“The immaterial global village”: debunking myths of the internet

In “The Place of the Internet in Anthropology” (in the March 2011 issue of Anthropology News), UCLA PhD student Adam Fish addresses the popular myth of the internet as both intangible and globally unifying.

Fish states that while “internet hardware, software and protocols simulate a global village’s structure,” most people fail to take advantage of the possibilities it presents. Citing Ethan Zuckerman’s 2010 TEDGlobal talk, he presents the disappointing data which reveals that internet users pay closer attention to national rather than global news.

Check out more feature articles online at Anthropology News, a publication of the American Anthropological Association.