Through these advanced systems our notion of the world has changed. Past concepts of a round world, have evolved inward, into what Journalist and author Thomas Friedman calls the ‘Flat World’. This flat virtual level playing field is a world where we can all compete upon the same level, a world of no boundaries and endless possibilities. The flat world, through its interconnectivity knocks down previous economic, social and cultural barriers that some say have been holding back us for to long. The Internet creates this notion and defines a new freedom. This freedom is created through information availability, processing speeds and access. Yet the initial chaotic ideal of freedom that the Internet provided has slowly been eroded. Terrorist, hackers, paedophiles amongst others have eaten away at the utopia. With this erosion comes an opening up of privacy, rights, censorship and safety as we all become susceptible. It has become a symbol of fear as governments and corporations around the world grapple with its real implications. Data systems, surveillance, and digital footprints are being converted, stored and hacked as the more we watch the more we become watched. This, the world post September eleven has converted free ideals of apparent democracy, into world of pre-emptive attacks, data retrieval, spying, profit and paranoid fear. The Internet has grown into a device that is all knowing, all watching, forever attaching and open to all.
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