Virtual Cultures in Today\'s Information-Oriented

¶ … Virtual Cultures in Today's Information-oriented Society

In Macionis' article entitled, "Virtual Culture: Is It Good For Us?" he discussed the implications that changes in culture have brought to American society as it became more information-oriented with the advent of the Information Revolution. In the article, he posited that the Information Revolution has developed a culture that is artificial and unreal, a culture that is derived from the created 'heroes' and 'heroines' of multimedia and multinational companies.

However, in extending this argument in the article, it is vital to identify two important concepts dominantly mentioned in the article. The first concept discussed was the emergence and development of Information Revolution in American society and in general, to all societies that have a relatively advanced computer and Internet technologies. In the context of the article, Information Revolution was described as the creation of a changed society wherein innovations in computer, Internet, multimedia and other similarly related technologies have resulted to increased and improved conceptualization of ideas. These ideas, in turn, become depictions of reality, e.g., creation of 'realistic animation' of characters through 3-D animation, or computer-operated avatars that can talk and think logically like humans.

Related to the creation and development of Information Revolution is "virtual culture," loosely defined in the article as "images that spring from the minds of contemporary culture makers and that reach them through television, movie, or computer screen...Some of these cultural icons embody values that shape our way of life." Virtual cultures are composed of beliefs, values, traditions, and experiences that have "no historical reality," ideas that are merely products of popularized propaganda by the multimedia companies. An example of this virtual culture is the fan culture, wherein individuals having a similar belief or likeness for an idea or another individual (also identified as "cult hero") come together and form a community wherein they talk about their beliefs, and create a culture uniquely identified only to them. Examples of these fan cultures are Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter fan groups/bases.

In the following years, despite Macionis' expressed fear for these virtual cultures, this form of culture will develop to give way to new, hybrid cultures that will potentially develop as a result of the continuous innovation and creation of computer- and Internet-mediated technologies. Moreover, these cultures will become important in that it will reflect the kind of groups and individuals extant in the society. These virtual cultures will mirror peoples' values, beliefs, and traditions. And most importantly, virtual cultures will become the 'culture of the self,' a culture that is based on individual expression and personal philosophy. In short, virtual culture will develop to be identified as the culture of society's progress towards individualism.