jbml thln 56 the answer you (jb) give


TO
YOUR LARGER
QUESTION OF WHETHER
THE INTERNET CAN BE A "PLACE OF SIGNIFICANT FORMATION OF PERSONAL IDENTITIES"
seems to me (ml) again to rest on abstractions
from earlier forms of human
communication.

To the extent
that the network enables
communication with physically distant residents,
helps us reestablish lapsed relationships, enhances our powers of memory,
and provides us with artifacts from younger times,
it is a kind of power tool for recreating identity
in the traditional sense.

Again,
the very description of the Internet as a "place"
(whether a mere "information superhighway" or a full-fledged "cyberspace"knipoog
has a fascinating history, but is of course a metaphorical reference
to older ways of thinking about
face-to-face social relations.

The actual Internet,
an assemblage of computer hardware & software, may provide us
with an experience reminiscent of place, but only for those of us who prefer
to imagine communication
as happening in a place.

The phrase "chat room"
can make the web seem friendlier
to an older age cohort (to me it conjures up visions
of a bath house), but my personal impression is that the new generation that has grown up with e-mail,
chat(room), sms~messages & mobile telephony (telegram/gramophone/music/tv-box/tape-
recorder/camera/video & associated electronic innovations
a.s.o.) - has no need for these euphemisms - they
simply regard our human communication
as naturally taking place across
a wide scale of time
& distance.
OK!
09 mrt 2013 - bewerkt op 10 mrt 2013 - meld ongepast verhaal
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Asih, man, 81 jaar
   
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