New media

• User controlled media technologies are actually controlled by media corporations e.g. Facebook (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) was recently criticised for removing photos of women breastfeeding whilst allowing photos of women in skimpy bikinis
• Marxists would also see this as evidence of bourgeois control over society
• The Snowden Report puts forward concerns about privacy and new media with the owners power of surveillance
• Commercialisation


  • Internet is extremely commercialised
  • Millions of people use the internet to buy products and services, check bank accounts and pay bills
  • Last five years has seen a shift from educational use to commercial use
• Cornford & Robins do agree there is more consumer choice but point to some dubious side effects e.g. Many companies that sell products engage in survellience through cookies that allow the targeting of people with the aim to maximise profits
• Some Marxists have become alarmed claiming that commercialization encourages materialism and false need which thereby furthers capitalist domination and control
• Reinforcing elite power


  • Cornford & Robins are sceptical that new media supports democracy
  • Alliances, mergers, licensing deals, takeovers etc have lead to a monopoly on views expressed
  • Political elite have also used elaborate websites and delivery systems to ensure their view is dominant
  • New media strengthens the dominance rather than promoting new ideas
• The digital class divide also contributes as those who are likely to have the most grievances are the most likely to not have access to the internet
• Seaton (2003) suggests online political involvement mirrors real life involvement
• Hill & Hughes (1997) found only 6% of web pages were devoted to political pages plus majority of views expressed were mainstream
• Seaton suggests that the internet was more powerful as a tool when only used by minority groups in the early days
• Decline in quality of popular culture

  • Increased choice particularly digitalization of TV has lead to decline in quality of popular culture
  • Harvey (2008) suggests more channels but more repeats, films, sport, reality TV, imported shows.
  • Creates a 'candy floss' culture
  • ITV underwent 'tabloidization' in the late 1990's in an attempt to compete with sky. Resulted in a decline in current affairs and news coverage
• British Broadcasting Standards Commission (BBSC) 2003 – upheld decline
• Decline in quality of popular culture

  • Keen (2007) refers to the internet as the 'cult of the amateur' and argues this is leading to a demise in quality
  • Scottish Parent Teacher Council – Teachers held concerns about their students using the internet as a research tool when a lot of the info is inaccurate e.g. Wikipedia – Kylie Minogue is Michael Jackson's sister and Robbie Williams eats hamsters
  • Sheer number of websites about celebrity gossip
• Lack of regulation


  • New media particularly the internet in need of state regulation
  • Views may be represented but access to easy to pornography, and homophobic, racist and terrorist inciting sites
  • Limited regulation = breeding ground for poor quality info, and even bullying, harassment and discrimination (Jones 2013)
  • Keen (2007) goes further to suggest social networking sites are becoming infested with anonymous sexual predators and paedophiles
  • Is it taking freedom of speech too far?
• Ofcom (2006) – 1 in 6 children had come across worrying material & 7 out of 10 parents were concerned about children accessing inappropriate material
• Some believe that this is a price worth paying for freedom of speech
• Difficult to control as many ISP's operate outside the UK
• Efforts gone into monitoring and control although plans announced in 2008 to shut down terrorist sites
• Lack of Social Cohesion


  • New media weakens social cohesion
  • This is because unlike in previous decades when only 4 channels existed, there are now hundreds of channels spreading a multitude of beliefs and splitting the public into fragmented groups.
• Curran and Seaton (2010) do point out that those 4 channels do still dominate – BARB 2013 data BBC1 = 20.8% of audience / All 4 channels = 48.6%
• Postmodernism


  Fundamental changes mean that we are living in a 'postmodern' age, caused by economic & social factors
• Postmodern age


  • Industrialization and manufacturing of goods is in decline, service, processing and information industries are on the increase and growing in importance
  • Rapid expansion of media industries leading to media saturation
  • Media and popular culture shapes our identities and lifestyles more than tradition influences
• Postmodern age - place of media

  • Media has changed and shaped our consumption by making us more aware of the diversity of choices in society
  • Globalisation means we have more cultural influences available to us
• Postmodernists argue the media such as magazines, TV documentaries, and advertising define our lifestyles and identities for us
• The media informs us that the consumption of brands and labels for their own sake are central to our identities. Image is more important than substance. People judged less on ability and more on look
• Many people feel they no longer belong to real communities. Second life, blogs, chat rooms and gaming increasingly replace the role of neighbours and kin. We know soap opera characters better than the people on our street
• It is suggested that we no longer look to grand theories or meta narratives such as science or Marxism to explain the world. We are increasingly media literate and see all views as having some relevance as society is underpinned by diversity and pluralism
• Social change is exaggerated


  People are still very much influenced by gender, class, ethnicity, religion and nation. Media is important but not determining
• Postmodernism ignores the fact


  People do not actually always have a great deal of consumption choice due to unemployment, poverty and discrimination. Access to the internet is denied to many
• High culture


  What would be generally considered to be middle class culture such as books, theatre and art. Often relies on knowledge to be able to understand it's meanings. Often thought of as the culture of a relatively small group of elite in society
• Mass, popular culture


  Refers to large scale patterns of culture in the media which include highly commercialised media aimed at wide audience, simple and accessible media with a broad appeal and a fast turnover for maximum profits
• Macdonald (1957) is critical of mass culture as it lacks meaning. It deliberately seeks not to challenge or provoke a strong response. Creates a insipid culture and engulfs alternatives such as food, music, languages and ideas. This leads to a dangerous state of totalitarianism whereby it supports control
• Strinati (2004) suggest this mass culture has much to offer and is not simply a blanket culture. It shows different tastes and options and is continually evolving
• Globalisation


  The process that brings various different cultures together to create a more singular culture
• New Media


  A2 Sociology
• Globalisation of media


  • Ownership of mass media - Media companies are not restricted by national boundaries. Most Western countries have relaxed ownership controls. Leading to media moguls e.g. Murdock & Time Warner
  • Satellite television - Can watch programmes from anywhere in the world through channels such as Sky, Al Jazeera and CNN
  • The internet - Access to the web via the internet, global webservers (such as google) and new technology (such as wireless broadband) mean that we can access information and entertainment in most parts of the world. However China (with help from google) forbids the access of its citizens to some parts of the web, especially sites that are pro democracy as they believe this is particularly dangerous
  • Advertising - Occurs on a global scale and as a result some brands have become global e.g. Coca cola, Levis, McDonalds. Coca cola is now the most widely known and used consumer product in the world
  • Entertainment - Has become globalized via satellite television, global marketing & advertising and the internet. The world engages in the same popular culture i.e. the same films (mainly Hollywood produced), the same TV programmes (e.g. Friends) and the same music (e.g. Coldplay, Madonna). Sport has been globalized through global media events such as the Olympic Games and the World Cup
• Starter


  1. How has communication changed over the last 25 years

  2. What are the advantages of these changes?

  3. What are the disadvantages of these changes?

  4. Plan & Present
• Supporters of globalisation such as postmodernists

  Suggest it brings more choice with regard to identity and lifestyle. They see it as a positive influence in developing modern ideas and kick start economies as cultural ideas and behaviours develop
• New Media Trends


  • Evolution of Existing Systems
  • Emergence of New Technologies