Culture is a word that is used tirelessly and often out of context. Nayar defines culture as being “taken to mean both a way of life and the set of practices, institutions, and structures, of power that constantly negotiate meaning, where through processes of inclusion and exclusion, some meanings, groups, and texts are valorized at the expense of others” (Nayar 25). Adhering to this definition, Nayar studies culture through the lens of cyberculture and inequality. He brings up a strong argument that with New Media and cybercultures, come more outlets to perpetuate inequality. There is further space to marginalize based on race, gender, and class when cybercultures are present.
There is no way to reference information communication technologies (ICTs) without the question of power, identity, ideology and culture. Through the power paradigm it is highlighted that some people are disadvantaged due to their financial, political, cultural, and agential status, which affects their standing in the technological community. When looking specifically at the technological community and issues of power, an important idea is the digital divide. The haves and the have-nots are clearly at play when looking at the digital divide. Nayar suggests that New Media perpetuates inequality because those who have access to cybercultures and the Internet are those living in developed countries. All other countries lay somewhere between unlimited technological access, as we see in the United States, and no technological access as at all. The gradient to which involvement is granted depends on a country’s development. It is not surprise that consumption is drastically larger in more developed countries. Consumption is a part of culture and depending on one’s access to technology the market remains mainly in real time, or spreads to the Internet. Thus some degrees of consumption are contingent on a person’s access to these technologies. As a stated previously, the digital divide dictates who can participate in New Media culture and who cannot. So, countries that are less developed are not partaking in the technological global consumer market or on the more individual level because there is no supply of the product as a result of the restrictions accessibility.
Regardless of the digital divide, all communities have culture. Nayar links these two ideas together by looking at an important aspect of all cultures: consumption. Nayar touches on main ideas such as consumer culture and coding as it takes on new meaning within the confines of his key concepts. New Media technologies and electronics are not only creating a emerging market all their own as one of the largest components of the global consumer market, but they are creating a marketplace and expanding the accessibility of different markets. I can buy anything through the use of my iphone, but I can also send an email, look up the weather, record a class lecture, or find my way to the nearest pharmacy. Our electronics are functioning as convergence platforms where our media is coming together onto one interface (Nayar 32). New media technology is expanding our definition of markets. Through this idea we can justify that cyberculture is inextricably linked to consumer culture (Nayar 32).