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Legends on the net: an examination of computer-mediated communication as a locus of oral culture

Temple University, fernback{at}temple.edu

Building upon work that suggests an oral cultural dimension to cyberspace within real-time chat modes, this article supports that contention by examining traditional oral folklore as it exists within the textual context of the online environment. Specifically, this study is a formal analysis of online discussion groups devoted to the perpetuation and analysis of a particular type of oral folklore - urban legends - and the cultural significance of their existence in the online realm. As mediated human communication becomes more and more non-linear, decentralized, and rooted in multimedia, the distinction between orality and literacy becomes less evident and less important. The proliferation of urban legends online demonstrates the idea that cyberspace can serve as a locus for a primary oral culture and its attendant humanity and sociability in a simultaneously textual environment.

Key Words: cyberspace • folklore • orality • urban legends

New Media & Society, Vol. 5, No. 1, 29-45 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/1461444803005001902


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