Wednesday, March 29, 2017

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Post modernism is the idea that the truth comes from what we currently as a society have determined to be the truth.  This is often times through social norms and institutions that we have set up as a society.  These institutions and norms shape the way that we think and learn from a young age.  An aspect of post modernism is rejecting these previous truths and realizing that they exist simply because of the fact that they exist.

An exert from "Life on The Screen" begins to connect the idea of post modernism as it fits to our modern society, "The Internet has become a significant social laboratory for experimenting with the constructions and reconstructions of self that characterize post modern life."(Life on The Screen).  Essentially the idea is that the internet can be used as a place to experiment with that is held true, and in a sense create new realities and rules.

This can be especially seen in online communities.  The idea that the rules and regulations for these communities are not held in reality, and they can therefore be constantly changing.  On this concept George Ritzer laments, "There is, for example, the argument that the goal in any conversation, including those that characterize science, is not to find the “truth” but simply to keep the conversation going. The Internet is a site of such conversations. It is a world in which there is rarely, if ever, an answer, a conclusion, a finished product, a truth. Instead, there are lots of ongoing conversations and many new ideas and insights. Prime examples of this on the Internet include wikis in general and Wikipedia in particular, blogs and social networking sites."(The Internet Through a Postmodern Lense).  

The idea that the conversation, or reality, of these communication sites are in a constant state of change, growing and creating new norms and "societies", really help put post modernism into context.  The idea that our ideas and thoughts are what make our reality means that the sharing of these ideas through the internet 

This can be seen as a benefit as with frequent change there is always an aspect of these websites that someone can connect with.  This constant flow of ideas helps bring people together and advance humanity in a way that was previously not possible.  The idea that more ideas can come about and introduce new realities really attest to the strength of post modernist ideas.

Turkle, Sherry. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Print.

Pages, The Society. "The Internet Through a Postmodern Lens." Cyborgology. The Society Pages, 08 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2017.

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