Cyber Culture: A Curse in Disguise?

Emergence of Internet is being perceived as an invaluable marvel of twenty-first century. Its resulting influence on human lives is beyond comprehensions. Every aspect of human lives is turning digital. Such singularity of our dependence on electronic-communication has evolved into the realization of a novel social entity i.e. cyber culture. Owing to its perceived importance, access to internet is being advocated as a birth right with its negligence signaling catastrophic consequences. There is always a good and bad side of everything, and cyber culture is not an exception. At the same times when its inclusion has brought facilities and ease, the associated ill-consequences are too vivid to be ignored. For instance, in today’s information age, the cyber culture has accelerated the ease to access desired information. Paradoxically, such ease does come with ‘information overload’, a phenomenon poised to shatter social norms. Irrespective of the associated pros and cons, cyber-culture demands a holistic approach which can pave ways for its safer and worriless incorporation into our lives.

One of the major effects of allowing access to wealth of information is ‘information overload’. In cyber culture, it is no more a riddle to search and find the desired information or knowledge-piece. Internet connects one to a wealth of knowledge. From the other angles, such provision of cheap and easy information is beyond capacity of a human mind. This might lead to have missed important pieces of information while concentrating on the less-important ones. Besides, possession of information has remained the only parameter to ensure a social hierarchy in which the elder earns respect from the younger one. However, this reality is being compromised by the susceptibility to insurmountable information because a kid sitting on a school-bench can, with the help of Google, have more knowledge than his/her teacher. This will lead to disrespectful attitude of the kid. In a long run, social machinery will suffer.

The comfort provided by internet might turn to an addiction if not utilized in a judicious manner. As compared to conventional media, internet provides ease of doing business and socializing etc. Man is a natural animal and needs nature. Excessive reliance on internet and spending more-than-essential time on internet can disconnect one from the blessings of nature, which might lead to social and/or biological issues.

According to famous New York Times columnist Thomas L Friedman, the world has turned flat, metaphorically, due to advent of internet. Internet doesn’t discriminate between a student sitting in Uganda and a Harvard professor. However, their lifestyles differ and such natural discrimination is left unresolved owing to ground-realities.

On internet it is easier to trace someone. The Internet Protocol (IP) is the only identity required to trace a person’s whereabouts. Therefore, criminals can be traced easily. At the same time, the volatile nature of internet is an obstacle. According to experts, internet is one of the unregulated and uncontrolled domains in the history of mankind. Only thirteen servers manage the internet of the whole world. The singularity of cyber-culture is a way toward equality. But, it is resulting in faded cultural values. Existing cultures are falling prey to unregulated affairs of the cyber world.

The apothem ‘beauty lies in the eye of the beholder’ is also applicable to the case of cyber-culture. Owing to the promised benign outcomes there is a need for the society, politics and academia to mold its road-maps so as to accommodate safer and advantageous version of the cyber-culture.