Technology is postModern. Essentially this is what Poster is saying about the virtual multimedia world that we live in. Technology gives is the opportunity to improve communications, share information, and promote democracy because of these increased abilities. This is our road to the future, the a faster and more effective mode of acquiring knowledge, to our understanding of the world--- this is the Information Highway.
We as humans are carried along this highway because of our desire to be up to date; to gain information before others; to always be 'in the know.' This works perfectly until we begin to question reality and how much it exists in a world where most of the population spends its time in cyberspace. Because, in today's world, this is reality. Humans spend more time on the internet and in the virtual world than the real one because it is a source of endless information whether beneficial or not.
For me, this ties into our past readings of Baudrillard and Zizek about what is real. What is real? It seems almost as if this virtual world that we have created is more real because people live and spend time in it. Some people are inseparable from this world and forget that there's a tangible, physical world outside that they are a part of. Is this good or bad? It depends on who you ask. Some may say that what is real is in the physical world while others may say that reality is actually in cyberspace where information is rampant and available because there are so many who are so attached to the virtual world that they have created 'communities' due to their numbers.
This comes down to the everyday use of smartphones and the internet, etc. Is everyone a part of these communities that makeup the cyber world? How much are we really invested in this unreality that is considered to be a reality? What's your level of real and unreal?
We as humans are carried along this highway because of our desire to be up to date; to gain information before others; to always be 'in the know.' This works perfectly until we begin to question reality and how much it exists in a world where most of the population spends its time in cyberspace. Because, in today's world, this is reality. Humans spend more time on the internet and in the virtual world than the real one because it is a source of endless information whether beneficial or not.
For me, this ties into our past readings of Baudrillard and Zizek about what is real. What is real? It seems almost as if this virtual world that we have created is more real because people live and spend time in it. Some people are inseparable from this world and forget that there's a tangible, physical world outside that they are a part of. Is this good or bad? It depends on who you ask. Some may say that what is real is in the physical world while others may say that reality is actually in cyberspace where information is rampant and available because there are so many who are so attached to the virtual world that they have created 'communities' due to their numbers.
This comes down to the everyday use of smartphones and the internet, etc. Is everyone a part of these communities that makeup the cyber world? How much are we really invested in this unreality that is considered to be a reality? What's your level of real and unreal?
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