Abstract
This paper is a short reflection on the evolution of the meaning of the term cyberspace for geographers. We argue that the concept of cyberspace has become a rhizomatic one as spatial thinkers have unveiled its complex inner and outer networkings. While cyberspace was initially understood as a new open space ripe for exploration, its intricate connections with real space through the technological infrastructures that make cyberspace possible have led geographers to consider the multiple points of access and types of cyberspace. More recently, there has been renewed attention to the inner geographies of cyberspace and its cyberdivides have been exposed. We briefly retrace this evolution to argue that the way forward is to shift from an idea of cyberspace as a predefined space to a notion of cyberspatialities as ongoing spatial digital formations.
Highlights
Cyberspace had a profound impact on the way human societies are organized and contemporary life is inextricable from its effects
Castells and Hall (1994) considered that technopoles were changing their structure due to the appearance of a new economy in advanced industrial countries, characterized by a new form of production, consumption and management based in new ways of knowledge transmission through information and communication technologies
Cyberspace was one of such terms, and the question if whether cyberspace is an actual space or a mere metaphor remains to this day (Kellerman 2020), it has been acknowledged that this language fostered a sense of community, place or belonging regarding different virtual media (Paiva 2015)
Summary
Cyberspace had a profound impact on the way human societies are organized and contemporary life is inextricable from its effects. Geographers had been attentive to the development of new technologies of information and communication since the 1960s. Some authors were concerned with the growing inequalities associated with the access to technologies, which led to the emergence of the concept of digital divide.
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