Cyberculture

My first experience with cyber culture occurred when I first acquired the internet in middle school. My main cyber culture has always been AIM: AOL instant messenger. It allows me to communicate with friends that I have everywhere and anywhere. It's best used to keep multiple conversations going on at once and keep in touch with friends who may have moved away. AIM is a great tool to develop relationships with people you may not usually have had an opportunity to make friends with, because you would not have had the time. Along with the positive aspects, AIM can take a toll on one's vocabulary and grammar. The shorthand and jargon used in AIM conversations can take away from the proper use of grammar learned in school and make one's vocabulary lazy. It can also lead to annoying or possibly harmful conversations involving individuals you had no intention of conversing with, which calls for a certain awareness when using AIM. I never anticipated that AIM would become a nearly unavoidable habit. But as time goes on I’ve noticed as I get older it’s not as big of a “need” as it used to be when I was first introduced to it.

Popular Culture and How It Has Affected My Life.

No matter whom you are, popular culture has affected your life. I know it has had a profound impact on who I've become. From my friends I've chosen to the music I listen to, a form of popular culture has made an impact on my friends and I have chosen not to engage in any activities that involve alcohol or drugs, a seemingly "popular" act. I chose these friends because their values and morals, affected by popular culture, reflected mine. This decision was influenced by popular culture, but in this case it was to go against what was the norm and take a moral stance. It seems that sometimes forms of popular culture are created in opposition to an existing form of popular culture. I listen to an eclectic selection of music. All of which has been influenced by magazines, album reviews, word-of-mouth, the internet and other sources of influence that stem from popular culture. As far as my generation goes, popular culture has been defined by the internet. Everywhere you turn, the internet plays a vital part. Whether it be checking your MySpace to checking your stocks, the internet is an essential tool that defines my generation for what it is.