I want to propose a simple question. The end of the reign of mass media means the end of the reign of mass culture. People's interests become more diverse as they are able to access to wider array of things. Ultimately, this causes some disassembly of their shared sense of identity. People who have different identities tend to fight. Republicans and Democrats, Israelis and Palestinians... Hell, Americans and Canadians talk shit about each other, although I imagine people from Manitoba and North Dakota have more in common that either has with people from Georgia. Is diversity the opposite of peace? Will the Internet bring an era of ever expanding conflict, some of it violent, among an ever expanding and complex milieu of identity groups? |