Cyberculture

From ArticleWorld

Cyberculture relates to the modern day fixation with computers and the networks that that they are able to provide. The term cyberculture is a direct product of the age of technology and the digital revolution that the computer and microchips have sparked in society.

Defining Cyberculture

The idea of cyberculture as an object is difficult to define, due to it’s sheer mass of breadth. It is a phrase to encompass many different types of people and sub-cultures as well as engulfing huge swathes of the general population. The term ‘cyber’ tends to relate to futuristic objects or ideas, in it’s usage in the phrase cyberculture, and it has evolved to mark a present culture not an unattainable or distant object. Cyber also denotes a technological foundation like in cybernetics or cyberspace, it means a electronic and technologically advanced object.

Spreading

Cyberculture is a widespread phenomenon and one that has been inextricably linked to the continued development of computers and the Internet. The foundations of cyberculture lie in the beginning of the computer generations in the 1950’s and 1960’s. But the first boom occurred during the popularity of certain home or personal computers in the late 1970’s. From this early stage the cyberculture grew in parallel with the growing popularity of the computer generation. With the Internet boom starting around 1995, the cyberculture stopped being an underground culture and moved into the mainstream, as for the first time hundreds of millions of people were interacting with cyber technology. Eminent social theorists have attempted to explain or question the rise of cyberculture, but have only ever managed to scratch the surface by exploring only a single aspect of what is a multi-facetted organism.

Cyberworld

Much of the world has either chosen to or has been forced to join in with the cyberculture. Having many levels of entry and numerous sub-cultures the cyberculture has engulfed the world. People use the Internet and computers to work, educate and communicate. Additions, alterations and updates make the cyberworld an ever-expanding place with new additions offering people the opportunity to expand or develop there own cybercultures. Cyber-terrorists and hackers make the cyber world a dangerous place in which knowledge and data become an important and expensive commodity. The world is reflected in a cyber alternative reality or virtual reality, with the same range of ideas and personalities that have become staple parts of the real world, whether they be good or bad.