Cyberspace: Communication advancement

With the advancement of technology; Desk top computers, laptops or note book computers, PDAs, Mobile handsets etc. and with the aid of wired and wireless networks, access to Internet world or Instant Messaging (IM) opened up a new dimension of human experience. Cyberspace has been mentioned so often that it may at this point seem trite and overly commercialised.

Cyberspace is currently used in a primarily symbolic sense and is mostly associated with the Internet. When a user sits in front of a computer and switches it on, they can bring up an environment of hypertext. It can seem like there is, behind the screen, an immense reservoir of information, which is also constantly being added to. A user is certainly aware that the people and processes that generate this information, and places where the information is stored, are not behind the screen or in the hard drive, but we nevertheless take the computer as a gateway to another place where other people have done similar things.

Conceptually, we tend to envision a non-physical "space" existing between here and there, and believe that we can access that "space" by utilizing computer-based technologies. We send messages to others by e-mail, or talk to others in a chat room. Cyber-culture is significant, but it is still non-consequential at the ontological level. The more exciting thing is that cyberspace and virtual reality can go even further. Combining it with the technology of teleoperation, we can enter into cyberspace and interact with artificial objects to manipulate the actual physical process.

Cyberspace hasn't yet replaced the telephone, but instant messaging is becoming an indispensable means of teen socialization, according to a study out. It clearly states that teens are fond of using instant messaging to pass information for various purposes. Cyberspace attracts teens that are between 14 and 19 year old. Instant messaging, which requires downloadable software (or comes built in with America Online and some other Net providers), allows users to carry on one or more real-time conversations simultaneously in text windows that pop up on a user's computer screen. The above facts state that teens use IMs to communicate with teachers about schoolwork, flirt, ask someone out and even break up. Most of the teens realize that messaging system has become part of their life up to some extent. Some newer concepts of instant messaging try to make a decentralized instant messaging system via peer-to-peer technology. In such a system, a distributed hash table lookup is used to determine if buddies are online or not. This approach tries to make instant messaging independent of a central authority.

Teens offer insight to the complex social rules that come with a form of communication that still has many adults bewildered.  We see teens up at all hours of the night IM-ing. Thirty years ago, teens were on the phone all night. Sometimes IM misunderstandings (text messages lack body language and voice tone) can spark hurt feelings and feuds, but different fonts and keyboard symbols can make smiley or sad faces, known as emotions. For Barker and her friends, even the subtle difference between Hi and Hey that most adults dismiss sets the whole mood for a conversation. Many people find instant messages intrusive, and they have blocked IMs, and many refuse to respond to IMs. Online teens believe IMs, warts and all, improve friendships. Frequent users say it helps friendships.

Majority of teens agree that the Internet is not ideal for making new friends; they use Net tools to broaden their networks of friends. Some teens say they give out their IM user name instead of phone number to new friends or potential dates. Many believe that instant messaging allows them to stay in touch with people they would not otherwise contact for instance, those who are only casual acquaintances, or who live outside their communities. More than 90% of teens surveyed said they IM with friends who live far away, such as those they met at camp.

Teens and youth are excessively using IMs, It is imperative to develop certain rules and preventive measures to protect them from technology hazards. A Resource Guide for Parents covers a broad range of Internet privacy and safety topics. There are no easy answers to ensure your child has harm-free experiences on the Internet. Likewise, there are no truly effective technology-based solutions. In the final analysis, there is no substitute for parental involvement in children's exploration of cyberspace. Following are certain measures to be taken care of-

-Privacy policy. Read the privacy policy statements on the web sites visited by your children. Teach older children to do the same.

-Encourage your children, especially teens, to take responsibility for their online behavior by establishing a contract with them. The Federal Trade Commission's "Site seeing on the Internet" provides sample language,

-Family rules. You can establish family rules for online computer use. Among those suggested by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited-

-Tell your children never to give out identifying information such as family information, home address, school name, or phone number in chat room discussions and when visiting web sites, Explain to children that passwords must never be given to anyone else, even someone claiming to be from the online service, Warn your children not to respond to messages that are threatening, suggestive, demeaning, or otherwise make you or the child uncomfortable. Tell them to report such messages to you.

 The psychological qualities of cyberspace are determined by the hardware and software that constitute computers and the online world. An Op has the power to throw you off an IRC channel; lag can destroy conversation in a chat group; the reply-to in listserv group might send your e-mail to the whole list or just to the sender of the message. All of these factors affect the psychological "feel" of the environment. With the rapid advancement of wireless network technologies, wireless communications and mobile-based information services are changing people’s life style. How to provide mobile users with cost-effective wireless information services is becoming a hot topic for wireless vendors.