THE CYBERCULTURE OF USENET : AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Abstract

This thesis represents a sociological look at the phenomenal growth of the Internet in the last few years. It explores the relationship between cyberculture --- the culture of cyberspace --- and societal culture. The objective of the study is to determine the nature of cyberculture and understand how cultural processes within and without cyberspace affect the on-line behaviour of Internet users in general and Usenet users in particular. The research focuses on the culture of the Usenet newsgroup named soc.culture.singapore and examines the influence of both Singapore culture and Usenet conventions as manifested by the postings sent to the newsgroup. Analysis of the interaction patterns of soc.culture.singapore subscribers suggests that there is a mutual relationship between cyberculture and societal culture.