amount of misunderstandings that occur through this medium. How many times have you had a conversation on MSN or left a message with Facebook that has been misinterpreted? I know that i have had many arguments that have come out of people not being able to hear the sarcasm in my voice. (Yes that's right, i am sarcastic!) And the wider use of these mediums in the work place can only lead to more of these misunderstandings. So in our work, where communication is key, are these types of forum really aiding us or opening us up to greater difficulties?
http://forum.skype.com/lofiversion/index.php/t23795.html
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Picture of Kieron Vanstone
Re: Cyberspace
by Kieron Vanstone - Friday, 8 February 2008, 02:45 PM
Would you say to use either the internet or spell check on Microsoft Word is exactly the same as using a dictionary? In essence you have spelt a word wrong, you look up how it is to be spelt and you use the reference to change it. Even spell check gives you a list of words spelt similarily in the same way a dictionary is a list.
I think though that what you are trying to say Jordan is that the internet/spell check cuts out time. So often you hear that we live in a society that needs to slow down. And with this i would agree. To use the dictionary does not necessarily help dyslexia, would anyone be expected to read the dictionary to learn how to spell words, but it instead promotes work ethic. I do not think that "Cyberspace will be the end of our society," but an "extension of everything we love." If we use cyberspace as a means to "get a grade," as Jordan would elequontely put it, then in a roundabout way you have completely conformed to the "methods of the internet." The internet will never replace "the PEN" and i do not suggest it will. I think you've almost missed the point in that cyberspace is already here; let me know when you do your first Self-Assesment Tax Form on https://online.hmrc.gov.uk
And for when you do get on Facebook or Myspace then i'd reccommend either of these sites for safety: http://www.pctattletale.com/ http://www.iambigbrother.com
K
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Picture of Kt Milne
Re: Cyberspace
by Kt Milne - Friday, 8 February 2008, 03:09 PM
Yes but Kieron how many times do you actually register the new speeling that you have corrected? Having just finished my post i spelt three words wrong and all i did was pick the right word from the list, no thought process involved, and i know that i spell the same words wrong, over and over again, whereas the words i learnt the "old fashioned way" i do not forget!
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Picture of Kieron Vanstone
Re: Cyberspace
by Kieron Vanstone - Friday, 8 February 2008, 04:02 PM
POSTED ON BEHALF OF JORDAN
Sorry guys, but I'm at home and I cant get on the forum thing from here.
No kieron, I am not saying that the pace of life needs to slow down and as part of this we should stop using spell check. I am saying that it has taken the thought out of spelling. Most word processing documents will now correct small mistakes and if they don’t, they tell what you have spelt wrong. The computer then gives you a list of words to choose from; you click and forget about it? This has not helped in anyway; you have not had to notice the word is spelt wrong or try and figure out how it is spelt.
This all relates quite nicely to a point you made in a previous post about the abbreviations, such as; ‘lol’, ‘2’ and ‘u’. With the internet being used more and more to communicate in an informal way, these abbreviations are becoming more and more apart of every day life. This forum has proved that when people are righting through the internet they don’t take as much care over what they are righting. Using words and abbreviations they wouldn’t dream of using in a proper essay. But unless I am mistaken this is still a marked piece of work, and therefore, still an essay that should be written and presented well!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/2815461.stm
So a language that started from text messaging on mobile phones, spread through to the internet is now leaking into pieces of work that are meant to be marked on their; content, spelling, punctuation and use of the English language.
So I put it to you, (by you I mean everyone) that texting and the text message language is killing our society as we know it?
Also, I prefer to support small local business to help with hold our economy and it just so happens that one of those businesses is my accountant. So all my tax is dealt with, sorry mate!
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Re: Cyberspace
by Kieron Vanstone - Friday, 8 February 2008, 04:27 PM
I have to put in this last one in...
Text language could never kill our society let alone the English Language. Bill Bryson's book Mother Tongue says "It is often said that what most immediately sets English apart from other languages is the richness of its vocabulary." The reason for this is that the English language is so open to interpretation. Historically the English language has been pillaged by so many other tongues, which is why we have so many words deriving from other languages. Common words used in the English vocabulary reach "about 200,000" with its closest counterpart being Germany, "184,000." With the English language so ready to accept new slang there will never be a case of "killing our society" only a great swelling.
K
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Cyberspace
by Kieron Vanstone - Thursday, 31 January 2008, 03:40 PM
When i think about how to begin this post it occurs to me that any sort of planning i could do for it would be completely null and void. The idea to me of this forum is that i write in a way that is cohesive yes, but most importantly it is free writing. When anybody logs in to a forum or web chat area they have not sat for hours writing an essay plan, therefore for this project neither will I. In fact by writing this directly in to the forum space and not using Microsoft Word first who knows how many mistakes i might make. Consequently this is the main point of my contribution to this project; by proposing our own ideas on culture on an internet forum to help us pass our degree is post modern in itself, it is a brilliant way of exploring todays internet culture by actually performing in it. And yes before you ask it will link to theatre in a magical, original and completely unexpected way, lol.
It's clear that everybody using this forum knows exactly what i mean by the term lol; when i was younger i used to think this meant 'lots of love' but being brought up in the age of cyberspace i soon came to find, in an embarrasing internet faus pax, that it in fact means 'laughing out loud.' It's one of the most commonly used text based slang in communication in todays society and can be found littering the internet. People that use cyberspace are all too familiar with these acrynyms and dont think twice about using them, check out http://www.sharpened.net/glossary/acronyms.php if you want every single internet based acrynym ever, or it would seem if you have a look. Im sure if you have a look you will recognise many of the phrases used.
Basically what im trying to show is that everybody is aware of the methods of the internet. My main chunk of reserach comes from a man called John Suler, who i will talk about in detail later; he was one of the earliest cyberpsychologists to emerge as the internet grew over the past decade. Most recently he has commented on how adolescents are so well clued into the world of cyberspace that it is second nature to them. It is clear that Julian is also clued in to the world of cyberspace enough to want us to use it as a medium of communicating our ideas to each other. However, with Julian the exception, many people were lost in the "internet curve" and the 'generation gap' is clear to see in cyberspace. If trends continue as they are with the next generation it is likely that the 'generation gap' will become extinct.
In Spetember 1994 a programme of software was released called The Palace. You may or may not have heard of it, perhaps even used it. The idea was the early rival to The Sims except that it was solely internet based software and was designed for people to interact with each other in a social environment. The creator of The Palace Jim Bumgardner was interviewed by John Suler and called it a "place for people to 'get away' with things." John Suler's first interaction with Jim Bumgardner, while logged in to The Palace was:
"So jbum, what's it like walking around inside your own creation?"
"Like being God, only worse, i don't get to visit any nuns."
He seems to relish the idea of being "God" in his own creation saying "i get a lot of praise all the time, which is good for my ego of course." To mention his own ego and with this first comment you to start to get an idea of his mentality towards The Palace and cyberspace and what it is used for. He doesn't seem to pretend about what people do there and why they do it. He is constantly aware that his creation is an opportunity for people to meet each other and spark relationships of a sexual nature. Cybersex is often a comedy spin off of cyberspace. When used in the film Closer, Jan 2005 Icarus Productions, cybersex is recognised and used as a joke. A lot of research from John Suler indicates that a lot of activity on The Palace is always aimed at cybersex or the excitement that leads to cybersex. The idea of internet romances is often described as "exotic" and is an opportunity for "the lover to enter the home (or office) without the person physically being there, which feels very magical." Looking past The Palace and at the infamous site Facebook you might argue that this is not about sexual relationships and simply networking. However, a recent study showed that over 80% of people use Facebook to see what their ex-boyfriend/girlfriend are doing. Facebook offers the user a chance to 'poke' other users; a group on Facebook suggests that poking is a cyberspace form of sexual interaction or flirting. There are more than one of these groups called "Enough With The Poking, Let's Just Have Sex Already!" http://bruford.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2231755076.
Back to The Palace
The Palace itself as an environment has been considered "Art" in its own right. It offers only socialisation in a highly visual environment. Jim Bumgardner studied music at the Californian Institute 1980-84 and remarks, "I've always been a creative individual." His attention to simplictity through imagery was one of the major resons for success within The Palace. There are few physical rules that restrict a character in The Palace, otherwise known as an Avatar. "Your avatar experiences no gravity and they are simply abstract "smiley" heads." Please take a look at a few of the pictures of some Avatars and read a little about the sub classes that people within the world are put in at http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/psyav.html#Types
The Palace is an incredibly interesting place because it offers very little excpet how it makes the individual feel when using it. Like so many other forms of internet based chat The Palace is a reason for people to be someone they are not. It's the opportunity to say things to people you wouldnt normally. Its the chance to look like an animal and flirt with a picture of Brad Pitt. The amount of randomness that can occur is almost infinite and is restricted by only imagination.
This idea about an opportunity to be someone else is what the internet is often about. Online games like World of Warcraft offer the same feeling, the chance for someone to be different. Jim Bumgardner says that he was influenced by Scott McClouds Undertsanding Comics and the notion of masking. By allowing a character to only have a face on The Palace is simply a mask in itself.
I know this may seem a bit like clutching at straws but i would like to link what i have written about The Palace to acting. When the actor gets on stage it is their opportunity to be someone else. They have the chance to dress differently, act differently and they are also restricted by their own imagination. Cyberspace references are often used in todays theatre because writers are aware of the power it has in todays culture. Facebook and MySpace are the prima donna's of networking sites and they are so often quoted in theatre i find myself cringing. To me the reference often sounds like an excuse for the writer to make the play more 'with it.'
Cyberspace does draw strong relationships with modern culture because it has become an extension of everything we love. Forums are created to make comments on entertainment like gaming, movies and music; chat rooms are the chance to spark relationships as well as friendships. The internet offers almost everything you could wish for and often more.
Ironically the most competent book on cyberspace can be found as a web page and is so highly regarded that it is clear other views have been shunted. The book can be found at http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/psycyber.html. It enthralled me for hours and is well worth the time to look at John Suler's studies.
By typing in this forum we are all doing something we have never done before and that is to read each others writing. Due to our cyberspace culture it is likely we are writing in this forum sub-conciously pretending to be someone else without even realising it. I've tried to write as naturally as possible to highlight the difference between my posts and others and will continue to do so. The notion of doing a project on a forum is what has inspired me to look in to the psychology of cyberspace which is thriving.
I realise that this thread is extremely opinionated but that again is another reason for the cyberspace culture to thirve because it allows the opportunity to give your opinion. Your opinion on a forum is what counts and is what your peers want to see because that is what sparks debate, argument and excitement.
I think i will stop there; i do have a lot more material linking towards cybersex and how paedophiles operate on the internet, because of its dark nature i feel its a brilliant topic to explore and make people aware of. The Palace is a great place to start because of its addictive nature; and too often some users take The Palace too far. An example of some of the darker things that can occur on The Palace is one Avatar sitting on another Avatar's face and not getting off. This may seem trivial to us but would warrant an avatar being kicked from the server; this is an indicator to how seriously people can take, and become addicted to, cyberspace.
Thanks for reading and i look forward to your thoughts.
K
ps. attached is an example of a cartoon avatar and how they would look with their names on The Palace.
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Picture of Julian Bryant
Re: Cyberspace
by Julian Bryant - Wednesday, 6 February 2008, 07:10 PM
Interesting stuff probably belongs with Anthony's post on digital culture. All the avatar stuff, including the whole Second Life phenomenon, is getting a lot of interest at the moment. Lizbeth at UEL is very interested it (See post on digital culture thread)
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Picture of jordan noble-davies
Re: Cyberspace
by jordan noble-davies - Friday, 8 February 2008, 11:44 AM
Cyberspace
As most of you know I am not exactly down with the grove when it comes to the internet, so this whole forum idea is new to me. From what Kieron has said he seems to be all for the internet and the Cyberspace generation but call me a technophobe, I think I prefer things the old way.
Let’s start with this Face Book/ My Space thing. It would seem that I am very much in the minority being that I am one of the last people in the world not to have Face Book. But I just don’t get it? I often get asked why I’m not a member and regularly have all its “amazing” uses pointed out to me. I have no real reason to hate these sorts of sites, I mean; they have never killed anyone close to me, its just; I don’t see the point?
First of all there is the hole safety issue, you are putting your details on a web page accessible by millions. I know the idea is that you only add your friends, but how many of you have got celebrities on your friends list? How do you know it is them? In today’s Cyberspace generation it’s not had to get an image of someone well known and claim to be that person.
And these companies are not stupid. They don’t offer any protection, once you’re logged on anyone you talk to is down to you. This web site tells the story of a 13year old girl who claims she was sexually assaulted after meeting with someone she met over My Space. http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2885&iArticleId=3685357
I know that you are all thinking well I know all about these sort of people, I would never meet up with anyone I met over the net. Your not untouchable. Last year internet fraud rose by 44% to just over 33 million pounds and internet shopping fraud amounted to a massive 155 million pounds. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/03/nface103.xml
These fraudsters are now able to ring up banks with information they have gathered from your web page including the answers to your security questions i.e. our mother’s maiden name, order a new card to a different address and spend all your money.
I don’t know what you think, but I think these two reasons alone out way any advantage to being online?
Don’t you worry, if you not convinced that the Cyberspace generation is not necessarily a good thing, I still have a few more points to make.
My next point is very relevant to our year and college. With a huge number of people being labelled as Dyslexic (me being one of them) is the internet contributing to the increase? Statistics show that around eight per cent of the population - an estimated total of 2 million or more people worldwide are severely affected by Dyslexia. http://www.dyslexia-teacher.co.uk/t16.html
Now I guess like me the majority of you would have gone through the early stages of school without having computers. I know I remember our computer suit being installed while I was in my last few years at primary school. For storeys or essays it was a case of writing it out (using a PEN) once in rough, getting all the spellings and grammar checked then righting it out in neat. Now when you think about it, this cant be a bad thing? Righting everything twice and having to look words up in a dictionary can only assist in the learning.
Now with today’s generation of computers are children growing up not needing to know how to spell and relying on a spell checker? I know I can’t remember the last time I picked up a dictionary to help me spell a word, and for people like my 12 year old brother, as far as he’s concerned a dictionary is a thing of the past!
Right now you may not really care, but in the long run it will cost you money. As we know if you are dyslexic you are entitled to a free laptop to help with your studies, and if the number of dyslexics keeps going you so will the number of free laptops and there for so will your kids university fees or you tax’s!
I realise that I went a bit of track there talking more about computers then the internet however I felt it all relevant to back up my point that Cyberspace will be the down fall of our society as we know it! (Perhaps a bit strong, but hey!)
Keeping it on the topic of schooling I feel and know from personal experiences that the internet is making it a lot easier to cheat and cut corners. Not only is it very easy to Google a subject, copy and paste the content of your search result, change a few words around and play with the lay out a bit, but there are also web sites such as this one. http://www.coursework.info/?gclid=CIvH6bins5ECFQVOMAoduWdVOA
This internet site actually gives you full length essays for most school subjects. It lists thousands of essay questions and for a small fee you can have access to unlimited essays. Now for a site like this to actually exist proves that the internet is giving young people in education an easy way out. (They didn’t have anything about Cyberspace, I checked) therefore not helping to overcome dyslexia.
My last point is that with it being so easy to develop your own web site, as proved by our trendy tutor (Julian) how reliable is all the information found on the web? We all know that Wikipedia can be added to or changed by any Tom, Dick or Harry.
http://www.wikipedia.org/
So how reliable is all the information that we trust to be correct? With children growing up in the cut and paste life are they being educated with reliable information?
So just to some up, and before any of you bring up the fact that I have used the internet as part of my research and therefore contradicted myself. I am not completely opposed to the internet. I feel it is a fantastic added resource and another brilliant way to communicate. However I feel it is being trusted far to much with and that it is taking on roles that it is not needed for i.e. this forum. I know I hate them and I can’t believe I am saying this, but what happened to a good old essay? No offence Julian!
Is the internet becoming the only way to do things rather than another way?
We managed for years without it, so why do we need it so much now?
Is the internet making children lazy with their spelling?
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Picture of Aimee Hulme
Re: Cyberspace
by Aimee Hulme - Friday, 8 February 2008, 02:28 PM
Yes some of your points are good Jordan, but do we not put ourselves into unsafe situation everyday..Card and Identify fraud can happen everyday.
Also is the meduim of Cyberspace not just another way to keep in contact with friends and interact..also a way to organsie socail events like going to the pub. Groups and mass emails are also a cheaper way to speak to friends on a larger scale and not always using generic text messages and phone calls.
Therefore bringing around your point about money you seem to be able to relate alot of things too..by having things like Myspace and Facebook and even MSN is a good way for someone like me and im sure other who live away from home will agree, a good way to keep in touch with your family.
Also would you not agree that you would rather have a laptop/computer in the Rehearsal room not only saving time but money and the enviroment by having everything digitally stored?
I dont think anyone is saying that we want to stop writing all together, note making is always useful and although your point about writing essays is good, do you not use the internet for research? and then to type your essay don't you use a comptuter.
Actually i take that back, yes writing is very useful and we all use it alot but how does this change the idea of cyber space? we still need a way of meduim to communicate that isnt writing a letter, even phone calls now seem to be slower than the times. why not move at a faster pace? does this change our ideals? we are still the same people just with more means to commnicate.
one point I would like to make agreeing with Jordan is that recently it has been seen that Universities have been using facebook and myspace to look at thier perspetive students especially for students in medicene and law. They like to see thier socia background and they will look at your pictures and messages. This i think is a huge invasion to personal information.
The artcle is about people looking on myspace and adding you as a freind to see your website.
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/comment/story/0,,2067053,00.html
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Picture of Kt Milne
Re: Cyberspace
by Kt Milne - Friday, 8 February 2008, 03:05 PM
Jordan, i think you have made some very good points and it is worrying the amount we rely on computers these days. When i was in primary school we had one computer in our classroom and we used it for very simple games and to program the tortoise, i don't know if anyone else had this? I had spelling tests every week, was made to write out at least three copies of any written work i submitted, my rough copy, my improved copy and my final copy, which meant that i had to know how to spell, use correct(ish) grammar, and when i was eight i spent many months doing extra work on my handwriting to make it legible. Nowadays that is all a bit obsolete as you can type it up on the computer, which spell checks, grammar checks and is definitely neater than my handwriting.
However my education was based on giving me the basic skills that i could build on to become a useful member of todays society and when looking into the curriculum and it, they argue that teaching Key Stage 1 ICT, is giving them the basic skills to function in our society today. http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk/WhyUseICTs/WhyteachwithICT.htm
Your comments on cheating are also interesting as with a forum like this anyone can post comments under any name as long as they are signed in. Reading the comments from Jordan and Kieron i can hear their personalities coming through and so am inclined to believe it is them speaking. however with other members of the year that i don't know so well i cannot picture them saying these things which makes me wonder whether they have actually written the posts or are getting help from other sources. Or whether i just need to spend more time with them! smile
The cases of fraud are increasing, as people get better at it, but there are no recordings of the amount of misunderstandings that occur through this medium. How many times have you had a conversation on MSN or left a message with Facebook that has been misinterpreted? I know that i have had many arguments that have come out of people not being able to hear the sarcasm in my voice. (Yes that's right, i am sarcastic!) And the wider use of these mediums in the work place can only lead to more of these misunderstandings. So in our work, where communication is key, are these types of forum really aiding us or opening us up to greater difficulties?
http://forum.skype.com/lofiversion/index.php/t23795.html
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Picture of Kieron Vanstone
Re: Cyberspace
by Kieron Vanstone - Friday, 8 February 2008, 02:45 PM
Would you say to use either the internet or spell check on Microsoft Word is exactly the same as using a dictionary? In essence you have spelt a word wrong, you look up how it is to be spelt and you use the reference to change it. Even spell check gives you a list of words spelt similarily in the same way a dictionary is a list.
I think though that what you are trying to say Jordan is that the internet/spell check cuts out time. So often you hear that we live in a society that needs to slow down. And with this i would agree. To use the dictionary does not necessarily help dyslexia, would anyone be expected to read the dictionary to learn how to spell words, but it instead promotes work ethic. I do not think that "Cyberspace will be the end of our society," but an "extension of everything we love." If we use cyberspace as a means to "get a grade," as Jordan would elequontely put it, then in a roundabout way you have completely conformed to the "methods of the internet." The internet will never replace "the PEN" and i do not suggest it will. I think you've almost missed the point in that cyberspace is already here; let me know when you do your first Self-Assesment Tax Form on https://online.hmrc.gov.uk
And for when you do get on Facebook or Myspace then i'd reccommend either of these sites for safety: http://www.pctattletale.com/ http://www.iambigbrother.com
K
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Picture of Kt Milne
Re: Cyberspace
by Kt Milne - Friday, 8 February 2008, 03:09 PM
Yes but Kieron how many times do you actually register the new speeling that you have corrected? Having just finished my post i spelt three words wrong and all i did was pick the right word from the list, no thought process involved, and i know that i spell the same words wrong, over and over again, whereas the words i learnt the "old fashioned way" i do not forget!
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Picture of Kieron Vanstone
Re: Cyberspace
by Kieron Vanstone - Friday, 8 February 2008, 04:02 PM
POSTED ON BEHALF OF JORDAN
Sorry guys, but I'm at home and I cant get on the forum thing from here.
No kieron, I am not saying that the pace of life needs to slow down and as part of this we should stop using spell check. I am saying that it has taken the thought out of spelling. Most word processing documents will now correct small mistakes and if they don’t, they tell what you have spelt wrong. The computer then gives you a list of words to choose from; you click and forget about it? This has not helped in anyway; you have not had to notice the word is spelt wrong or try and figure out how it is spelt.
This all relates quite nicely to a point you made in a previous post about the abbreviations, such as; ‘lol’, ‘2’ and ‘u’. With the internet being used more and more to communicate in an informal way, these abbreviations are becoming more and more apart of every day life. This forum has proved that when people are righting through the internet they don’t take as much care over what they are righting. Using words and abbreviations they wouldn’t dream of using in a proper essay. But unless I am mistaken this is still a marked piece of work, and therefore, still an essay that should be written and presented well!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/2815461.stm
So a language that started from text messaging on mobile phones, spread through to the internet is now leaking into pieces of work that are meant to be marked on their; content, spelling, punctuation and use of the English language.
So I put it to you, (by you I mean everyone) that texting and the text message language is killing our society as we know it?
Also, I prefer to support small local business to help with hold our economy and it just so happens that one of those businesses is my accountant. So all my tax is dealt with, sorry mate!
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Picture of Kieron Vanstone
Re: Cyberspace
by Kieron Vanstone - Friday, 8 February 2008, 04:27 PM
I have to put in this last one in...
Text language could never kill our society let alone the English Language. Bill Bryson's book Mother Tongue says "It is often said that what most immediately sets English apart from other languages is the richness of its vocabulary." The reason for this is that the English language is so open to interpretation. Historically the English language has been pillaged by so many other tongues, which is why we have so many words deriving from other languages. Common words used in the English vocabulary reach "about 200,000" with its closest counterpart being Germany, "184,000." With the English language so ready to accept new slang there will never be a case of "killing our society" only a great swelling.
K
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