Assessment 3 - Final Essay - Accurate Portrayals of the Net

With the reading and analysis of both Marc Prensky’s The Emerging Online Life Of The Digital Native alongside Dave Weinberger’s A New World - two articles that attempt to introduce, highlight, characterise, define and reveal new and interesting tendencies, attitudes, behaviours and oddities of internet users and their online lives – together with what I believe are my broad and extensive experiences using the internet, I will comment systematically upon the validity of the various interpretations made by both authors.

Both Marc Prensky and Dave Weinberger are saying similar things. In Prensky’s The Emerging Online Life Of The Digital Native, the text is heavily structured and academic – his ideas are argued from two separate viewpoints: the digital natives (those familiar with the internet and new digital technologies) and the digital immigrants (those who are unfamiliar, and find the technology challenging) and he uses these two demographics to compare and contrast his points to support his arguments. Weinberger’s A New World, which is the first chapter from his book Small Pieces Loosely Joined, is a loosely structured, informal and creative piece that relies on personal anecdotes and anomalies to make his arguments. Despite their differences, they both tend to raise the same points and share similar insights (most of which I agree with) about the internet revolutionising the way humans organise and run their lives each proving that “we are moving from a world of Internet wizards to a world of ordinary people routinely using the Internet as an embedded part of [our] lives.” (Haythornthwaite and Wellman, 2002).

One of the prime arguments both authors raise concerns the way the internet has radically changed the way humans communicate. Prensky argues that emails “quickly supplanted” traditional letters and “long-distance communication went from being expensive to be essentially free”. Similarly, Weinberger commented on the “distanceless of the Web” now that email, chat and web forums gap the measurable and geographical space between people. And according to a number of studies, “90 percent of all internet users claim to be emailers” (Nie and Erbring, 2002); “almost all web surf” and that In September 2001, “Internet users spent an average of 10 hours and 19 minutes online” (Haythornthwaite and Wellman, 2002) – these facts and the argument held by both Weinberger and Prensky corroborate my experiences of the radical changes in communication, and online behaviour the internet has provided. A change that is definite and irrefutable.

There is an interesting issue raised by Weinberger on whether the internet is making us more or less social. This question has an answer that seems to undermine itself. It is reported that “the more time people spend using the Internet, the more they lose contact with their social environment” (Nie and Erbring, 2002). And yet, Weinberger in referencing a New York Times article titled ‘Who Says Surfers Are Antisocial?’ argues instead that “internet users increased their contact with others”. Yes, the internet makes you less social physically, but it’s also a doorway to meeting new people and to socialising in different ways. “As more youth log on to the Internet, we can expect that more of their friends do too” (Gross, 2004). Based on my experiences, this observation, along with Weinberger’s, is correct. My internet activities have led me onto joining both a cricket team and a motorcycle club. This, Prensky labels is called “online meeting”. It is an increasing social phenomenon and something I myself, have participated in. So while one can say I’ve isolated myself from typical human interaction by using the internet, it has conversely - and against many peoples hypotheses - led me onto meeting more people and thus increasing my social life.

Both Prensky and Weinberger raise a number of interrelated points about the issues of identity; which bring about the concepts of anonymity, trying on other personalities, lookism and maintaining identity even in the “faceless mass” of the public. With the beginning of the internet, one of the most popularised concepts was the idea of having a “voice”, “a say”: being influential. Although there are some examples of this to be true, one’s voice has proven less influential a concept as what was initially considered, though still an intrinsic part of what makes the internet work. A lot of the time, these “voices” are anonymous. Weinberger begins A New World discussing the legalities surrounding identity (or the identities of such voices) and the notions behind using multiple or additional identities. He uses the example of Michael Ian Campbell, who received jail time for essentially “trying on a role” by falsely threatening another student - who was at the time attending the recently traumatised Columbine High School - of an additional school shooting massacre. Although Weinberger focuses on a negative example of identity experimentation, a study by McKenna and Bargh in the year 2000 on the affect the internet has on identity, conversely argues “The Internet provides the opportunity for individuals to engage in greater identity and role construction than is possible in the non-Internet world.” I acknowledge people use the internet to experiment with identity, and even though Weinberger doesn't typify internet users by his example of Michael Ian Campbell, I wouldn’t conclude identity experimentation or “trying on a role” as necessarily a bad thing (just that it can be). I prefer to accept that the internet instead allows us the opportunity and freedom to build upon and develop our identity positively.

Prensky - with much insight - introduces the concept of “lookism”: that online, you are not judged by appearance, but by what you produce. “The old barriers of sexism, ageism, and racism are not present, since you can't see the person to whom you're ‘speaking’. You get to know the person without preconceived notions about what you THINK he is going to say, based on visual prejudices you may have, no matter how innocent.” (Polly, 1992) It is a concept hardly considered by users but integral nonetheless. Although shirking the term, this correlates with Weinberger’s observations on buying and selling with eBay, and that the most interesting point - and one I can vouch as true - that irrespective of a person’s appearance, whether the person is good or bad, irrespective of their religious or political views or their ethnicity; as long as they act with honour with their eBay transactions, nothing else is important.

To finish, it’s become quite obvious that at this point I agree with the majority of both Prensky and Weinberger’s portrayals of internet users; their respective attitudes and behaviours. Their unique insights, thorough observations and accurate deductions ring true not just with me, but with anyone who uses the digital technologies and the internet, I’m sure.

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References:

1. Polly, Jean Armour. (1992). Surfing The Internet: an Introduction.Version 2.0.2. 94pp.

2. Gross, Elisheva F. (2004). Adolescent Internet use: What we expect, what teens report. Applied Developmental Psychology 25. 633–649pp.

3. Haythornthwaite, C and Wellman, B. (2002). The Internet In Everyday Life: An Introduction. Edited by Barry Wellman & Caroline Haythornthwaite, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, Fall 2002 55pp.

4. Nie, Norman H. and Erbring, Lutz. (2002). Internet and Society: A Preliminary Report. IT & SOCIETY, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1, SUMMER 2002, PP. 275-283.

5. McKenna, Katelyn Y. A. and Bargh, John A. (2000) Plan 9 From Cyberspace: The Implications of the Internet for Personality and Social Psychology. Personality and Social Psychology Review. Vol. 4, No. 1, 57–75.

4 Hours As 4th In Line.

Today, I had planned to get a new rear tyre on my bike. The workshop, titled 'Mad Mick's' was situated out at Goodna, so from Holland Park, it wasn't really in the local vicinity. On the phone when I called on Wednesday, I was told "first in best dressed, we open at 8." Getting there at 10am (as I knew 8 was as usual, beyond me) I found myself in line, behind 3 others who had with some wisdom arrived a little earlier.

Well, after getting there at 10am, I left at 2pm. And after skipping Breakfast and discovering the workshop was beyond walking distance from any food outlet, I sat in the Sun, stomach rumbling, forced to listen to Bogans discussing skewed interpretations of how the Politicians are running the country with a particular dislike towards motorcycles.

All in all, at least it was a cheap tyre fitted well.

Big Day Out Tickets are all gone.

I've sat up till midnight, way past my bed time, (nah, kidding) and I've been refreshing Chrome on the BDO website like a mother-bitch, supplying my credit card details (Ok, my Mums) not once, but twice, and in under 15 minutes, I am told that we've missed out. Tickets Sold. Try again with Ticketek.

There's an example of frustrating! Ey?

Casey Stoner Is Back In Business

After taking three races off due to illness, Casey Stoner returned to the Portugal Grand Prix at Estoril and in an effort beyond expectation, he finished 2nd, even beating the current World Championship points leader Valentino Rossi. It's silenced a lot of Stoner's critics. There has always been criticism that Stoner's success comes down to the extra horsepower afforded to his Ducati Desmosdeci GP9. But with other riders, including former world champion Nicky Hayden riding on the same setup, his largest critics are beginning to see that perhaps this isn't true. He's just a natural.

What i'm listening to...right now...this very moment.

Bob Dylan

Bringing It All Back

The Gates of Eden

Dylan is best.

Of war and peace the truth just twists
Its curfew gull just glides
Upon four-legged forest clouds

The cowboy angel rides

With his candle lit into the sun
Though its glow is waxed in black
All except when 'neath the trees of Eden

Tutorial Task 8 for Week 9 (I believe)

Giving some decent thought to Essay Topics or Essay Questions, I think the one that best suits me, my writing and my research skills - essentially, the one that suits my strengths - is Question 1, and I'll post it below:

1. Marc Prensky's "Emerging online life of the digital native" and Dave Weinberger's "A New World" both present different views of contemporary internet users. In light of your own experiences with new technologies do you think they are accurate portrayals? Discuss why or why not with specific examples.

Now, I've found Marc Prensky's article here, but as for Dave Weinberger's article titled A New World, well...I'm stumped. So much so that I've emailed Adam Muir, the course convenor for 1501HUM (New Communication Technologies) with the query Where do I find it?

Moving on with some of my additional sources, or references, i have found a number of interesting articles through Google scholar. They relate as they deal with the behaviour of those native to Digital Technologies such as the web, blogging, sharing, creating, gaming, buying and selling etc. as well as including statistics.

My first reference is titled Internet and Society: A Preliminary Report by Norman H. Nie and Lutz Erbring. Basically, this journal concerns the visible effects the internet (and Information Technology) has had on American citizens. An introductory prologue for the article sums up the articles relevance to my assessment question quite clearly; it follows:

Using data from a national random sample of American adults, it is found that the more time people spend using the Internet, the more they lose contact with their social environment. This effect is noticeable even with just 2–5 Internet hours per week, and it rises substantially for those spending more than 10 hours per week.

My second reference is titled Days and Night on the Internet and is co-authored by Philip E. N. Howard, Lee Raine and Steve Jones. As an American research paper, its concern is how the internet has spread throughout America, and looks statistically at the length of time users spend on the net, the frequency of times they use the net and the demographics of those users. It's insightful and helps one understand a little more closely the people more inclined to use the net; their behaviour and assists me in writing my essay, helping me to deduce what a contemporary internet user really is.

My third reference is titled The Internet and Social Life and is written by John A. Bargh and Katelyn Y. A. McKenna. This paper is interesting, because it addresses the historical context of the internet, and then it examines the effects of the Internet on an individual user's psychological well-being, it's effects on personal relationships, identity, the workplace and social interaction and effects on the community. I think this article will be useful from the opposite to a analytical, statistical paper and concerns more the negative effects of internet use, as opposed to Prensky's and Wienberger's positive portrayals of internet use.

My fourth reference is titled Has The Internet Become Indispensable? by Donna Hoffman, Thomas Novak and Alladi Venkatesh. In their article, they explore the idea that the internet (as the title suggests) has become indispensable to people. The idea is that the internet has become so embedded into the daily fabric of people's lives that now, people cant do without it. It also looks at the net as superseding television as the major source of entertainment and continues to raise ideas and points that validate their hypothesis'. Nonetheless the paper is interesting from two standpoints: one as the internet being indispensable in a good way, for business and as an educational tool and second as a negative influence relating to computer addiction through online gaming and pornography.

Lastly, my fifth reference is titled Addiction to the Internet and Online Gaming and its by Peter Wiemer-Hastings. I thought this article would offer an interesting point of view in terms of the assessments question regarding accurate portrayals of internet users. I've noticed in both Prensky's and Wienberger's articles, they make little mention to internet addiction thus, this article could serve to oppose the views both aforementioned authors have. This obviously then is an article that concentrates on the adverse affects of internet use, and addresses the notion of internet addiction and it's shared aspects to substance addiction. To me, of all the articles I have chosen, this one strikes me as the more readable and the less academic.

Lecture 8 - Summary

Our eighth lecture was presented by Jason Nelson whose eclectic, semi-hostile, spontaneous and thoroughly engaging way of presenting left us all surprised, amused and a little shocked.

To briefly summarise (as taking notes proved difficult), Jason discussed torrents and the legalities surrounding them and asked for a show of hands to who in the class downloads them. Unsurprisingly, and to Jason's dislike, no-one offered to volunteer.

He began to talk about the Internet Boom, where companies invested millions and millions into online endeavours, specifically mentioning Pets.com and taking suggestions from students he also conceded that other companies like Amazon and Ebay were included. He spoke about Ebay, Myspace and Yahoo's downturn in popularity and then visited Archive.org - looking at old code archives of websites such as Google, Yahoo (again) and even GU. He briefly mentioned Google Wave but never went on to describe it.

Jason moved onto the popularity of Social Networking sites and pointed out that all social networking sites come and go - and after Facebook and Twitter, there'll be something else. Jason directed us a little closer to niche' social networking - small Social Networking sites that surround a shared common interest. Introducing Elftown: a social networking site to do with a users fetish with anything Elvish. And then VampireRave: same thing but with vampires.

The lecture then became a slideshow of interesting websites. Next was Uncyclopedia, an anti-wikipedia that parodies the site and which allows anyone to add, vandalise and fabricate any article they so wish to choose. Next was HomeStarRunner - an internet cartoon.

Then things became interesting when Jason asked the class (also including other attending lecturer's) whether he should venture onto 4chan.org. Interestingly, a student behind me shouted "No, dont go to 4chan!" which I guess only served to encourage Jason. Adam expressed hesitation, but Jason went onto to briefly summarise that 4Chan was a place for people (particularly hackers and spammers) to come together and change the way things run. It's basically an online community that has the power to influence Governments, companies, organisations and websites. I believe a lot of their stuff is illegal.

The last cool site was EDIS (The Emergency Disaster Information Service) which is a map of the world displaying current real-world emergencies. And then we finished with Jason's site secrettechnology.com - a site that includes bizzare and unsettling flash games that I believe are meant to be a form of digital art. Only 15 minutes ago, before writing this summary I gave one of his games a go - it was interesting.

Political Cartoons

My best mate, Nathan - a Graphic Design student and hobbyist illustrator - was recently given the opportunity to draw a political cartoon in Sydney's Hub (a free publication on the streets of Sydney) on the alleged story that the Australian Federal Police went back on their word with the family of Scott Rush (the Bali drug-mule) when Rush's family cut a deal with the AFP to supply them information in exchange for handling their sons case with some leniency. Well, as of the 13 February, Scott Rush has been sentenced to life in prison for drug-trafficking and as a result, there is some doubt regarding the AFP's handling of the case.

Although the cartoon that heads this blog post has nothing to do with that particular story or my friends cartoon, it's a great example of effective political cartooning - one which provided me with quite a giggle. Note the simplicity. The drawings are straightforward; clear and effective; almost rushed, but rushed so it's artistic. Similarly, the colours are crayoned in or with textas; the characters emote particular and obvious gestures and there is not a straight line in sight. As a career - I would imagine it would be quite rewarding. Go here for the gallery of political cartoons on The Australian website.