El Desarrollo

As I mentioned in my previous post, the entries for SPA 298 differ slightly from those of SPA 211/411. They are intended to be more objective and analytical, and less personal. That being said, I believe it is important to mention that everyone has their own set of values; beliefs, and ideas that are adhered to. Even when it comes to a scholarly interpretation of a poem; work of art, or a song; these beliefs have the capability of seeping through, no matter how hard the scholar tries to keep them at bay, and this occurs even at the highest level of academia.

In Gioconda Belli's poem "Trasmigraciones", the theme that is addressed is development. Development can be manifested in many different forms and when one talks about development as it pertains to culture; it makes sense that many would interpret it to be the physical development of landscape, such as the changing of the land as a result of new buildings to house businesses. Additionally, it makes sense that development in the context of culture would be understood as the development of its economy; political realm, educational systems, and language, because; just like culture, they all appear at the macro level. They are broadly applied, and to some degree, are abstract ideas. However; development can also be applied to the mezzo and micro systems, such as at the community; family, and individual levels.

Belli's poem addresses the relationship between technology and development. Technology can affect the development of numerous systems. Conversely, technology itself is always developing. Although the poet does not overtly mention the Internet, it could be interpreted within the context of the poem. In the third sentence; the words " navegando por mas informacion de la que puedo o quiero digerir", translated into English: "Navegating [Searching] for more information than I can or want to digest". Furthermore, while the subject of the poem seems to view her relationship with her computer and the Internet in a positive way, it does not appear that the Belli holds the same feeling towards technology. This can be interpreted from the tone that is used by Belli, it is almost as if the subject is being mocked. The relationship with her computer in the poem is viewed as a drug, "hay un placer adictivo y peligroso que me mantiene despierta hasta altas horas de la madrugada". Translated, the poet is saying that there is a dangerous and addictive pleasure that keeps her awake until the high hours of dawn. Lastly, a reference is made to Alice, from Alice in Wonderland. Although the cartoon is one viewed by many children, I took a children's literature class during which we read and discussed fairytales. In this one, there are many hidden elements. Among them are drug use; Freudian psychology, and sex and pedophilia. The story itself literally is about a girl who falls through a rabbit hole and finds herself in a frightening world of chaos and nonsense. It would not be a far reach to say that Belli was covertly calling cyberspace, or the Internet, a frightening world of chaos and nonsense as well.

The entire context of the poem is a remark for how the Internet replaces face to face, interpersonal relationships, and has the ability to reduce one's sense of community. Additionally, online communication reduces the intensity of dialogue, by totally eliminating nonverbal communication (in the sense you cant see facial expressions). Unless of course a web camera is used, but it is quite impossible to recreate physical intimacy--you lack the smell of someone's perfume or cologne, and probably the most important, the touch.

There are many more dangers of the Internet that could affect the communities and families within a culture, and they can happen in any country around the world with developing technology. One example is the social networking websites such as Myspace and Facebook, where young girls might naively post pictures of themselves and turn up as a victim to a sexual predator.

When the Internet was first created, it was done so for the use of the United States government. Originally, it was intended to benefit the government by enabling quick inter-agency communication. Now, the government spends millions, if not in the billions, of dollars to try to enforce laws against crimes such as Internet pornography; online prostitution, gambling, and other industries such as the sale of illicit narcotic prescriptions and the sale of tobacco without the collection of applicable taxes. As Nicaragua continues to develop, as access to the Internet becomes more available, what will be in store for the people of Nicaragua? Athough there are positive aspects to the availability of information to a culture, what will happen as its people also begin to have access to the above mentioned industries that the Internet fosters?

As someone who currently works in the field of substance abuse in a detox clinic, I have seen where addiction takes people. Physically, it takes them to places they would never have been to otherwise: crack houses, on the streets soliciting sex for money or drugs, and sometimes people just wake up in a city and they have no idea where they are and how they got there. I have also learned that sometimes, not always, but in many cases the mental component to addiction is a tougher battle that the physiological. We are now seeing more and more cases of addiction to internet gambling sites, pornography sites but we are also seeing, what could be called "innocent" addictions to the Internet.One of the biggest lately for many adolescents is the World of Warcraft, an online game. Neither form of addiction is better or worse than the other, but many believe that only actual drug addictions cause health problems. This could be far from the truth, as the United States is seeing obesity rates in children and teens skyrocket, and many feel this is due to outdoor playing with friends being replaced by virtual games. The Internet is not the only culprit, as other video games such as XBox and watching hours of television are also having the same effect. Additionally, as Belli comments in the poem when staying up until dawn is referenced, this is also happening among people of all age groups. Those that spend their nights on the Internet are usually not getting the recommended amount of sleep, and for children and teens it is absolutely an important requirement for their health, as well as their development.

As Internet Cafes continue to open up in Nicaragua; as the rate of homes with computers starts to rise, will their insatiable appetite and cravings rise as it did for Belli's character, and like for so many people of cultures around the world that have rapidly developing technology? Will the Nicaraguense still continue to puertear if more homes have computers? Is the Nicaraguan governent prepared to handle any of the potential Internet crimes against their citizens?