Online Society

Net neutrality. Online identity. Chat rooms. Forums. How are all of these things related? One may state the obvious, "they all take place in the internet", but that's not what I'm getting at. These things are all aspects on our online society.

Popular arguments, regarding computer mediated communication fall into two categories; hype and hysteria. The hype aspect supports the notion of social constructivism--- that technology is always subordinate to how we use it, and to context, and that it brings about social change. The hysteria aspect supports the notion of technological determinism--- that technology changes society, and that it is the main cause of major social transformations at all levels (individual, social interaction, institutional). I agree with both arguments, and I think that there is a balance of social constructivism and technological determinism, in terms of computer mediated communication, just as there is in society. Nonetheless, I think that there has arisen an online society.

One thing that we've addressed in class is net neutrality. To put it simply, net neutrality is what allows us to use all data equally, regardless of which company runs the sites that we visit. Currently, large companies are trying to end net neutrality, which would ultimately put them in the 'fast lane', in terms of the amount of consumers. This sounds all too familiar; it's basically a virtual version of the capitalist society in which we live today! There are a handful of large corporations that own our means of production and relations of production, and they even control the political system, laws, media and education. To end net neutrality is to bring upon virtual capitalism.

All of this talk about the notion of capitalism brings me to my next topic; the other 99%. If we are creating a capitalist society online, then what does the majority looks like? A third argument, in regards to computer mediated communication is that we've created something called cyborg solidarity; a fusion of human and robot. This notion argues that we have created new forms of regulation and integration. In terms of regulation, we define rules, we communicate and we enforce rules. In terms of integration, we have common ritual, communities of memory and gift exchange. In class was chat rooms and forums. There have been sites, dedicated to people who want to discuss specific topics, in a specific manner. I am not implying that these sites make up the majority of computer mediated communication, but I am getting at the idea that there are a variety of communities online (i.e. Facebook)where people thrive in their online identity. The formation of such sites supports the notion that we have managed to create an online society.