Cyberspace vs. Internet

In my opinion cyberspace and the internet aren't as different as they are complementary. After all, it was said in class that, "the internet is a computer net work and cyberspace is that network visualized as a virtual space." Using these definitions it would seem that they work together to create a whole, a system, we use to create an "interface" to information. So, taking this into consideration I will discuss the parallels between both the internet and cyberspace and I will discuss what they lack when separated from one another.

"The problem of reality is always; social reality…The problem is always the difficulty or impossibility of coping with or recognizing social reality, that is, human reality, the reality of other humans." (Robins pg.77) One of the main differences between the internet and cyberspace is the fact that cyberspace allows you to visualize and personally experience your own perception of reality whereas the internet simply as a narrative or interactive space is used for the purpose of allowing you to see other peoples interpretations of the world around them. At the same time there is something that cyberspace loses in creating this personal narcissism. Further into the article, Robins emphasizes the significance of reality in the lives of society. Politics, responsibility, self-identity, and meaning are all explained as things that preserve our humanity, things that cyberspace cannot intrinsically supply but that the internet still has. Because cyberspace is less concrete and more an idea, somewhere out of nowhere, I cannot supply an example in that respect. However, to illustrate the want and/or need that people have to instantiate their own reality in an interactive space, one need only look to message boards on the internet. It is here where people discuss and most often argue about everything from instant oatmeal to intelligent design. Every person forcing their opinion, their perception of reality on the other, trying to present their opinions in such a way that any who oppose would have to eventually surrender and see it the other way.