RE: Cons and Facades

From: Vincent Campbell (v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk)
Date: Fri Jun 16 2000 - 12:03:27 BST

  • Next message: Vincent Campbell: "RE: Cons and Facades - more on truth"

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    From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk>
    To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
    Subject: RE: Cons and Facades
    Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 12:03:27 +0100
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    I'm not sure there's any evidence at this stage to support the comment that
    the internet 'has led to a fracturing of the core values of many persons'.

    One of the key difference of the internet is its interactivity. In the face
    of cultural imperialism in film or television, say, audiences can do little
    more than refuse to watch. With the internet they have the potential to
    answer back, if you like, so there is a clear a difference which at this
    point in time it is difficult to interpret in the light of existing media
    theory.

    Certainly we're seeing the web being used to subvert all sorts of taboos,
    and articulate all sorts of marginal viewpoints and behaviours that the
    traditional media wouldn't touch with a barge-pole, and this undoubtedly
    will have some broader social impact, although what that will be and whether
    it'll help science or not is difficult to predict.

    As an aside, don't the Japanese already have a class of people who only
    soicially interact with others through electronic communication? I think
    they're called otaku, or okatu, I can't remember which (with apologies to
    Japanese speakers if either of these are rude words!).

    Vincent

    > ----------
    > From: Bruce Jones
    > Reply To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
    > Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2000 2:27 pm
    > To: 'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'
    > Subject: RE: Cons and Facades
    >
    >
    >
    > > One of the core elements of evaluting media is how audiences use them
    > (in
    > > a
    > > general sense), i.e. what part in plays in their lives, and this is
    > still
    > > very much in the formulation stage for the internet. Clearly at the
    > > moment,
    > > for most of us it remains a remarkable novelty with which to play around
    > > with, but once it becomes common-place, as it undoubtedly is already to
    > > many
    > > children growing up with it in schools and home, our relationship to it
    > > will
    > > change (as clearly happened with television).
    > >
    > >
    > [BJ]
    > This is a core issue to instructional designers, educational
    > technologists and educators in general ... How do you determine the
    > validity
    > of information to be used for education purposes? The accessibility of
    > the
    > web for supporting personal belief systems and representing that belief
    > system as the truth, whether it is social, political, religious, or
    > scientific, has led to a fracturing of the core values of many persons.
    > The
    > acceptance or rejection of much of the information on the web is based
    > largely on the individual who receives that information. This has always
    > been the case, but with the ability for wide spread and rapid
    > dissemination
    > and accessibility provided for by the web, more persons are becoming
    > introduced to thoughts, ideals, and ideas that may or may not support
    > their
    > personal belief system. This overload will confuse and intimidate a large
    > number of the populace. To rectify this confusion people will either turn
    > off their connection to the web or develop only those connections that
    > support their own beliefs and desires.
    > New paradigms of social behavior and interaction will develop and a
    > new social order will eventually emerge and new "truths" (memes?) will
    > develop. Good or bad only time will tell.
    >
    > My $0.02
    >
    > Bruce Jones
    >
    > ===============================================================
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    > see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
    >

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    This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
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