We’re Stuck With the Cyberworld

by Kay MacPhail

Interacting with the physical world is slowly becoming less and less of a necessity in most activities. You can buy almost anything you want online, including groceries. Places such as The Mevlana Museum# allow you to take a 3D online tour of their galleries. Google is working on augmented reality glasses# operated by voice command so you can do stuff like look things up on the Internet, talk to your friends on Skype, or anything else you might think of as you walk around town, and it’s on a screen right in front of your face so you don’t have to stop and look down like you might do with your iPhone.

We are slowly trying to cram all we can from the outside world into the Internet. News, shopping, basic human interaction, you name it. Chatspeak, a lingo invented to make texting quicker and less tedious, has leaked into everyday human speech. More than once, I’ve even heard my brother—a barrel-chested teen with a shaved head and a “no-homo” attitude—say ‘OMG’ out loud, to his male teenage friends, with not an ounce of irony in his voice. There are hundreds of online social platforms where anyone can express their thoughts about anything at any time they please. This leads to a lot of shared information that the rest of us either don’t care about in the slightest or didn’t need to know.

Prince might have declared the Internet to be an outdated fad, but as someone tangled in it’s thick net, there’s no doubt in my mind that this Internet technology will advance and alter our culture with every step.  And make us even less inclined to go outside.

The Future of Social Media

The landscape of social media is changing rapidly. I can't keep up with which social networks are 'dead' and which are popular—it seems like just a few months that everyone was using MySpace. New social networks are popping up like mushrooms on a wet fall day. Maybe I'm just slow, but it seems like everyone is constantly adding another social network to their already bloated bookmarks list. John Smith invited you to join Facebook. Jane Doe shared a photo on Flickr. Joe Public sent you a friend request on Hamsterster.


Major websites are expanding. Google made an addition to its social networking repertoire with Google Plus, and Facebook recently bought Instagram, a photography sharing site, for 1 billion dollars. This isn't the first website or company that Facebook has purchased: in 2011 it bought Beluga, an IM software company, as well as several others. Facebook just keeps on getting bigger, which leads me to suspect that it's here to stay for quite a while. Although its users often get fed up with Facebook's frequent layout changes and confusing privacy settings, they stick with the website anyways, because everyone else is using it. Facebook is a good site for keeping up with and contacting friends. It has 845 million users as of 2011, and that number just keeps going up. If Facebook continues to annex other social networking companies the way it has been, its shadow will further eclipse smaller, similarly purposed social networks. It could even buy out Twitter some day.


The way people interact with their social networks has changed as well. Internet access used to be limited to clunky desktop computers, but these days you can do everything from check the weather to checking in with friends from a mobile device like a smart phone or tablet.
With the advancement of technology, new products and services emerge. Things like Foursquare, a website that lets users say where they are at any given moment, couldn't exist without smart phones. There are numerous applications, or 'apps' for smart phones, and a great deal of them are social in nature. People can play games with each other using an app like Words With Friends, or use the mobile application for the websites that they can otherwise access on a normal computer.


Smart phones and similar devices are beginning to replace other things in people's lives. You can read the news on your phone. You can read books on an e-reader. Paper is slowly becoming outdated.
As well as replacing previously established activities, smart phones have brought forth something that was previously only found in science fiction: augmented reality. Google has come out with a phone application called Google goggles, which allows users to take pictures of the things around them and find out more information about them. Augmented reality is still in its early stages, but as technology improves it could easily catch on and become widespread.


No trend lasts forever, but there are some facets of human nature that remain constant no matter what. People will always want to connect with each other. And as long as people want to connect with each other and there's sufficient technology for it, there will be social networking. I can't say if Google or Facebook or some yet-undiscovered startup seeding in a forgotten corner of Silicon Valley will be the primary social network ten or fifteen years from now, and I can't say what magical technology will have sprouted up, but I feel confident saying that, bar apocalypse or nuclear war, people will still be using social networks.

Turn On and Tune In, but Don't Drop Out - The Future of Social Media

(Image Credit: My Melting Brain on Flickr)

The social media trend shows no sign of ever slowing down. Demand for social media has grown since its invention, and technology has done an excellent job of keeping up. I think social media's success is mostly due to its "social" aspect. Humans are social animals and any invention that allows us to communicate in new and efficient ways is bound to be successful (see: telegraphs, phones, computers). However, our love of social media is second only to our dependence on it. If a major social networking site is ever down for any longer than a few hours, it's a national story. Social media outlets (like phones) have now become a vital part of the way we communicate in our personal and professional lives. 

The increased connectivity that results from that dependency may be concerning to some. Could we be turning into the people plugged into the matrix? Will the social media technology ever reach the point that non-internet interaction will be useless? The Dilbert comic for October 14, 1994 conveys a similar concern. Could "the next big thing" in social media be humanity's last invention? Maybe at some point, but that's hardly a reason to ignore the benefits of social media that exist today. At the risk of running this analogy into the ground, don't unplug yourself from the matrix completely, but use moderation and find a balance between social media and regular social behavior. You can spend more than enough time using social media and still be an upstanding member of society. 

There is another inherent risk in becoming dependent on any kind of technology. The Y2K problem is an example of a time when many people were legitimately scared for their lives because of a potential minor error in what was even then an extremely integral part of society. While these fears turned out to be mostly unfounded, a major global computer malfunction--if such a thing is possible--could be a horrible tragedy.

Could our dependence on social media ever become a problem? Well, it certainly could; there is no shortage of science fiction novels written on that or similar subjects. But does it seem likely to happen anytime soon? One hopeful note is that when Scott Adams wrote the Dilbert strip in 1994, he thought the technology was over ten years away from being developed. 18 years later in 2012, the technology is still considered to be over ten years away. The future may be too hard to accurately predict to get scared over what might happen in the future. 

Another hopeful note is that innovation rarely occurs with the objective of making people more isolated. Like I said before, many inventions are driven specifically to increase the efficiency of communication. Social media is one of those inventions. Because of it, information--which is the essential aspect of communication--is more freely available than ever and there's no sign yet of that ever changing (in fact, it's only getting better). The stereotypical image of teenagers with their face buried in cell phone screens may bring to mind images of mindless droids plugged into    (Image Credit: AslanMedia on Flickr)

 the matrix, but really it's just one of the many ways friends can talk to each other these days. The truth is, whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, social media isn't going anywhere. Younger and younger kids are starting to use it more and more regularly and it is truly vital for many people's social lives and many companies around the world.

Ezra Morrison has sent you a FarmVille request: the ups, downs and future of social networking

In the past 10 years, the internet has become pervasive in nearly everyone's lives. As something that we used to consider a novelty becomes more and more widespread, its uses become more varied. One of the inventions of the internet over the past 10 years has been social networking. While social networking existed before 2000, it started to really take off with Myspace and Friendster, which were two of the first major social networks.

Online social networking has boomed since then, and though Myspace and Friendster are no longer as popular, other social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, have become equally, if not more, popular recently. Social networking has become one of the most popular ways to do business, to communicate and to spend our free time. So what does the future look like for social networking?

First of all, there is an important factor now that wasn't here when Myspace and Friendster were popular. That would be the smartphone. Almost everyone today has some kind of mobile computer with social networking abilities. This means that you don't have to be sitting at your computer to be on Facebook. If you have a smartphone, you can be online pretty much anywhere. I think this makes a huge difference in terms of how and when people communicate and post information about their lives. As annoying as it is, smartphones have enabled that guy who keeps posting Facebook statuses about the shape of his bowel movement to do this.

As is becoming increasingly apparent, traditional desktop computers are on their way out. Mobile devices are becoming more and more adept at functioning as regular computers, and the idea that a person has to sit down at a computer to go online is already essentially obsolete. Computing in general, but particularly social networking, is becoming mobile.

Lots of people complain about how social networking has gotten rid of our ability to communicate with others in person. I can see this point of view, but in many ways social networking has actually deepened our communications with others. While 15 years ago we may have had friends who we only saw once a week, we can now instant message them any time we want. Social networking has also enabled completely anonymous communication, and relationships that only exist on the internet.

Social networking is becoming more varied and more ubiquitous, and is already an indispensable feature of many people's lives. As social networks are able to do more and more things, even like storing documents online, the world of computing is moving to become much more web-based and therefore much more mobile. Social networking has, in the past 10 years, gone from a novelty that very few people use to what appears to be the next generation of computers. It is growing exponentially, and shows no signs of stopping. People can complain about social networking all they want, but it's pretty much here to stay.

Social Media, and Technology is all They'll Ever Know

 There is a waiting room at the gymnastics place that I teach at, for the students to wait in before their class starts. A few weeks ago, I looked into the waiting room and I saw three four year-old girls, all sitting in a row, all had iPhones in their hands. They were all staring deeply at the screens, moving their fingers across the screen quickly and with ease. Their parents are sitting across the room from them, because they don't need help. They all knew their how to play on their mommy's iPhone like they know the back of their hand, at four years old. Call me old fashioned, but when I was four I played with dolls, I played with blocks, I even spelled out words like CAT or TEA and MOM with those colorful plastic alphabet magnets. It's only been 11 years since I was four but something has definitely changed. When I was little I did have the internet, but the internet was so different. I would play some games on the PBS kids website a few times a month, but I wasn't dependent on it, if the internet just dissapeared I might be sad, but that's it. I wasn't invested in it, I knew other things. Those plastic alphabet magnets will probably become obsolete, and even though “there's an app for that”, something else gets lost along the way.

Social networking sites, are ingenious. I could go on and on about all the great things they have to offer, but I don't need to. I assume that anyone who reads this has a Facebook or a Twitter or Google + or something along those lines. I assume you will at least know what a social network is, and if you don't than there are seriously more important things to be checking out on the internet rather than reading my blog post. The thing is, social networks make it so easy to be social. You talk to your friends, without having to see them. You can tell hundreds of your friends something funny that happened at the grocery store with just some clicking on your keys. Social networks are so powerful that they can start a revolution. And it's all so simple! Too simple, because then you're hooked. You start to spend more time talking to your friend on facebook, then you talking to your friend in person. You can spend hours on flickr looking at other peoples photos or different places, rather than going out and seeing different places. It becomes your life, you rely on social media to be in touch with the world. But it's only going to get worse, the internet is addicting, it's just like smoking, you physically can stop... but really you won't. They keep you coming back for more, if you don't keep checking the social networks... how will you know if something interesting happens? Curiosity will keep you coming back for more. It's okay because the internet is a really good thing that keeps people entertained and connected, but with the good comes bad. The more you use it, the more you depend on it. Since it's such a thriving industry it will keep improving, getting better as time goes on, but more addictive.

As time goes on people will no longer rely on it but depend on it. Just like the four year old girls who can use iPhones, kids will be incredibly good with computers, that's good! But some will grow up not knowing how to do certain things without technology and it will worsen as generations go by. Their social skills in real life will get worse and people will feel more and more uncomfortable talking in person. Kids won't be able to entertain themselves anymore because they've been spoiled by technology, all the imagining has been done for them and they will no longer know how. All those creative minds will be to distracted by the genius of social media to realize their own capabilities. Sure kids nowadays still do have fun with toys, but if we continue on this path most kids will end up with kids who are tech junkies who are much more likely to have ADHD. It's healthy for children and their attention spans to learn to entertain themselves once in a while and sometimes life is boring. I'm not saying I'm against social networks, I think they are just going to keep getting better and better as time goes on. It's just that peoples dependency on them will grow too till it gets to a bad point. People should definitely use social networks, just in moderation. There are ways to have fun without computers, and every kid should know how. Same goes for adults, you don't need facebook friends to have friends.

The scary side of freedom

When surfing the internet, I often feel chained to the computer.  The computer is where the internet stays, and thus where Gmail, Cracked, and Youtube stay.  But with the advent of smartphones, it is becoming easier and easier to surf the web on the go.  And now, with Android phones supporting Flash-based websites, more and more sites are becoming available to the traveling internet enthusiast.  Of course, the world won’t be satisfied with this for very long, and smartphones may be on their way out pretty soon.

Google expects to be rolling out the first version of their augmented reality glasses sometime in late 2012, and with the modern world’s obsession with convenience and speed, they will very likely be quickly adopted.  The glasses will have similar functions to smartphones, but instead of being confined to the screen, the glasses will superimpose images on the user’s surroundings.  Sound creepy yet?  Chew on this:  Google glasses will be able to access social networks such as Facebook and Google +, and they’ll have facial recognition.  This is a deadly combination.  Imagine, anyone walking down the street will be able to simply ask the glasses to identify a person, and then carry out a search on a social networking site or other collection of personal data to find out almost anything they want about that person.  Not only is that extremely unsettling, but it’s also dangerous.  It is extremely easy to find people’s addresses on the internet, and phone numbers are just as easy, if not easier, to find.  Stalkers are gonna have a field day with this.

That’s bad enough, but there’s plenty more nightmare fuel where that comes from.  Google makes the majority of their money from advertising, and what do you get when you put augmented reality and advertising together?  Advertisements on every surface.  This is sounding more dystopian by the minute.

And don’t think this’ll just be  a thing that a few people will be using.  Google has an immense reach, owning 41 of the 100 most visited websites in the U.S. according to Netcraft, so it won’t be long before the masses adopt Google glasses.  Google will even be making a version of the device for use as an addition to prescription glasses, so people who require eye correction will be able to jump on the bandwagon too.

There you have it.  Disturbingly easy people search, intrusive advertising, and a userbase that will undoubtedly grow to immense proportions very quickly.  This is where our obsession with convenience will lead us, and there’s no one who can stop it.

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