The Question Concerning (Internet) Time

Authors

S. Leong, Curtin University of Technology
Teodor E. Mitew, University of WollongongFollow
E Pearson, University of Otago
M Celetti, University of Western Australia

RIS ID

37498

Publication Details

Mitew, T. E., Celetti, M., Leong, S. & Pearson, E. 2009, 'The Question Concerning (Internet) Time', New Media and Society, vol. 11, no. 8, pp. 1267-1285.

Abstract

Spatial representations, metaphors and imaginaries (cyberspace, web pages) have been the mainstay of internet research for a long time. Instead of repeating these themes, this article seeks to answer the question of how we might understand the concept of time in relation to internet research. After a brief excursus on the general history of the concept, this article proposes three different approaches to the conceptualization of internet time. The common thread underlying all the approaches is the notion of time as an assemblage of elements such as technical artefacts, social relations and metaphors. By drawing out time in this way, the article addresses the challenge of thinking of internet time as coexistence, a clash of fluxes, metaphors, lived experiences and assemblages. In other words, this article proposes a way to articulate internet time as a multiplicity.