Review of Chapter 11; “Digital Media and Culture”

According to Barker 97% of the non-western world is unconnected to the net for reasons relating to lack of financial capabilities, accessibility or the basic knowledge of its existence. For those who are aware and have access, the cybers-world has created a space for many to not only become consumers but also agents of a mass form of knowledge, whether educational to our interests or for our basic entertainment. He states that; the digital universe is overflowing with information. Optimists hail this as a wondrous expansion of human knowledge. This underpins a Utopian vision of the Internet as a space where we can educate ourselves and pursue our own interests and pastimes. In this view cyberspace is a dominion of playful identity constructions where anything is possible.” This directly relates to the current generation of youth where many have taken an active role in creating cyber personas and acting through them in order to create better lifestyles for themselves either through education or through building connections that reward them with benefits. One such example of the Internet as a place where anything can happen is Youtube. The website where anyone can post a homemade video allows the world to view pieces of ones life at a moment’s access. This allows for either instant attention or humiliation. Many have taken the Internet to their advantage and used it as a means of launching their entertainment careers. The Web has invariably created the ability for bands and actors to promote their talents and personalities without the need of an agent. Many entertainers have used the internet to promote their own marketability and used the tools of the web to gain a profit. Therefore the internet be seen as tool of consumption and not only for educational purposes. Now the current culture depends heavily on the internet for instant information, creating the need to know what is happening anywhere at any given time. Google even allows for one to digitally see the satellite pictures of any given street in any given place. This prompts the idea that our identities are no longer our own, especially when we create personas on the internet that can be looked up and viewed whenever and by whoever has access.