The foundation of fear for our relationship with the internet arises from our dependency on such integrated technologies and uncertainty of what this means for our future.
We don’t want to constrict the autonomous nature of the internet, yet we are faced with the challenge of maintaining a healthy, “more liveable” online environment (Herring, 32). It’s a different world out there. Our traditional understandings of social structure and known risks are being challenged. There are not many rules in the Wild West of the Internet. We have yet to put many limitations and regulations on the majority of the internet, but “users today are less tolerant of abuse and more willing to accept systems of control to restrict it” (Herring, 32). Similarly, Baym hypothesizes potential attempts at regulating concrete offensive acts of abuse such as “harassment” and “spamming.” As with any new technology, people become anxious and concerned, and “new media often stirs up fear of moral decline” (Baym, 41). Our fears creep in and we begin to fault the system for undermining our traditional societal values. Unknowing children become the exemplification of what happens to all of us. The innocent are “corrupted, damaged, and permanently transformed by technology” (Baym, 43). However the system also has the potential to expand & connect, to increase access to information, knowledge, and even community.
Both authors touch on different aspects of how the different structures and systems have the power to affect our communication behavior in various ways. However uncertain, these new technologies are a necessary part of daily life we have come to “nervously accept.” The anxiety we faced over the development of our technologies in the early 2000s still resonate within us today. The constant advancement “leave[s] us forever scrambling to catch up” (Herring, 29).
Despite this constant evolution, “users want a stable, simpler, useable” platform to adopt (Herring, 33). We want the technology to benefit our means. “The sheen of novelty” has worn off as we use communication technology and it becomes a necessary part of our productive lifestyle (Herring, 29). These once-fascinating technologies have been “made mundane” as they are increasingly embedded in our daily lives (Baym, 5). There is still plenty of hope for a better online environment for the future. Though the technology is adopted and immediately assimilated into our lifestyle, it is also constantly evolving and there will always be something new to enrich our screens & minds.
Wow Susan, this is an extraordinary post. It is extremely well written and very interesting. I really enjoy how you point out that there are “not many rules in the Wild West of the Internet.” I think you make an great point with this statement. One of the things that always pops into my head when people are discussing the “harassment on the internet” is cyber bullying. It has become such a common thing now, and there doesn’t seem to be much of a way to regulate it yet. When I was in middle school, and even in high school, the internet was not something that I worried about. Now, children and teenagers are constantly being to subjected to mean posts about themselves on FaceBook, Twitter and other social media sites. There really are not many rules out there in the technological wild west! Of course, cyber bullying is only one way “the innocent are “corrupted, damaged, and permanently transformed by technology.” Your blog made me think about all the negative and positive ways the internet is affecting us all.
Cyber bullying is an interesting topic to bring up in this discussion. There has been so much talk lately about this “epidemic”. As further evidence that CMC is “slouching toward the ordinary”, the taunts that use to happen in the school yard are now taking place online. The concern arises when we realize there there is no teacher to intercept a mean note being passed in class or over hear name calling on the playground. These interactions are now taking place online with no authority figure to intervene.
I think the fact that there are no rules is what draws us in. We have so many rules to follow in our daily lives and have to be so politically correct and follow societies set behavior, that this place where anything goes is welcoming. We are allowed to be who we are or who we want to be. However, since this fact is true for everyone, it makes it pretty hard to tell who/what is real and makes people mistrust and want to steer clear.
I think you did a really great job writing this and incorporating your sources. I especially like your point about how the “constant advancement” leaves us scrambling to catch up. It seems that by the time my friends bought an iPhone 4, the iPhone 5 was being announced- and all of a sudden, they weren’t satisfied. I can only imagine how frustrating it is for grandparents on Facebook to get used to interacting, and then have the entire platform changed.
I really enjoyed your post! I agree there aren’t any rules which cause the fear some people have. This fear is valid because the internet does have so much “harassment” and cyber bulling has become a major problem.