Reflection: Section 1, 2, 3 of Communication and Cyberspace

As evolving human beings in this world, we have not only been exposed to the Internet, but we have also enabled the Internet to become our environment. This technology has made social interaction extremely easy to participate in, in almost every way possible. The Internet, which can be referred to as "cyberspace" has drastically changed the way we humans communicate on a daily and minutely basis.

In section one of this book, I thought it was very interesting that the authors state that cyberspace is now functioning as a substitute for public places, which impacts our overall privacy and quality of life. I really enjoyed the authors' notes on social interaction having both a public and private nature. Obviously we are all aware that we communicate in different settings, but I don't think that we think about the purposes and experience of public and private communication. Gumpert and Drucker state, "The newspaper influenced and defined art, in part, the barbershop, the village green, and the cafe. The telephone shaped the nature of courtship. Radio altered the experiences of the living room, the car, and the doctor's office. The computer keyboard opens up distant retrievable vistas" (pg. 35). This statement definitely showed us readers that each media can definitely change the nature of public and private places in which we communicate.

Chapter 11, in section two of Communication and Cyberspace definitely appealed to me. During my undergrad studies, I took a class on new media and society. The risk of the Internet, especially the idea of perception and reality was something that always caught my interest, because many people have problems determining what is real versus what is fake on the Internet. An abundance of people, especially young teenagers are often "tricked" by different people, such as sexual predators so it is normal for people to be fearful of the Internet and the affects of using it. I thought it was smart that the authors decided to include a content analysis of websites in this book. I believe it makes the issue of websites with either nudity, sex, violence, or inappropriate language more visual for the readers of this book that the Internet contains a small percentage of "offensive" material. However, I think that no matter what, people will either stumble upon, or go looking for offensive material on the Internet, so it is in-evident.

Finally, the "Over the Edge" chapter made an argument that really hit home to me, especially since I am determined to be a journalist. I hate when people say that print journalism will vanish, and we will only read our newspapers and magazines on the Internet. But the authors go as far as suggesting publishing electronic books. I believe that reading an actual tangible book is apart of our culture-- and that is what people like-- just like reading a newspaper or a magazine. In conclusion, it remains true that the way we communicate in every way is definitely evolving due to cyberspace.