If there’s one thing social media has succeeded in doing, it’s diminishing the spaces between us and the space between us and knowledge. The digital age and our newfound digital interactions have become a springboard into a new, hyper-awareness. While it’s arguably a good thing to be a more informed citizen (as one of the tenants of a healthy democracy), there are other implications. How is it changing how we interact? How is it affecting our culture? And how is it morphing what used to be a hidden sector of society?
One of my flat mates and I were sitting around our kitchen the other night, cooking and doing what usually happens to the idle-minded: Facebooking. Yes, I’m going to condone the use of that word as a verb for the time being. After a while, she noticed that a bunch of her friends were attending an event – a small show at a little known venue back home. This prompted the question: how did people find out about things before the internet? Communication is nowhere near what it once was.
Before we all became so attached to this cyber snare of communication and information that we now know as the World Wide Web, events like concerts and small shows were only heard about through traditional word of mouth. Sure, flyers help, too, but for the most part, if you didn’t hear about it, you didn’t know about it. The underground music scene really was very secretive.
With the addition of Facebook’s Events application and further with the addition of things like foursquare and “check-ins” everyone knows where everyone is all the time. It’s weird. This translates to there being far less privacy (and let’s not forget to mention that we’re all willingly giving up our privacy when using the social networking site). Underground shows are now inviting people to attend via Facebook. Raves and places like the Firehouse in Worcester are now “likable.” Everyone is now so much more aware.
Underground music is all much easier to access now. With FTPs and torrent sites hosting little known artists, anyone can become immediately acquainted with small bands from around the world. Variables of time and place aren’t factors anymore; you can be anywhere and hear music that was made years ago and miles away.
With the internet has come a very jarring change to counterculture and the underground. Simply put, I don’t think there is an underground anymore.
Ashley, you seem to use "counterculture" and "underground" (in the context of music) interchangeably here. Was that intended? I think that while they can have similarities in some cases, they are not in any strict sense synonymous.
ReplyDeleteThey made not be at all times. Not all counterculture movements are underground, but as I see it, there is significant overlap in that underground movements are inherently (at least to some extent) counterculture. They are subverting the normal systems of communication. Any adverse opinion is welcome though. Thank you for your comment!
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