Brief History
The term cyberspace was first used by writer William Gibson in his story 'Burning Chrome', which described cyberspace as a virtual world where anyone was allowed to access and share knowledge. The word stuck and was soon used as an illustration to describe the virtual space of the World Wide Web. By the mid 90s, cyberspace had gained popularity as a useful outlet, with the introduction of the Internet to the general public. For a while, the term cyberspace was used to refer to the Internet itself, though the Internet and cyberspace are completely different to one another.
Online Social Networking
With the introduction of the Internet, cyberspace was soon used as social media outlet. The late 90s saw the rise of social networking sites, many of which are used today. By the turn of the century, social networking sites had played an important role in the lives of many people. A recent survey on social networking sites showed that 68% (out of 752 people) had an online social network profile, most of which purpose of having one was to 'have an invitation from others'. While online social networking sites give people the opportunity to engage and communicate with people around the world, it can potentially cause one to engage in antisocial behaviour real life. Disorders such as Internet Dependence and Internet Addiction Disorder are common disorders directly related to usage of the Internet, particularly through social networking. Internet Addiction Disorder, for instance, occurs in various phases an the individual progresses from discovering new resources on the Web, to fully engaging themselves in online social activity (Duran, 2003). Instances such as these are proof that cyberspace still affects contemporary culture.
Internet Hate Machine
With the rise of the Internet, comes a new wave of social culture; the subculture of the cyberspace. The introduction of the Internet to the general public in the 90s saw can be described as a post-hacker community where many come to congregate and plot schemes targeted entirely on innocent bystanders. In other words, the Internet hate machine. While having a great aversion and disagreement towards a particular individual online can only go as far as the virtual world, many members in society that are identified in anonymity are cunning enough to wage war on the individual and at many times even able to ruin an individual's life in real life. Such individuals belong to various online communities and can be found on different Internet forums. The most well known and notorious underground movement on the Internet are better known as Anonymous. While many have scoffed them as just another group of teenage pranksters incapable of causing a real impact on society, their dispute with Scientology (the group's sworn enemies) has caused the religion to be exploited in more ways than one. In 2008, Anonymous led protests against Scientology sprang up worldwide which caused global media coverage and awareness of the religion's scams. Thanks to cyberspace, viral videos that expose Scientology truths can be found easily online.
Lrn2intehnetz
Along with the subculture of cyberspace comes an Internet slang that many call 'Lolspeak'. Simply a bastardised version of the English language, it is the most common slang used by Internet users while engaging in various conversations. An example of Lolspeak (also known as Lolcat amongst older users) is 'teh internetz', meaning the Internet. Catch phrases that often do not make sense and pictures with witty one-liners in them are often accommodated with the language. While the language has predominantly been created literally through typing errors, many young people have adopted several variations of the language into their everyday vocabulary in real life (or IRL). Words such as 'epic failz', 'pwnd', and even 'lulz' have been incorporated into the everyday language of the youth. This is further proof that cyberspace is still making an impact in contemporary culture.
The Conclusion
With the rapid change of social culture influence mainly by the mainstream media, there is no doubt that cyberspace is still makes an impact on society. From the world of online social networking, to the vast subculture of the Internet, it is evident that cyberspace still makes an impact in contemporary culture. One does not need to browse deep into online Web pages to find proof of this, but can observe the rapidly changing cultural assumption and language of the younger generation. If anything, cyberspace has proven itself to play a major role in contemporary culture.
Links & References:
William Gibson's cyberspace.
Online Social Networking: An Australian Perspective.
Internet Addiction Disorder, Duran, 2003.
Scientology 'raids' held in nearly 100 cities, Andrew Ramadge, news.co.au, Feb 2008.
Internet Slang, Squidoo.com
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