The New Media

• In a nutshell


  The new media refers to digital, screen-based technology used for the consumption and distribution of the new digitised media content. These include tablets, smartphones etc. Neophiliacs take an optimistic view on the new media, suggesting it has had positive impacts on society such as increased social life, greater democracy and so on. Cultural pessimists oppose this view in suggesting the new media has had negative effects on society in the way it has undermined human relationships and connections, as well as increased surveillance and control of the consumer.
• What is the new media?


  The new media refers to digital, screen-based technology used for the consumption and distribution of the new digitised media content. These include tablets, smartphones, digital TV, E-books and more.
• TECHNOLOGICAL CONVERGENCE​


  While the traditional media involved different devices for different media content, the new media technology offers technological convergence whereby a single device combines various media technologies (e.g. smartphones allow you to make calls, read books, read the news, take photos etc).
• Technological Convergence - Jenkins


  Jenkins argues that the process of technological convergence brings about the process of cultural convergence, whereby consumers are encouraged to seek out and share new information and make connections between dispersed contents from a range of media, and contribute to a participatory culture.
• FEATURES OF THE NEW MEDIA


  Digitality - being digital rather than analogue​

  Interactivity - consumers of media can contribute to a participatory culture and a collective intelligence​

  Hypertextuality - links between different media texts that form a web of connections​

  Dispersal - the new media has become less centralised and has adapted to individual choices

  ​Virtuality - people can immerse themselves in wholly unreal interactive experiences and exist in a virtual world
• USERS OF THE NEW MEDIA


  Helsper argues that healthy, young, well-educated people with higher incomes and professionals are more likely to be frequent users of the new media.
• SOCIAL CLASS DIFFERENCES​


  There is evidence of there being a digital divide between the information-rich digital haves, and the poor-digital have-nots. Helsper states that there is a digital underclass forming in Britain, with those who have lower education levels falling behind other groups in their access to the internet.
• AGE DIFFERENCES​


  There is a substantial generation gap in the users of the new media. Boyle argues that younger people have grown up with the latest developments in the new media and are therefore predisposed to it. Younger people are more likely to consume media in a variety of forms.
• GENDER DIFFERENCES​


  Both males and females are avid users of the new media, however there are differences in the products they consume. For instance, men are more likely to own tablets and game consoles, whereas women are more likely to own E-readers.

  Li and Kirkup argue that men are more likely to have a positive attitude towards the internet, spend more time on it and were more confident on how to use to extensively.
• THE CULTURAL OPTIMIST / NEOPHILIAC PERSPECTIVE OF THE NEW MEDIA


  1.More informed consumers, wider choices and more user participation - UK media audiences have a choice of over 500 TV channels and millions of websites. Consumers have more opportunities to participate in using and producing media content through social media sites.
• THE CULTURAL OPTIMIST / NEOPHILIAC PERSPECTIVE OF THE NEW MEDIA


  2. Greater democracy - McNair argues that information, like knowledge, is power. The internet is accessible to anyone, therefore there are greater opportunities to report, criticise and publish. Democracy is improved if people are better informed in who and what they are voting for.​
• THE CULTURAL OPTIMIST / NEOPHILIAC PERSPECTIVE OF THE NEW MEDIA


  3. More access to all kinds of information - Social media sites enable news and information articles to come to the attention of those who may have missed them. People have more power in their daily lives to access all kinds of information
• THE CULTURAL OPTIMIST / NEOPHILIAC PERSPECTIVE OF THE NEW MEDIA


  4. The world as a global village - There is a greater understanding of different cultures because space and time barriers have collapsed in human communication, therefore different people from different cultures are brought together.
• THE CULTURAL OPTIMIST / NEOPHILIAC PERSPECTIVE OF THE NEW MEDIA


  5. Social life and social interaction is enhanced - Postmodernists see the new media as enhancing social diversity and enabling people to share their cultures and shape their identity. Social media has enhanced the global village because people can stay in touch via social networking sites.
• THE CULTURAL PESSIMIST VIEW OF THE NEW MEDIA


  1.Lack of valid information - It is often difficult to know the source of messages in the media (who they come from and who is sending them), therefore it is hard to validate information. Material posted by journalists is often recycled without checking the information or sources
• THE CULTURAL PESSIMIST VIEW OF THE NEW MEDIA


  2. Cultural and media imperialism - The new media has led to the imposition of western technology and cultural values on non-western cultures, undermining their features and independence
• THE CULTURAL PESSIMIST VIEW OF THE NEW MEDIA


  3. Threat to democracy - MacKinnon writes about sovereign cyberspace, which refers to multinational corporations such as Apple now have the power that only the government had once obtained. Therefore, these companies have effectively become part of our political system, but they are neither elected or accountable to the public like democratic governments are. MacKinnon also argues that some repressive regimes (Eg. NK) legitimate their repression by having censorship and control of media output, which undermines democracy & freedom of expression.
• THE CULTURAL PESSIMIST VIEW OF THE NEW MEDIA


  4. Lack of regulation - Undesirable things such as pornography, internet-crime, drug smuggling etc. can thrive as a result of the new media because there is limited regulation on such issues. There has been an increased amount of cyberbullying as a result of the new media, especially via social networking sites.
• THE CULTURAL PESSIMIST VIEW OF THE NEW MEDIA


  5. Commercialisation and lack of consumer choice - The digital divide means there are still people across the globe who cannot access the new media. Preston states that while the new media offers consumers the choice of what they want to read or look at, they don't bring to their attention things that they didn't know they wanted to look at.
• THE CULTURAL PESSIMIST VIEW OF THE NEW MEDIA


  6. Increasing surveillance - The new media has operated to increase social control, for example mobile signal can be used to track mobile users. 
• THE CULTURAL PESSIMIST VIEW OF THE NEW MEDIA


  7. The undermining of human relationships and communications - There has been an increase in social isolation, with people losing the ability to communicate properly in the real world because they spend so much time in the online world. There is a loss of social capital.