Cyberspace or Cyberplace?

The birth of the internet heralded a new era in communication and socialisation. This has made connecting with other people quicker and easier than ever before. Over the last 20 years the internet has evolved, becoming more advanced and growing larger. As a result, online social networks have sprung up, and continue to do so at an ever increasing rate. One of the oldest and most successful of those is Facebook. These social networks however, may have some difficulty in recreating the sense of place for users.

Yi-Fu Tuan’s 1977 book titled Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience, speaks of place and space as concepts applied to a physical environment by living beings. But now nearly 40 years later, and with the advent of social media, do Tuan’s writings have the same bearing on the web? Tuan uses Kronberg Castle as an example (1977, p. 4), stating that just knowing Hamlet may have lived there was enough to completely change the ambiance of the castle and invoke thoughts of Shakespeare’s tragedy. On Facebook, users interact on a platform that is easily recognisable and can be defined as a “place” to communicate. However, cyberspace needs more than lore to transition from space to place.

                                                               (The woes of Facebook, n.d).

Kuttainen (2016) suggests that the internet is a new frontier with opportunity and freedom but also underlying threats. This can be seen with Facebook in all the various pages one can visit, follow and communicate on. The opportunity to make friends, learn skills, establish connections and the threat of embarrassment, heartbreak, or worse. Kuttainen submits that the internet can create a “place” with tools such as language and symbols. From their trademark colours, F symbol and like button, to the very content and stories that are encouraged on their platform, Facebook has managed to transcend mere cyberspace, to a “cyberplace”.

Read this article https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125091053.htm for an interesting talk on Facebook as a network.

References:

The woes of Facebook [Image]. (n.d). Retrieved from http://lolsalot.com/facebook-monday-memes/

Kuttainen, V. (2016) BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives, and the making of place, week 3 notes [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/

Tuan, Y.-F. (1977). Space and place: The perspective of experience. [Adobe Digital Editions version] Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/