Cyberspace has come to replace the reality with non-virtual reality. The technological advancements have allowed the population to be swayed and dwindled in artificially created worlds. Radio, Television and computers have made us draw a thin line amid real reality and artificial reality. No sooner than later, human beings will be incapable of differentiating between what is real and what is generated by artificial means. The consequences are disastrous. The role of cyberspace and the effects it has introduced to the population will be addressed. Cyberspace has affected gender construction and women are the mostly affected by the use of technology. The new form of the technological process affects the reality, subjugation of women and the potential costs induced. The concept of separation from reality depicts how human beings are separated from the reality and lives in a virtual world.
Gender, as a social construction, is “open” to deviations of its content, curtailing from social and cultural conditions (Boudourides, and Drakou 1).In text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC), the body is invisible, and this deletes the physical presence. The cyber spatial interactions illustrate the symbolic space of gender. In most instances, media manipulate the presentation deliberately demeaning the value of women. For instance, David Bolter and Richard Grusin ask whether visual MUDS solve the ambiguities linked to gender opacity (Boudourides, and Drakou 2). Furthermore, in the article, “A Rape in Cyberspace,” Dibell portrays the sexual violation rights of the avatars, and this elicited mixed reaction from the community. The computer game failed to honor the culture and norms within the community since it tried to depict that the rape is not a crime. In the scenario, the value of women is unappreciated since they can be forced to engage in harmful sexual behaviors in the absence of their consent. In the LambdaMOO game, Mr. Bungle commits sexual violence and disapproves the value in the community that expects women to be respected (Dibell 01). The sexual violence victims are denied their rights and no one comes to their rescue. Mark Slouka warns that the cyberspace has come to disrupt the reality and introduce a fictitious world, generating disastrous consequences. Slouka believes that the technology destroys the morals in our society because rights and freedoms of individuals are violated. He argues that the new technology “threatens to make us imprudent, makes us collectively, gullible as children” (Slouka 2). Freud steps in to condemn the role of technology in undermining women and his arguments condemn the activities illustrated in A Rape in Cyberspace. He believes that smut introduces sexual facts that excite some people and at the same time embarrassing other culprits (Freud 45). Smut illustrates that women may be seduced at their disposal to men, and they have forced to remain submissive to the male counterparts. The new technology supports sexual aggressiveness and has not succeeded in promoting the traditional role of the women in the contemporary society (Freud 26)
The rise of technology and the discovery of the internet have made computers an informational tool applicable to activities of human beings, but at the same time introducing disastrous consequences. Initially, technology excited most individuals as they argued, “Technology can train our brains in positive ways” (Freud 14). Scientific studies exemplified the benefits associated with playing video games. For instance, according to Dr. Gary Small, A Neuroscientist and Professor at UCLA, “surgeons who play video games make fewer surgical errors” (Slouka 3) Contrariwise, the disadvantages associated with technology and internet outweighs the disadvantages. Technology affects how people interact and also damages the brain’s thinking capacity. The days that creativity and innovation are long gone, the minds and thoughts of people are brainwashed in the manner of which technology presents its ideas and opinions. Michael Heim, Kevin Kelly and Slouka depict the contemporary society as a new class of apocalyptic utopians who are not subjected to the reality in life and believe in fallacies, miseries, imaginations and fantasies. Slouka hopes that things will transform and his phrase, “the ballast of materiality,” clears any doubt that he is exaggerating the dangers associated with the technology. In the article, “The War on Worlds,” Slouka argues “the race today is..between the things that are and the things that seem to be, between the chemist at RCA and the angel of God” (Slouka 25). The author was trying to explain how sound effects have taken away the place of sound in the real world. Radios and Televisions have turned out promote the technology without paying much attention to the dangers imposed to the human generation. Moreover, other disastrous effects of cyberspace include the acceleration of the process of sexual objectification. There is accountability for any harmful behavior induced, and this deteriorates the values and norms in the society. Slouka strongly opposes any attempts that acknowledge that the impact of technology has changed the world to the better. For him, cyberspace has taken the advantage of replacing reality with non-virtual reality. People are no longer interested in sociliazing and they prefer to ‘stick’ to the screen all throughout the day. The addiction to computer games is highlighted explaining why peoples are becoming slaves in front of their computer screens. A lot of time is wasted by the generation seeking to live in the world of utopia. Slouka admires a real world; he asserts how he misses the “return to original things, things we can experience directly and for us, not through the mediating influence of technology” (Slouka 9)
The growth of the internet has developed the concept of separation from reality where people are absorbed on the internet that they essentially believe they belongs virtual world. According to Slouka, this has led to the emergence of gender issues such as digital orgasms, full-body sensoria, and uploaded personalities, and consequently adverse impact on the human relationships. In the modern word, people are replacing the physical world with the internet technology to extent that all things provided by the physical world seem available. According to Lanier (p 15.), the web technology has developed a place where people do not only consume information, but also use the information to develop an idea that the internet is turning into a superhuman creature. As a result, this concept of people being drained into the virtual reality has emerged with serious effects on the real world’s relationships behaviors, and norms. Lanier compares the impact of school test with the impact of Facebook to friendship (Lanier 18). However, he argues that the two scenarios are based on the philosophical mistake that holds that technology can soon represent the human relationship or thought. For instance, an online relationship is far from the relationship in the real word although it appears to be true. Dibell argues that the actors in the drama did not touch other, and hence no rape occurred. The physical interaction in the scene contained a mingling of electronic signal that makes the individual believe that the “touching” are real. This is the same case of the virtual reality brought about by the internet. Therefore, a person cannot argue that the virtual relationship is as effective as a real relationship. Freud argues that although the “looking has replaced the touching, libido for looking and touching is present in everyone in two forms; active and passive. Therefore, since virtual contact involves seeing only, they cannot be considered as real because they lack the essence of touching.
According to Slouka, part of what the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s John Barlow and Wire’s Kevin Kelly termed as blessing is revealing itself as a curse. Although some people such as Mr. Bungle can differentiate between the virtual life and the real life, a real problem emerged for those who cannot differentiate the two concepts. Therefore, the distinction between the virtual and real life requires a particular maturity level, especially the adults. Therefore, this scenario exposes the children and young generation into a problem of believing that the virtual world has the same qualities as the real world. This has been the reason many young youths and children are submerged into the social networks and believe that that is where they can gain true friends. In agreement with this argument, Linier believes that it is true for the young youth to say that they have gained thousands of friends on Facebook, “if the idea of friendship is diminished” (Lanier 16). According to Freud, it is more obvious to observe the inclination of self-exposure to children compared to adult (Freud 117). This evidence indicates that the children are exposed to the world of virtual reality at tender age. For grownups, it becomes easier for them to realize that people playing the virtual acts are just pranks, but do not satisfy their inner sexual desire. On the other hand, children cannot comprehend this because they are feeble and innocent and can be led astray if the required guidance is not employed. For instance, children from the affluent society are exposed to electronic devices such as iPad and other devices and thus they can access virtual sex materials. Therefore, as a result of development of internet and technology children and adolescents are exposed to the world that affects their values and morals. This is because of the reason that it is difficult to control and regulate such behavior since children young adults are faking their age to get access to the adult virtual materials. Therefore, the technology and internet can contribute to the negative impact on the society if the effective and timely policies to regulate the virtual community are not formulated.
In conclusion, the internet provides both drawbacks and benefits to the human relationships, norms, and behaviors. However, it is evident that there are a number of adverse effects of cyberspace on the lives of individuals. The internet has supports the subjugation of women because they are treated as an inferior gender in the community. It is argued that the benefits of the internet are being outweighed by the cost incurred. There are overlooked dangers associated with the internet, which subsequently affects the human generation. The separation from reality emerged because people are absorbed on the internet that they essentially believe they are part of the virtual world. Therefore, internet can be seen as a curse rather than blessing because of the group that cannot differentiate the real life from the virtual reality. Therefore, the emergence and growth of internet should be looked from a broader perspective to ensure that all the expounded effects are controlled. As a result, this will help to reduce the human relationships, norms, and behavior impacts associated with the internet.
Works Cited
Boudourides, Moses A., and Evangelia Drakou. "GENDER @ CYBERSPACE." Department of Communication & Mass Media, Panteion University, Athens, Greece. N.p., 1 Oct. 2000. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
Freud, Sigmund. Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious. New York: Norton, 1963. Print.
Dibell, J. "Julian Dibbell » A Rape in Cyberspace." N.p., 1998. Web. <http://www.juliandibbell.com/articles/a-rape-in-cyberspace/>.
Slouka, Mark. War of the Worlds: Cyberr Space and the High-tech Assault on Reality. New York: Division of HarperCollins, 1995. Print.
Lanier, Jaron. "The Serfdom of Crowds." Harper’s Magazine Feb. 2010: 15-19. Print.
