What is cyberspace? A question which has many alternative answers. The etymology of the word is from the word 'Kybernates'. This is the rear of a boat, the part which navigates. On the other hand, Jari Petola says cyberspace is 'a matrix constructed out of information.'
But how does all this fit in with everyday life? Two of the most commonly known examples of cyberspace are Second Life and the film series The Matrix. Second Life is a online virtual world where people communicate with people round the world through the use of 'avatars'. At the end of 2011, over one million active users were counted; can Second Life be blamed as a form as escapism for a generation? Petola said that cyberspace can help you 'obtain immorality', maybe this is why games such as Second life have increased in popularity.
People of the 21st Century don't realise how powerful cyberspace can be. Information is powerful, whoever can manipulate information is powerful. Everybody would like to have some form of power, on the internet these come in the forms of 'cowboys'. These are hackers. As hackers emerged, so did other new buzzwords. These include 'RL' (real life) and 'meatspace' (virtual space). But can the mind and body be separated?
In the mid 1990's, Barlovian cyberspace emerged. This was a contrast to the earlier Gibsonian cyberspace, this is what Petola described as 'bodiless consciousnesses life there'. John Barlow describers the Barlovian era as a 'free, frontier zone' and that is is a 'declaration of the independence of cyberspace'
'The widespread adoption of the internet will result in the de-massification of the media.'
Many are now saying that the death of cyberspace is approaching. This can be seen through:
Smart Phones
Mobile Gaming
Ubicomp
Augmented Reality
Wearable clothing
Everywhere
If cyberspace was a myth to start with, how can it be near it's end?
Here is Neil Postman's view on the relationship between society and
technology.
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