Reflection on Connections Through Internet Networks
(Ferguson, 2017) primarily focuses on the connectedness of people on the internet today. It talks about this false connectedness people have started to feel as social media has become more popularized. Although it seems like a harmless concept, it has come to a point where it can no longer be considered benign to society. The importance of social media and the power it possesses has become a topic of discussion for most of the class material this semester and this reading is also tied to it with the exploration of concepts such as trends in social media and internet communication as well as the people benefiting from social media apps and who owns them as well as the power they hold over the general public. Networks and the internet have been changing shape rapidly with time and the rise in the significance of media and media consumption. For the first time on Earth people are connected with each other in an instantly responsive network that allows them to spread anything (news, memes, pictures, etc.) rapidly. The reading raises the point that this global connectedness might seem like a utopia, but it could be dangerous. As this seeming connectedness causes people to be further apart with the rise of internet identities and para-social relationships. Connections between people have changed and shifted with networks and have become more superficial and digitalized. An important aspect of this that is brought up is the political communication in media and how it is affected with this rapidly changing networks. Important instances mentioned in the reading are how social media can connect people towards a common goal causing the creation of movements which plays an integral role in how the society progresses today. Globally, the internet has started being a huge part of communication and has basically, in theory, became a way to communicate globally with one another without any barriers. This sense of global community is essentially false since there is always a fight for who holds the monopoly of the internet. This causes there to also be political and geopolitical implications of the way peopl use the internet and the idea of today’s interconnectedness. There is also a point made about how historical events and governmental structures affected the creation of internet and computer – computer communication. These historical events which influenced the creation are also determining the future of the internet as the internet is mirroring real history. Politics are a huge factor in how the internet works these days and the internet is also deeply influencing the way politics are viewed. The reading makes a point about how the creation and inner workings of social media benefit the people who own networks, further creating the divide between them and the people who use these networks.
