Tuesday, April 14, 2009

This weeks reading

The opening chapter of the book explains how people have become connected with other through the use of cyberspace while becoming less social in the everyday world. Despite people constantly updating their status online and using the internet to talk to people all over the world, people are becoming less interactive in the real world. I believe that more people using the internet and cyberspace is setting real world interaction back. With more and more people growing up online and living their whole life's using the internet, people become less inclined to have social interactions in the physical world. To further help this argument of people becoming less interactive in the physical world, David Alsberg's death is used. By being part of cyberspace Alsberg had created real relationships that could be "as rewarding as their face-to-face friendships. 
The next chapter goes more into cyberspace being a part of the human body. By using machines to look at images and other mediums, cyberspace becomes an extension of the mind. This theory of computer being an extension was first seen through the use of science fiction. People becoming one with computers to be able to perceive that they are part of cyberspace (virtual reality) I believe Phelan states it the best that "the paradox of cyberspace, which enhances the illusion of images as reality because we can move and change the images and thus are deluded into thinking we are effective in the real world." 

1 comment:

  1. I can see that you're thinking about William Gibson's Neuromancer, and that the line between our Science Fiction Genre class and this one is blurring!

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