Village people? The net generation

The principal object of this article is to highlight the changes to lifestyle, culture, society, and architecture emerging or likely to emerge as a direct result of developments in communications technology. Its secondary objective is to provoke discussion and a little healthy dissent in the academic community. The methodology employed is of the reflective phenomenological paradigm; reading and broad personal observations have formed the basis for trend identification and critical reflection which provide the main thrust of the article. The definition of literacy must be revised to embrace the new technologies, and the definition of creativity must emphasize synthesis at the expense of genesis. Of particular concern is the erosion of cultures and languages. The author argues that far from promoting democracy and enfranchising the general populace, technology effectively undermines the basis of democracy by the creation of an information underclass. This class will have the right and means to take part in the democratic process but will lack the information necessary for the decision-making process. Far from introducing an electronic agora, technology is moving societies toward a form of Jeffersonian democracy in which property rights will take precedence over human rights. McLuhan´s (1970) global village vision is critically examined against the emerging reality, and the author concludes that the global village is unachievable in the medium term, partly for technical reasons and partly for social reasons. The communications revolution is not a liberating experience for most people; instead, life has come to be measured in seconds. With a corresponding loss of longer-term focus and sense of place. The author concludes that steps must be taken to preserve the quality of the media and the standard of its content; these are unlikely to arise from the “connected masses” and can only come from organizations and governments. The right to freedom of speech does not imply the right to be heard. Some controls must be enforced on the Internet to ensure the survival of art, culture, and national identity. Perhaps most contentious is the view that those most closely involved with the development of the technology should take some responsibility for their creation. Convergence in media is resulting in collisions in society at large. Finally, McLuhan´s statement “The medium is the message” is examined and found wanting: the medium is not the message any more than the marketing is the product