Where Modern Meets Mundane: The History of the Internet in a Contemporary Culture
If we are the so-called “networked society” (Kåhre, 2013, p.1), and this is the age of web culture, we have to ask ourselves if the Internet has indeed just recently jumped out of antiquity. Through a critical analysis of literature surrounding different communication types, I will endeavour to investigate which aspects of the Internet, if any, could be regarded as ‘new’. Throughout this essay, I use the word ‘Internet’ in reference to today’s multi-network communication structure proposed by Tiropanis, Hall, Crowcroft, Contractor, and Tassiulas (2015), in the western world. I have chosen to approach this complex topic in a Westernized context because I am most …show more content…
Rodríquez et al. (2014) assert that “continual innovation and rapid technological change” (p.70) will undoubtedly influence everyday society, and alter our understanding of basic communication. For instance, the Internet gave rise to enhanced social networking sites - arguably, just new platforms for friends to coordinate their interactions on. In this regard, the Internet can be viewed as a different means of “ordering and disordering of our societies and environments” (Marshall & Notley, 2014, p.127). Yet we must note that Marshall and Notley further depict disorder as an ongoing part of society, emphasising the history and evolution of the Internet, rather than it’s sudden appearance. It extends beyond chatrooms and status updates; now even some businesses can be ran entirely online. As such, new job positions for ‘social networking’ or ‘website maintenance’ have arisen for the “online faculty member” (Hoekstra, 2014, p.4). In the future this could be an employment norm - yet even just fifty years ago these jobs would not have existed (Hoekstra, 2014). Let’s face it; these days some Baby Boomers still have trouble attempting to navigate a sophisticated webpage (Veenhof & Timusk, 2009). However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the Internet is ‘new’. Consider how much of the older generation now maintain their own social media and email accounts (Boshier & Huang, 2010) – as such, the Internet must have progressed at least relatively gradually if this age bracket can still keep up with networking changes despite their age. Theorists such as Rodríquez et al. (2014) support the notion that evolution such as this moves slowly, and each new element is added bit by bit to these vast, complicated networks such as the Internet. Again, the influence of past technologies on the Internet’s capabilities is emphasized – suggesting that the Internet is not new, but it can
If we are the so-called “networked society” (Kåhre, 2013, p.1), and this is the age of web culture, we have to ask ourselves if the Internet has indeed just recently jumped out of antiquity. Through a critical analysis of literature surrounding different communication types, I will endeavour to investigate which aspects of the Internet, if any, could be regarded as ‘new’. Throughout this essay, I use the word ‘Internet’ in reference to today’s multi-network communication structure proposed by Tiropanis, Hall, Crowcroft, Contractor, and Tassiulas (2015), in the western world. I have chosen to approach this complex topic in a Westernized context because I am most …show more content…
Rodríquez et al. (2014) assert that “continual innovation and rapid technological change” (p.70) will undoubtedly influence everyday society, and alter our understanding of basic communication. For instance, the Internet gave rise to enhanced social networking sites - arguably, just new platforms for friends to coordinate their interactions on. In this regard, the Internet can be viewed as a different means of “ordering and disordering of our societies and environments” (Marshall & Notley, 2014, p.127). Yet we must note that Marshall and Notley further depict disorder as an ongoing part of society, emphasising the history and evolution of the Internet, rather than it’s sudden appearance. It extends beyond chatrooms and status updates; now even some businesses can be ran entirely online. As such, new job positions for ‘social networking’ or ‘website maintenance’ have arisen for the “online faculty member” (Hoekstra, 2014, p.4). In the future this could be an employment norm - yet even just fifty years ago these jobs would not have existed (Hoekstra, 2014). Let’s face it; these days some Baby Boomers still have trouble attempting to navigate a sophisticated webpage (Veenhof & Timusk, 2009). However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the Internet is ‘new’. Consider how much of the older generation now maintain their own social media and email accounts (Boshier & Huang, 2010) – as such, the Internet must have progressed at least relatively gradually if this age bracket can still keep up with networking changes despite their age. Theorists such as Rodríquez et al. (2014) support the notion that evolution such as this moves slowly, and each new element is added bit by bit to these vast, complicated networks such as the Internet. Again, the influence of past technologies on the Internet’s capabilities is emphasized – suggesting that the Internet is not new, but it can