Umberto Eco and Emotions in The Time of Internet
Umberto Eco and Emotions in The Time of Internet

Summary/Abstract: "Social networks gives right of speech to legions of idiots”. These are the words from Umberto Ecodirecting an attack on Internet during the ceremony in the University of Torino to award himHonoris Causa for Communication and media culture. After these statements “the networkpeople” felt offended and they launched a harsh attack against the writer. Therefore I decided toget deeply focused on such argument and made researches to create an idea about the writer‟sreflection and tried to formulate a potential personal consideration.The purpose for doing this is not to protect Eco: he is part of those people of reputation in culturewho with their work have changed the way we study language and communication, let alone hisextraordinary talent as a novelist. I conducted this analysis to better understand his opinion onInternet, social networks and technology. In this reflection I have indicated that his harsh wordsdid not come out of nothing, in contrary, he made similar statements in other cases.The theory developed by him was complete, consolidated and logically argued. Behind this attacklies a reflection on such an important topic for our society: Internet information filtering, necessityof education on internet, things which need to get started since the early school education. At theend of the article I have provided a short information about a platform, an online multimediacompiled by him named Encyclomedia, an encyclopedia based on a new concept which is dedicatedto the history of humankind by establishing links between what is searched in internet with relationto literature, science, art, music, economy, society, religion. This project demonstrates the fact thatthis man regardless of being part of cultural environment of “Novecento” tried to utilize the newtechnology to the benefit of knowledge and its dissemination.

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