New Media - Internet, Self & Beyond

Reality rape vs virtual rape

I think the internet is a great tool and the majority of my time is spent on the net, whether it is for work, uni or personal use. I do not however, dabble in the word of online gaming rooms, MUD’s and any other form of cyberspace that can be categorised with these. Is it my thing? Definitely not. Do I think it’s a little strange. Yes. Would I judge somebody for partaking in these activities? No. But I’ve always asked the question of when does the internet go too far? Well, my answer to that is when the statement “Rape in Cyberspace” is thrown around.

Like this article, I also found it hard to fathom the concept of such a vile act taking place in the virtual world. But apparently it happens quite frequently. Case in point, an incident which occurred in a virtual community called LambdaMOO committed by an avatar called Mr.Bungle (Dibbell, 2003). In the aftermath of the incident, several central questions where asked throughout LambdaMOO participants - what was the real-life legal status of the offense? Could Bungle’s university administrators punish him for sexual harassment? Could he be prosecuted under state laws against obscene phone calls (Dibbell, 2003).

Unfortunately, forced online sexual activity is a real, traumatic experience that can have a profound affect on the victim (Lynn, 2007). But given the reach of the internet and the new depths people can explore it, how could anyone ever regulate these kinds of occurrences, which have not only crossed, but totally violated what even the most experienced online users consider acceptable?  As discussed here, there are no laws which render these activities criminal. Sipress (2007) discusses the need for a law enforcement to monitor these online fantasy worlds (Sipress, 2007).

 Dibbell, Julian. 1998. “A Rape in Cyberspace.” Accessed May 7, 2012. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/contentWrapper.jsp?content_id=_4076720_1&displayName=Week+9&course_id=_81726_1&navItem=content&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.juliandibbell.com%2Farticles%2Fa-rape-in-cyberspace%2F

Sipress, Alan. 2007. “Does virtual reality need a sheriff?” The Washington Post, June 2. Accessed May 7, 2012. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/01/AR2007060102671.html

Lynn, R. (2007, April 5). Virtual Rape is Traumatic, but is it a Crime? Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com

REGULATE YOURSELF

This week’s topic explores the idea of “new media transgressions”. Leong (2012) explores the notion of transgression as going beyond the limit and blurring the lines between public and private and professional and domestic.

Yes I have Facebook. Yes I have Instagram. And yes, I have a tendency to casually stalk people in cyber city….but that’s normal right? Thanks to new media transgressions, cyberstalking (even in the most innocent form) is ridiculously easy and becoming, dare I say it, the norm.

Thompson (2011) defines privacy as a reflection of the individual’s ability to exercise control of something, and this, I whole heartedly believe in. During class we were asked to search ourselves on the internet and unlike my fellow classmate, it seemed that I was completely anonymous. Is that because I have never indulged in social media? It can’t be, because I have. Is it just good fortune that searching my name showed no results which actually correlated to myself? Maybe. Or is it simply because, as Thompson (2011) believes, I have mediated my presence online?  Perhaps.

I have always been careful to make sure that any profile I have online is private but I am well aware of the fact that these levels of privacy won’t always be a protector.  As discussed here by my mortified class mate, ultimately we have to be our own regulators.

Thompson, J. (2011). Shifting Boundaries of Public and Private Life in Theory Culture Society 28(4), pp. 49

Leong, S. “KCB206 New Media, Internet, Self & Beyond, Week 7 Lecture Slides”, Accessed 30 April 2012 http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_81726_1%26url%3D

How much new media is too much new media?

In this week’s reading, Castells explores the networked society; its origins, its place in our contemporary society and what the future holds for new media Castells, 1999). New media has without a doubt shaped my existence, and probably that of everyone in my generation. But how much new media is too much new media?

Zittrian (2009) poses the question of what “ubiquitous human computing” will do to our lives, and talks about LiveOps, a company that enables people to work from their home as call center employees. If the speed at which the networked society has changed in the last decade is anything to go by, the next ten years will see our worlds rocked by even more technological advances. But in terms of working from home vs working not at home, will this be a good thing?

As discussed here, there are definitely benefits to having more choices in the workforce if you, for whatever reason, are unable to leave your house to work. Motherhood, illness, disability and even your geographical location could render you housebound in your job.

But for those who do not fit any of the abovementioned categories and simply choose not to work in an environment outside their home, is the concept of working from home simply an easy way out? It is important to have work/life balance in your life and the stimulation of a workplace environment (Iksold, 2008)

Let’s hope that the next round of changes to the networked society doesn’t turn us into this…..

Castells, M. (1999). ‘An Introduction to the Information Age’ in The Media Reader: Continuity & Transformation. Hugh Mackay & Tim O’Sullivan (eds),London: Sage: 398-410. Available from CMD.

Zittrain, Jonathan. 2009. “Minds for Sale”. YouTube video, posted November 29. Accessed April 20, 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw3h-rae3uo&feature=youtu.be

Iksold, Alex. 2008. ‘The “work from home” generation.’ http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_work_from_home_generation.php

Cyberchondria Anonymous

What do you get when you add a healthy dose of hypochondria to a small case of neurosis and a whole lot of new media trends? Cyberchondria – a hybrid form of hypochondria which is used to describe the 8 out of 10 internet users who are jumping online to get questions relating to their health answered (Murphy, 2010).

 

Lewis (2006) calls for the emergence of this trend throughout young people to be contextualised with the changing role of media in people’s lives and the shifting conceptions of responsible citizenship in the contemporary world.

It is not unreasonable to think using the internet to get medical questions answered is a cheaper, easier and a whole lot less frustrating alternative to waiting 45 minutes to see your doctor. But if you find yourself likening a slight head ache to a brain tumour or cerebral hemorrhage as well as doing this, you are probably suffering from a bad case of cyberchondria.

The number one spot on the 10 Signs You Have Cyberchondria (Roberts-Grey, 2012) list is awarded to focusing on the worst case scenario. Other signs include falling prey to post-search anxiety, consulting Facebook friends on your symptoms and having a favourites bar which is filled with medical search results.  

While cyberchondria may be saving suffers time and money, if symptoms persist ALWAYS consult your doctor.

References

Lewis, T. (2006). Seeking health information on the internet: lifestyle choice or bad attack of cyberchondria? Media, Culture & Society, volume 28, issue 4: 521-539.

Murphy, S. (2012). Internet fuels bad self-diagnoses and ‘cyberchondria’. Accessed 31 March 2012. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40199219/ns/health-behavior/t/internet-fuels-bad-self-diagnoses-cyberchondria/

Roberts-Grey, G. (2012) 10 Signs You Have Cyberchondria . Accessed 31 March 2012. http://www.ivillage.com/10-signs-you-have-cyberchondria/4-b-433623

Your ethical consideration

The internet has undoubtedly changed the way we live and learn and there is no denying the pulling power the internet and its content has on society today.

For example, let’s look at Kony 2012, a film created by Invisible Children, Inc which was released on March 5, 2012. The purpose of the film was to promote the arrest of Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony by the International Criminal Court in 2012. By 19 March 2012 the film had gone viral with over 83 million views on YouTube and over 16.6 million views on Vimeo.

As discussed here, the internet is often used for campaigns of this nature for its speed, immediacy and scale (Leong, 2012).

It didn’t take long for the attention to turn sour though, with some saying the video manipulated facts for strategic purposes and oversimplification of events in the region, with others calling it nothing other than a media sensation (Mahmood, 2012).

Shirky (2011) explains a connection between social media and political change which is discussed here, however Hamelink (2006) considers the ethical and political factors of the internet as a platform for communication and asks the question on everybody’s lips – can we cope with the lies and deceit on the internet (Hamelink, 2006)?

I strongly agree with both schools of thought; however I believe the most important ethical considerations which need to come into play here are personal ones.

References

Leong, S. 2012. KCB206. New Media Amusement Arcade: Music, Games and Films: Week 3. Accessed 16th March 2012. Lecture notes. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/

Hamelink, C. 2006. The Ethics of the Internet: Can we cope with Lies and Deceit on the Net? In Ideologies of the Internet, K. Sarikakis & Daya Thussu, pp. 115-130. New Jersey: Hampton Press.

Shirky, C. (2011). The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change in Foreign Affairs. Volume 90, Issue 1; pg. 28, 15

Mahmood S.A.2012. Kony 2012: A marketing phenomenon. The McGill Daily. http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2012/03/kony-2012-a-marketing-phenomenon/

The ‘New’ Music Industry

In the week 3 lecture, Susan stated that we live in a “participatory culture”; a culture in which we don’t just enjoy media, but also participate (Leong, 2012). This statement is reflected all areas of media, but the impact that new media has had on the music and entertainment industries is undoubtedly one of the most profound, and most talked about (de Fontenay, 2012).

The music industry has changed, sometimes to the detriment of some industry professionals. But being signed by a major label is not the prize card it used to be for many emerging artists. Instead, successful viral music marketing has been the way to make it big in a tough market.

Steven Levy speaks about how the ‘iPod era’ has stretched consumers collection of music (Levy, 2006), but I’d like to extend the ‘iPod era’ to the internet era. Without the internet and new media, I seriously question whether our personal inventory of music would be what it is; but still the critics rave on.

Chris Winter, pioneer of ABC Radio’s double jay and triplej, compares the evolution of the music industry on the internet to recording tracks from vinyl onto cassettes. He wonders why the emergence of the internet came as such a shock to the music industry andinsists the news isn’t all bad for music labels and artists.

If the critics don’t jump on board, they are only going to get left further behind.

References

Leong, S. (2012). KCB206. New Amusement Arcade: Music, Games and Films: Week 3. Lecture notes. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au

de Fontenay, E. Impact of the Internet/New Media on the Music Recording Industry. http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~jmueller/its/conf/torino99/abs/e_deFontenay.html

Levy, S. (2006). The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness, New York: Simon & Schuster

Minion, L. (2011). Piracy & Publicity: new media innovations and the music industry. http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/09/27/3326834.htm