The Subculture of the Internet

With the introduction of the internet came sounding changes that I don't think anyone could see coming. This world wide web of information enabled people to have access to a seemingly unlimited amount of information. For instance, my dad and I attempted to replace a headlight on his Chevy Tahoe over the Christmas break. After spending roughly 30 minutes trying to open the casing which locked the headlight in place we decided to check youtube for a demonstration. In a matter of three minutes a young man we had never met before showed us what we were doing wrong and how to fix our mistake.

Numerous times I have scoured the internet searching for help on school or recreational projects. Even last night I was on youtube looking for help in my engineering class. The internet has become a well of information that we are constantly connected to, whether in our homes, on our phones, or nowadays even in our cars. However, along with that plethora of information comes another side effect: interaction.

Through the use of the internet people from all sorts of societies are able to talk to one another and exchange ideas. People from completely different continents are able to work on projects together. I occasionally browse the website reddit.com simply because I love seeing the interaction between people of totally different cultures come together. It's a chance for strangers to show the world what exactly they are like and what they like to do, and the internet is a fun place because no matter what it is that you like to do, you can find a website with people who love doing the same thing. Through the exposure of every society on the planet and absorbing bits of each of them, the internet has become a culture all in itself. Words, such as "troll", "meme" and "pwned", all have meanings originating from the internet. The language of leet (1337) speak, which uses numbers, letters, and other ASCII characters to create words, began on the internet. A more recent example of how the internet culture has entered our own cultures is the rapid exposure of the Harlem Shake. Personally, I had never heard the song before but now I can recognize it instantaneously.

While certain sections of the internet is are very scary places, much of it is incredibly interesting. What do you think? Is there a predominant culture residing in the internet? Is it a conglomeration of others or is it unique and separate? I am interested on hearing other's views.