If cyberspace is deprived of public forums, we’ll get a lot of what we’re already used to: endless home shopping, mindless entertainment and dissent-free chat. If people can avoid the unpalatable issues that might arise in these forums, going on-line will become just another way for elites to escape the very nonvirtual realities of injustice in our world. As the wired life grows exponentially in the coming years, we’ll all be better off if we can find a street corner in cyberspace.
Predictor: Shapiro, Andrew L.
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for The Nation, contributing editor Andrew Shapiro writes: ”If cyberspace is deprived of public forums, we’ll get a lot of what we’re already used to: endless home shopping, mindless entertainment and dissent-free chat. If people can avoid the unpalatable issues that might arise in these forums, going on-line will become just another way for elites to escape the very nonvirtual realities of injustice in our world. As the wired life grows exponentially in the coming years, we’ll all be better off if we can find a street corner in cyberspace. “
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Virtual Communities
Name of publication: The Nation
Title, headline, chapter name: Street Corners in Cyberspace
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 10
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Strickland, Amanda M.