Week 3: Do We Spend Too Much Time in Forums?

I think that modernists would not see the point of websites like facebook and myspace, even if there is a special group for students to discuss issues that affect them. Because for the most part these kinds of sites release personal information that is not really anyones business. People usually end up going off topic for an example in a student forum instead of talking about classes and books it will probably go off topic to a student talking about a drinking party or something else to that extent. Not saying that it would but these things happen more so than don’t. These public spheres detract from an idealized public sphere through the fact that they go off topic and can lead to people being glued to the computer instead of being out in the real world, which is in a sense a time killer that can cause people to get lazy in their writing and releases information to the public which is in a sense can be considered trash. Mckee argues that, "But for 'modern' writers, assuming that the masses are passive, it's possible to argue that the reason the public sphere is currently full of sensational, trashy material is because that is what producers provide" (86). McKee's point is that people are subjected to trash daily which in a sense dumbs down the audience and what people may talk about in forums and such. This is not to say that all forums are like this, but a lot of them tend to be based on personal issues instead of what the forum is supposed to be about. These websites do provide a place for people to release their thoughts, problems, and ideas that can help a person but it does not really contribute to the public sphere because in almost all groups it goes off topic and can wonder from the issue that actually brought these people together in the first place.