Postmodernism and the interent

            "How do theories of postmodernism inform your understanding of the cultural impact of the net?" .
             In this essay I will attempt to further my understanding of postmodernism using examples from all forms of media as the internet encompasses themes and styles that run through film, music, art and advertising. I will first outline culture in its general terms and compare these observations with the emergence of "cyberculture".
             Culture n. 1. the appreciation and understanding of literature, arts, music, etc. 2. the customs and civilization of a particular people or group.
             (Oxford Dictionary definition).
             My understanding of culture is closer to the second definition as I see the first as a more select group. The increased use of the Internet and subsequent internationalisation of business has resulted in cultural diversity. Cultural customs are as easily shared across towns, states, countries and continents as in your own street. In fact many people interact more over the Internet than with their neighbours. A persons values, attitudes and beliefs guide which customs and norms we adhere to and perceive as morally acceptable. Culture provides the foundation for our understanding of justice and of how we administer and interpret our laws. .
             "In cyberspace, we chat and argue, engage in intellectual intercourse, perform acts of commerce, exchange knowledge, share emotional support, make plans, brainstorm, gossip, feud, fall in love, find friends and loose them, play games and metagames, flirt, create a little high art and a lot of idle talk. We do everything people do when they get together, but we do it with words on computer screens, leaving our bodies behind." .
             Rheingold 1999 .
             (Bell, 2003, pg 98).
             I"m sure most of us have experienced/ partaken in one or more of these activities when 'signed in' to the Internet.