Summary Of Cyberspace For All Essay, Research Paper
In this essay I will be summarizing Cyberspace for all by Esther Dyson. Cyberspace is a place that all people can benefit from. Cyberspace used to be a place where only techies and nerds would hang out. The Net, as it is called, is a place where everyone can go and find something of interest to them. Lost in the furor over porn on the Net is the exhilarating sense of freedom that this new frontier once promised- and still does in some quarters. Cyberspace has games, reference materials, tutorials, and much more. The Net is the greatest source of information on the planet.
The Internet is a super-highway without a cop to stop you. There are no rules or regulations as to who can see what or when on the Net. However, people see this as a bad thing and in turn say that the Internet should be regulated. Regulation of the Internet would be unconstitutional and an untrue interpretation of the Internet. The Internet is like a highway, you choose where you want to go. The Internet is different in that you can avoid things that you don?t want to see, unlike the highway.
Cyberspace has many characteristics that we are unable to control in real life. First, you can have a private conversation with a friend or family member that is private and non-regulated. Second, there are services that can only be accessed by subscription or special request. These things help keep out children and other people who might not be allowed to access such materials. Third, you can hang out with whomever you want, unlike real life where you might have to put up with someone who annoys you. Ultimately, cyberspace does not force you to go somewhere or see anything you do not want to see.
Instead of regulation being the key to keeping the Internet safe, Labeling may be the way to go. For instance, everything that had to do with pornography would have a label of ?alt.sex.? This would allow parents the ability to filter out all pornography from the view of their children. In another view this may make it easier for people to find what they are looking for within this huge melting pot of information.
I totally agree with the author and her opinions of Cyberspace. The Net might is a great place for everyone but it would be better with a few rules. I was especially interested in the part where the author states ?Cyberspace allows communities of any size and kind to flourish.? On the Net there is no race, gender or age unless you tell someone or they tell you. This means communities on the Net should have fewer problems then we do in real society. However, we still have to live in a world that is much more cruel than that on the Net.