Cyberspace is a non-physical environment created by computers interacting in a network. The Internet hosts many sub-environments, including the Web, USENET newsgroups, and IRC. Virtual reality and games are also considered cyberspace. The term was first used in William Gibson’s Neuromancer.
Cyberspace refers to the non-physical environment created by joined computers interacting in a network. In cyberspace, computer operators interact in ways similar to the real world, except that interaction in cyberspace requires no physical movement beyond typing. Information can be exchanged in real-time or delayed, and people can shop, share, explore, research, work or play.
The Internet constitutes the largest environment in cyberspace, hosting many sub-environments within it. These include the World Wide Web (Web), USENET newsgroups, and Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
The web is the most popular destination, made up of millions of websites where a visitor can find just about anything. He or she can also create a personal site to host information, pictures, movies, music or interactive forums. Web forums allow people to have conversations in a bulletin board-style interface. Stakeholders respond to each other by posting comments on topics. Forums are public and are a very popular way to socialize in cyberspace.
USENET newsgroups can be read through dedicated USENET websites or with a newsreader. A newsgroup is similar to a Web forum, except that each newsgroup has a single dedicated topic. There are over 100,000 newsgroups and counting, so one can find a group devoted to virtually anything of interest. And while Web forums and newsgroups are good for short, chatty comments, newsgroups are excellent for long discussions. In the USENET cyberspace, you can share hobbies, find support groups, get quick, personalized answers to hardware or software problems, or engage in any number of other discussions.
IRC is another area of the Internet cyberspace that offers conversational interaction between computer operators. The difference is that IRC offers real-time chat. Within seconds (or milliseconds) of pressing the ENTER key to post a response, the participant’s response is displayed in the public “chat room.” IRC is similar to a telephone conversation on a group line, except that it requires typing instead of speaking. Instant Messaging (IM) is similar to IRC in that it is instantaneous and email is also instantaneous, although the receiving party may not pick up the mail immediately.
While all of these online environments can be considered cyberspace, virtual reality reflects the most literal definition. In this form of cyberspace, participants see the actual graphic space and the computer operators interacting within that space as “avatars” or characters. You can walk, run, fly, craft items, purchase virtual real estate, purchase clothes or items for your avatar to use, develop a business, build a house or art gallery, talk to other avatars, go dancing or do any number of other activities. The realms of virtual reality, such as those offered by Second Life, are so enthralling that many people find them enthralling.
Games can feature a type of virtual reality known as simulations (Sims), or environments that parallel real life with startling realism. While Second Life has fictional features, many games try to be as realistic as possible. Others incorporate horror, such as monstrous villains. Technically, single-player games don’t qualify as cyberspace as they lack networked interaction, but the definition has essentially been blurred to include any electronically generated environment.
The word “cyberspace” first appeared in William Gibson’s award-winning Neuromancer (1984). The book is a futuristic science fiction story about a failed hacker who feeds on self-destructive habits when he’s unexpectedly hired to do a seemingly impossible job for a fee he can’t afford to refuse. Ironically (or not), many futuristic details in the book parallel modern life, and certainly this term has become deeply ingrained in contemporary culture.
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