Cyberbalkanization
Encyclopedia
Cyberbalkanization refers to the division of the world wide web
into sub-groups with specific interests, to the extent that a sub-group's members almost always use the web to communicate or read material that is only of interest to the rest of the sub-group. It is sometimes hyphenated as cyber-balkanization.
Many claim that the term was first used in an MIT paper by Marshall Van Alstyne
and Erik Brynjolfsson
that was published in a conference in late 1996. The concept was also discussed in a related article in the journal Science that same year.
argued that cyberbalkanization could damage democracy, because the internet allowed different groups to avoid exposure to one another as they gathered in increasingly segregated communities, making recognition of other points of view or common ground decreasingly likely.
Commentators like Aleks Krotoski
consider that Jihadist groups often use the internet in this way.
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
into sub-groups with specific interests, to the extent that a sub-group's members almost always use the web to communicate or read material that is only of interest to the rest of the sub-group. It is sometimes hyphenated as cyber-balkanization.
Many claim that the term was first used in an MIT paper by Marshall Van Alstyne
Marshall Van Alstyne
Marshall Van Alstyne is a professor at Boston University and researcher at MIT and the MIT Center for Digital Business. His work focuses on the economics of information....
and Erik Brynjolfsson
Erik Brynjolfsson
Erik Brynjolfsson is the Schussel Family Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the Director of the MIT Center for Digital Business and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research...
that was published in a conference in late 1996. The concept was also discussed in a related article in the journal Science that same year.
Origin
The term is a hybrid of:- cyberCyberCyber may refer to:* Cyber-, a common prefix* Cybergoth* CDC Cyber, a range of mainframe computers* Cyber Acoustics, a brand of computer hardware* Cyber Missionary* Cybersex * Cyberitis * Cyber...
- relating to the internetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, and - BalkanizationBalkanizationBalkanization, or Balkanisation, is a geopolitical term, originally used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other, and it is considered pejorative.The term refers to the...
, a phenomenon that takes its name from the BalkansBalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, a part of Europe that was historically subdivided by languages, religions and cultures.
Usage
Cyberbalkanization occurs when members of specific interest groups tend to use the internet to exclude views that contradict their cherished beliefs and theories. In his 2001 book Republic.com, Cass SunsteinCass Sunstein
Cass R. Sunstein is an American legal scholar, particularly in the fields of constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, and law and behavioral economics, who currently is the Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Obama administration...
argued that cyberbalkanization could damage democracy, because the internet allowed different groups to avoid exposure to one another as they gathered in increasingly segregated communities, making recognition of other points of view or common ground decreasingly likely.
Commentators like Aleks Krotoski
Aleks Krotoski
Aleksandra K. "Aleks" Krotoski is an American broadcaster and journalist, currently based in the UK, who writes about technology and interactivity. She presents The Guardian podcast Tech Weekly and contributes to guardian.co.uk...
consider that Jihadist groups often use the internet in this way.