"Cyberspace," by Benjamin Woolley, addresses the possibility that cyberspace is the most powerful and important form of communication. Woolley believes that cyberspace is "a new frontier, a very real one [...] open to exploration and, ultimately, settlement" (8). In 1992, when Woolley wrote his book, he was convinced that settlment was the ultimate goal of cyberspace. Now, in the year 2001, it is clear that Woolley was correct in his prediction. Cyberspace is not a wide frontier anymore, but an overpopulated, settled suburb.

Woolley thins that electronic technology will dictate every part of our lives. Television dictates what we see; computers dictate much of what we read and almost as much of what we see. Technology is looked at as an "extension of the body" (9), a claim that is true because technology has become such a part of our daily lives. Many of us communicate with family members by Email, others get frequent news updates from the Internet, and most of us students spend what seems like forever writing papers and using the Internet for research. Many of us use the Internet to do our jobs and, for some professionals, the job it to maintain the Internet. No matter what, everyone is connected to the Internet in some way, and we all have a stake in which way our digital futures will go. How much of our lives we allow cyberspace to dictate is purely up to us. Even now the question remains: Can we survive without cyberspace?

Computer viruses have the ability to cripple everyone on the Internet. Once people began to realize this, the focus went from Cyberspace as a hobby to cyberspace as a livelihood. Society can no longer do without computers and technology. They have both become engrained in our lives, and there is no turning back. Woolley suggests that cyberspace is "where events increasingly happen, where our lives and fates are increasingly determined; a place that has a very direct impact on our material circumstances" (16). I donít think that Woolley could have made a truer statement. Our lives and every aspect of them are tied into technology and computers, and cyberspace is just gathering steam. Where we will be in another ten years is anyoneís guess.

Woolley, Benjamin. "Cyberspace." CyberReader. Ed. Victor J. Vitanza. 2nd ed. Needham Heights, MA. Allyn & Bacon, 1999. 7-19.

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