Is the Internet Killing Our Culture?- I don't think so

In week 8 we were separated into 2 groups, one arguing that the internet is killing our culture, and the other arguing against. Personally I disagree that the internet is killing our culture, and believes that the internet creates culture. My journey into adolescence was mainly dominated by the internet, and communication via the net was essential e.g. come straight home and go on MSN messenger, or go on online gaming sites such as miniclip.com, and later on social sites starting with HI5, Xanga, MySpace, and Facebook. I can admit that the internet is part of my lifestyle. It’s a routine and a system that I can’t abandon (sadly Facebook has integrated itself into my life) and I’m sure most of my friends can agree that the Internet is a ‘post modern’ culture today, growing stronger every day.

I took a look at the reading that our debate was going to be based on, an article from the http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/aug/10/andrewkeenvemilybell. Andrew Keen is the moody bloke that hates the internet and Emily embraces the creation of the internet. I was placed into the group arguing for Keens. I wasn’t too keen at first as I disagree with him, but this debate gave me the opportunity to explore and think deeper into how the internet is potentially killing culture.

The article was interesting, and at times harsh and vicious from Keen, but I did find myself understanding where he was coming from on some points; “Anyone with internet access can publish anything online, which results in the mob chaos of YouTube, the blogosphere and Wikipedia.” But I strongly feel that YouTube has made a huge impact on culture, the sharing of music and homemade videos have brought people together into a ‘cyber community’. MySpace have provided users with access to aspiring music artists (Lily Allen was discovered through MySpace). But I do agree that copying online is very damaging to the industry. Emily Bell did pick up that; “If the internet is so full of amateurish dross then it is no threat to the polished professional... is that it is full of people who are potentially as good as, if not better than, those who have been fortunate enough to reside in a distribution bottleneck - and that is why you are scared.” I will forever be grateful for P2P, although it’s damaging for industries, but nonetheless a guilty fan of illegal downloading.

In our groups we also talked about how the internet has made things very accessible and convenient. I am a fan of online shopping, and always buy gig tickets, DVDs, technical goods online. It saves me time to pop down to the store and mope about for ages looking for it, and waiting at the tills, when at a click of a button I can purchase it off the official site (easier when payment information are already saved-just a confirm needed. Easy!) Yes, it destroys the traditional sense of doing everything ‘manually’, instead of sitting by a desk, but that’s the trouble with the post modern culture!