PUBLIC SPACES

PUBLIC SPACES



With the advent of cyberspace all of the components that make up culture have been affected.  Space is no longer physical space but the spaces we inhabit while connected to space.  We can buy a house in Florida while relaxing in California.  If necessary we can participate in global politics or create a push toward global restructuring.  An individual can relocate to the United States from India and still keep in touch with their family in India.  Why is this important?  It allows people to travel within parallel universes.  They can participate in their new culture while still observing the customs of their own. 

Never before has immigrants been allowed to participate in two or even three cultures at the same time.  How will this affect the United States?  It will be interesting to find out.  Prior to the internet many of our newest citizens lived together in neighborhoods that reflected their past cultures.  Eventually however as the children of immigrants attended American schools they became more Americanized. For example: many of Italian, German, Irish, Mexican descent spoke their native languages in their homes,  as they became more Americanized the mother tongue gave way to English.  The first and second generation immigrants crossed the lines of ethnicity and married outside of their ethnic group.  Although there are still neighborhoods that keep the traditions of first generation nationality there are fewer and fewer of these subcultures in the United States.  It is why the U.S. is considered the melting pot.

As we evolve into cyberculture first generation immigrants can remain connected.  It is yet to be seen if there is less or more of the melting pot result that is presently being seen in the U.S.  Although Nayar did not actually comment on the assimilation process and how it has affected the U.S. without cyberspace it stands to reason that as the cyber culture becomes more advances the subcultural dynamics will change.  No longer are people restricted by travel and time.  We can be in two places at once and participate in two cultures at once.

Many business men still are required to travel across the ocean and across the country however, less often and with less expense.  Financial arrangements, international deals, the sharing of new technologies can be done in cyberspace without physical restrictions.  With the click of a button meetings can be held while physically the participants are thousands of miles apart.  This has changed radically the business culture.

The availability of global participation in all areas of our lives has changed our lives long term in ways we have not even discovered yet.  Presently according to Nayar the cyberspaces are primarily American with the language predominately English.  As countries become more technologically advanced in the opinion of this observer there will be other languages and cultures that will mix with and transform cyber culture.  Not only English, but Chinese and Russian are now only a click away how long before these languages are spoken as often in cyberspace as a part of a cyberculture.  Global cities are already linked by finance, data, and ideas.  It is only a matter of time until they are linked by language.

Global restructuring is part of public spaces.  Unfortunately it is not equal or democratic.  Many continents such as inner Africa have large areas that do not reap the benefits of technological advances, public spaces, or cyberspace.  Those that hold the Technological advantage can easily prey upon those without these advantages.  However, because of cyberspace the crimes against third world countries and their indigenous populations seldom remain a secret.  Children and women who are forced to work for low wages, horrible conditions, and long hours cannot remain a secret sin for long in the world of the world wide net.  Human rights activists and organizations do not need offices in every town, in every country to stop the abuses of the poor around the world.

Cyberspace has allowed us an entire range of tools with which to obtain information in places that we are physically not present.  Webcams, electronic tracking, digital traces are technologies of surveillance.  Private is no longer private but by the use of these tools the babysitter cannot abuse children, thieves cannot longer steal without being caught, and employees who steal from their employees are more often caught.

Religion has also been changed by the use of public spaces.  At any time of the night or day and regardless of the religion you may belong to you can access a service or spiritual guidance on the internet.  For the most part this is a comforting though however, cults reach out and recruit members for the good of their pockets and not the spiritual growth of their human disciples.  It is probably a good thing that Charles Manson or Jim Jones did not have the use of the Web.

Finally, the sharing of public spaces has changed the face of crime.  A criminal can rob a bank without a gun or violence and a lot more effectively.  “Identity theft” is the new mode of crime.  Criminals do not steal a material item but passwords, numbers, accounts, and identities that can be used to possess the material objects that they deem are important for them to possess. Ponzi Schemes are possible to pull off because of Cyberspaces.

Without the restrictions of physical barriers the world is rapidly changing and yet many things have not changed.  The strong still prey on the weak, children are still abused and exploited, and thieves still operate to take the property of others even though it may not be material property.  Religion and faith is still important to many people and in many cases culture specific.  On the other side of things it is easier to catch the perpetrator that preys on the innocent and catch those who take the intangible property of others.  It will be interesting to see if a world of public spaces that do not have a physical nature assists the evolution of humanity in a good way or a detrimental way.