MEST 3: The Impact of New & Digital Media Case Study
Step One - Generating Topic Ideas for Individual Case Studies:
A study of the impact of new and digital media on………
- The internet & social networking sites
- The impact of new and digital media on twitter and the impact on the audience
Step Two: Identifying relevant theories/ issues & debates
Some well known theories/ issues and debates on the topic of new and digital media include:
Theorist/ issue or debate
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Topic Covered
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Link to my title
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Debate: Marxism
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believes the mass media are a tool used by ruling bodies to maintai hegemonic control over the audience
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Marxism theories shows how the upper class institutions helps audience to keep in place by providing them with different NDM news such as news stories on the guardian keeping us up to date with all the news globally. Therefore 'people believe what they tweet' when it comes to social networking sites such as twitter the institution allows the audience to be a part of the news as we can take the MH370 plane as an example twitter allowed them to give there own opinions which shows how they are allowing the audience to be a part of it.
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Pluralism
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argues that we live in a classless society and media organisations are responsive to an audience ad are economically determined
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Pluralists theory argues that the audience have control as they are able to 'tweet&hashtag' about anything they want and NDM also allows them to have unlimited access to there social networking sites as the audience is able to access the internet through any of their device
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The digital revolution
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The digital revolution shows how new techologies are allowing us to do multiple things
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This issue debates how audience are able to socialise in different ways as for example text messages to organise evenings, online shopping to shop online at any time/any country. We are also able to have video chats with people abroad. This shows how 15 years ago we did not have these types of technology, however now we are able to take advantage of them due to the increase in NDM.
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Gramsci
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Gramsci was one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century.. He is best-known for his theory of cultural hegemony, which describes how states use cultural
institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies.
| Gramscis theory tells us how the media has the most power ad control over the audience as the pay wall for example a paywall is a system that the instituions use to prevent Internet users from accessing webpage content without a paid subscription. This shows how the institutions make there money. however twitter on the other hand is free which is argueing this point as it is giving free access to the audience which enables them to get free news. | |
Paretos law
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showing the 80/20 rule
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Paretos law shows both the issue and debate as 80% of the audience can control 20% of the internet such as twitter it is all controlled by the users as users are the ones making the site what it is. Witout the users twitter would be nothing as NDM tells us that witout any users on the internet the internet is not the internet as the audience are the ones using it
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Rupert Murdock
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Rupert murdock is in charge of the news corporation
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One of ruperts main saying it that 'the world is changing and newspapers have to adapt to it' this shows how NDM is increasing and audience nnow have more access to news channels, social networking sites etc as we see newspapers have gone down due to sites such as twitter which is enabling audience with free news, updates and also able to watch videos of the news which newspapers cannot give. Therefore as this is changing rupert murdock says that the newspaper industry has to adapt to it as we can see how news instituions like the sun and the guardian have made official twitter accounts in order to get to the audience as twitter has over 645,750,000 users and counting.
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Baudrillard
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Baudrillard calls ths simulation a 'hyperreality' and it is this hyperreality which led to the statement about the gulf war.
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His theory tells us how we receive news 'live' from around the globe therefore the audience react as though what we are experiencing is actually real as reality programmes for example we can see how audience make that refer to there own life. Furthermore citizen journalist is also another example of this as journalist pick and choose relevant news for us to make us believe that it is reality. on twitter for example people tweet what they believe and 're-tweet' what they see.
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Step Three: Choosing individual topic area and relevant theorists
Write here what your case study will involve. Remember it should be about the impact of new and digital media on audience on twitter
- My case study will
involve me doing talking about the issues and debates of my chosen topic
twitter and the impact of new and digital media. My case study will involve me
talking about both Marxism and pluralism issue and debates
how they argue how the internet has a big impact on new and digital
media as audience are now able to access it wherever they want from
any device such as tablets, i phones, laptops etc.
- My case study will also involve me
talking about twitter in general and how twitter is now at the top of the
social networking list. As Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables users to send and read
short 140-character text
messages, called "tweets". Registered users can read and post
tweets,
- Twitter is fast becoming
a leading online community as well as a powerful social marketing tool. The
beauty of Twitter lies in its simplicity. Compared to other community-oriented
web services like Facebook and MySpace, Twitter is streamlined, simple, and
straightforward. This both contributes to and detracts from its usability.
- It will involve me talking about the
advantages and disadvantages of twitter for example the Advantage:
Twitter limits its updates to 140 characters, so there’s no need (or
temptation) to launch into long-winded prose or to over-explain your thought.
There is only one main screen, so you never have to search around for what
you’re looking for. Disadvantage: Because Twitter is so simple, there is little
sophistication to the presentation. Your profile is lean and mean. You can only
have one photo attached to your profile at a time, and little detailed
information about yourself. It’s not a great way for people to get to know you,
unless you are very good at expressing yourself in 140 characters or less.
( http://www.ehow.co.uk/list_6026451_advantages-disadvantages-twitter.html )
- My case study also involves me talking about the negative impact on newspaper with NDM as it shows how audiences have left newspapers and read stories online through the institutions website and social networking sites such as twitter enabling them to keep updated regulary with the news unlike newspapers where they have to buy a newspaper week, ndm has allowed audiences to keep updated with the news 24/7. An example of a instituion which has fallen is 'the fox news' as it has been said that they are biased and fell by 70% showing the rise of internet and social networking sites.
Explain why you have chosen this topic and why you think this will be a rich area for study.
the reason i have chosen to study the internet and social networking sites is because the internet is huge as it involves many institutions such as google being part of the internet as people use google to search etc. Social networking sites such as twitter is a rich area to study as social networking has increased over the past few years as new social sites/apps are always being introuduced such as whatsapp, instagram, facebook, BBM are all part of social networking therefore it gives me broad range of topics to talk about within my case study. Furthermore i have chosen to focus upon twitter because twitter is now at the top of the chart for social networking therefore gives me more to talk about with including relevant theories, issues and debates to talk about.
Identify at least three media texts/ products that you will use as your primary sources of evidence to demonstrate the impact of new and digital media in your topic area.
TEXT
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PLATFORM (broadcast, print, e-media)
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YEAR OF PRODUCTION
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Facebook
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E- Media
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2004
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Twitter
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E- Media
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2006
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Youtube
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Broadcast
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2005
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Google
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E- Media
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2011
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List here the theorists you have identified in your research table above that you will need to refer to for your study:
UGC- citizen journalists
Web 2.0 - interactivity
Web 2.0 - interactivity
- 'alone together’ (Sherry Turkle)
- Marxism
- Hypodermic needle model
- Two step theory
- Reception theory
- Uses and gratifications
Capitalism
4G- Wifi
Pluralism
4G- Wifi
Pluralism
- Has new and digital media had an impact upon ownership and control of the media institution(s) involved in your case study area? Explain in detail any impact and what exactly has changed.
I think social networking sites are the medium of freedom of expression. If we talk about its misuse, I think, users must have media literacy and real sense for proper utilisation. Only the user can decide advisable excessive ways.Censorship is needed as a networking site is not used by a particular age group. It is widely used by under-age (18) people. Language should be censored; personal information should not be accessed by others; people also give extremist religious views on these sites. Censorship can only block the screen of your website, not your mind. The tedious legal social exercise of putting a check on social networking sites is ultimately going to block only what users see, not what they think. We should not make it a public issue.
Facebook has always been a new media institution, as the social network was originally built from scratch by Mark Zuckerberg and today Zuckerberg still sits at the top of the company. With the development and audience engagement with new media Facebook has become a very powerful company and is currently sitting at the top of the social network monopoly. As the most the popular of all the social networks Facebook has gained a lot of power and control over a lot of the internet. Websites which make use of Facebook’s ‘Like’ buttons or any form of Facebook Connect allow Facebook to track which users are browsing those websites, regardless of whether they interact with the content or not. These connections primarily appear to be a form of sharing for the user, however Facebook’s ever growing control throughout new media is raising a lot of privacy concerns.
Google has also always been a new media institution, initially created as its first service, a web search engine. The growth of new media and demand for new media products such as communication and social networking has allowed Google to continue to grow into a powerful institution. Similarly to Facebook, Google’s domination over the internet gives them a lot of power. As with Facebook, using the use of ‘Like’ buttons to share content (and track our internet usage in the process), Google created their own alternative called +1 which does a similar function and became part of Google’s rival social network, Google+. Google, being most peoples default search engine, have a lot of control over the way the internet is used and consumed by audiences.
New and digital media has had a profound impact on my area of study, social networking sites. The internet has allowed for a sense of ‘alone together’ as described by Sherry Turkle. Through the internet we are instantly able to communicate with each other, however the likes of Facebook has allowed for audiences to gain more gratification. Facebook users are not only to communicate with friends and family but also ‘like’ groups/pages, post pictures up and write statuses enhancing audience experience allowing for gratifications such as escapism to be reached.
- What impact has there been on the way in which the audience now consume the media products/ texts involved in your case study? How does it differ from what went before? Consider (SHEP)
People have now become so dependent on social networking sites. As everyone is ‘so’ busy these days people find it easier and more appropriate to contact others via networking sites as they don’t have time to go out and meet them face to face.
“ Under the illusion of allowing us to communicate better, it is actually isolating us from real human interactions in a cyber- reality is a poor imitation of the real world” Sherry Turkle
“ Under the illusion of allowing us to communicate better, it is actually isolating us from real human interactions in a cyber- reality is a poor imitation of the real world” Sherry Turkle
websites can be accessed anywhere anytime, on new smart phones, laptops, computers etc. This makes it easier for people to access these websites and making them more dependent on these specific meeting sites. Skype calls can be made on the phone and are free, they also include video calls which allow users to meet face to face but not actually face to face. Before people used to go out meet with one another, but now at the comfort of their own home they can reach a wide audience.
“Traditional courtship has been negatively impacted via online dating by removing the element of conversation”
“Traditional courtship has been negatively impacted via online dating by removing the element of conversation”
Similarly twitter started as a cottage industry in 2006 however the boom in smartphones and 85% of households now having access to internet has also led to a huge increase in tweeters. one example of this is the tweets from a mobile phone regarding MH370 missing plane, in which the news of the missing plane broke out on twitter before professional journalists could. This tweet was re-tweeted thousands of times highlighting the way that audiences consume media is changing as previously people would find out about the even the next day through traditional media e.g. newspapers. However audiences were able to find out about the crash seconds afters through social networking sites such as twitter.
- What impact has there been on how the media institution now has to produce the texts and the way in which the texts/ products are distributed and exhibited? This should involve a detailed textual analysis of at least 3 texts to demonstrate the point.
The First text that i have analysed is the Social Networking site Facebook
This website has an influence on how media institutions produce texts and products because it allows audiences to communicate, share and influence the way in which situations are seen, an example of this was the London Riots. Social Networking influenced the way the problem happened as 'youngsters were using this site in order to create groups informing people to meet up and loot. This has an impact on how media institutions produce texts and products because they have to take into consideration what could happen if something as serious as the Londond Riots were to happen how it would influence people's movements and behavour. This shows how new Technology and Social Working work together in order to influence audiences as they create too many opinions and views. This makes media institutions re-consider how they get things such as news across to audiences in a way where it doesnt influence them as much as they do.
"Social networks are beginning to have a bigger role in building community and catalysing neighbourhood co-operation and social action."
The second text i have analysed is twitter
- Is the size of the audience any different now than before the impact of new and digital media (or has the pattern of usage changed)? E.G. consider for the impact of new and digital media on TV broadcasting the change in audience ratings for programmes as a consequence of the deregulation of TV. (Prior to deregulation audience figures could be 20m+ for Eastenders etc to a situation today where, due to the massive number of channels now available, audiences are vastly reduced and fragmented).
The size of audience is different now than before due to the development in new technology and the amount of usage in which audiences use these products. The way in which the development in new technology has changed is because there is more of a demand for products such as smart phones. This has resulted in audiences using social networking sites more as they have frequent access to these sites, also the use of new technology such as the IPhone and the IPad, are constantly being used because they offer people with apps in which they can use on a day to day basis.
global consumers spend more than five and half hours on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and that 88% of 13 to 16-year-olds maintained a social networking site. Such statistics would suggests that young people in particular, are no longer as interested in consuming news and gossip through magazines but instead gravitate towards social networks and the emergence of citizen journalism as they have the opportunity to become digital curators, taking a more active role in the production and dissemination of media within a more pluralistic model.
On the other hand, in the newspaper industry target audiences are not as specific. The Telegraph for example targets the over 30 adult age range of professional, business men and women, most likely of middle to high upper-class status whereas The Sun’s market is those more interested in celebrity gossip and sport than business, politics and finance, covering a wide age bracket, including those in the mid-youth.
- Who are the primary target aud ience now and has this changed? Who was it before and how do you know?
TEXT
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CURRENT TARGET AUDIENCE
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ORIGINAL TARGET AUDIENCE
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HOW DO YOU KNOW?
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Twitter
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13+
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16-30
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The site was set up to communicate with students from other
universities, but the age restriction has become 13+ with parental permission
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Facebook
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celebrities
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Everyone
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Twitter was set up in order for people to communicate in groups, quickly and easier. However these days’ people use twitter to follow celebrities and see what is new with them.
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Google
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Everyone
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I know this because everyone uses google from the age of 10 as google is a search engine that has the answer to everyones question
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- How have the audience responded to the changes? Is there more customer choice? Is there evidence of a more pluralistic model? What evidence do you have to support this?
New/digital media refers to content that is available for audiences to access anywhere portably (e.g. on mobile phones, tablets etc) which increases interaction within consumers and interaction between audiences and their producers. Through the development in technologies audiences are empowered by this to a great extent, in terms of audiences having gained more mobility. Social networking sites have intensely increased political participation for example; due to the rise in use of Facebook and twitter audiences have taken the initiative and interest in Politics as due to the use of user generated content people are able to share the views simply through the use of social networking.
Costumer choice: On Twitter, there is a range of ways in which audiences respond to changes. For example, the photo sharing bucket e.g. Instragram allows audiences/users to share across the world etc.
- What concerns/ considerations are there (if any) for the media institutions involved in your case study as a result of the impact of new and digital media? (e.g. deskilling or multi-skilling of the workforce/ decline in workforce etc)
The media institutions involved in my case study are Facebook, Twitter, Ipad and Iphone. The Concerns that there are, are due to audiences becoming increasingly involved with the way in which they are now part of new and digital media, for example as they have greater access to these services as a result of this media institutions such as Facebook and Twitter have to increase workforce in order to keep up with demands. Furthermore as audiences are becoming more involved with these services and products they are becoming more socially aware of whats going around them in terms of finding out news via these sites through what others have said. This links in with Citizen Journalism where audiences are now taking over the job roles of professional journalists. this is because they are using their phones as a way of spreading the news or creating it at the time of the incident occuring.
- What are the political and social implications of the new technologies and the methods of their consumption? E.g. moral panics etc?
The impplications are that new technology can create moral panic, as audiences may start saying how more children are spending there time on smart phones rather then studying. Technology is growing to fast and consumers are struggling to stay on track due to the price.
Moral panic of this is the pay through your phone system, this creates panic because consumers feel that if there phone becomes stolen then someone else will have access to there money and can swipe for products without inputting the pin. this is the threat of this technology increasing. The fear of fraud is what making implications which mean some consumers may not purcase the phone.
- Consider the effects so far, and possible effects in the future, on media institutions involved in your case study (media production).
The main way which the audience now consume media text from smart phones is mostlt through WIFI as most things now need internet connection to run smoothly and accuratly. Mobile phone businesses now provide contract plans where free internet or some type of internet data is given. whereas 15 years ago the average person wouldnt even have a contract they would be using pay as you go and wifi on the mobile handset was unavaliable.
- What issues may there be regarding media effects and /or regulation/ censorship as a result of changes due to new and digital media?
Twitter
to selectively 'censor' tweets by country Twitter has announced that it
now has the technology to selectively block tweets on a country by country
basis. (Impact of new and digital media, means that social networking sites
have up to date technology which enables them to be able to censor 'tweets'
worldwide) - Media Effect
Facebook:
There are several issues regarding censorship and regulation as a result of the changes due to new and digital media. Facebook has recently implemented a new policy, which bans images which show nudity and violence. It automatically censors images which expose any form of nudity e.g. nipples when breastfeeding your child. However, explicit images such as violence are also likely to be highly censored. Many have complained and argued that, Facebook is the only place in which their freedom is not restricted and their only way to enjoy a an important amount of autonomy and express their freedom, and this policy interferes infringes upon their individual rights and liberty.
eMedia can't be regulated. A lot of TV viewing is now done on the eMedia platform, but as this can't be regulated, there are issues about the content that we are being exposed to. There is no watershed, meaning that anyone can watch content that is not suitable for younger audiences. All we have to do is press a button that says that we are old enough.
- Are there any cross-cultural factors and /or effects of globalisation involved in the impact of new technology on your case study? E.g. the internet has been said to be ‘globalising culture’ through its promotion of the English language.
Web 2.0 creates a series of concerns within academic and industrial communities who value both technical enhancements in ICT and pertinent behavioral issues. Such concerns have become more obvious in SNS applications because they embrace a highly personalized and transparent design that manifest in major service providers including Facebook, Cyworld, and MySpace. It follows from this that a crucial issue of contradicting demands between convenient service and privacy concerns not only carries over, but also, to some extent, intensifies in the new research context – virtual social networking.
- Consider theoretical perspectives in relation to the impact of new/ digital media in your case study. E.g. Representation of certain groups as a result of changes, Marxism & Hegemony, Liberal Pluralism, colonialism, audience theories etc.
Marxist theorists tend to emphasise the role of the mass media in the reproduction of the status quo. The impact of new and digital media now means that, those in control e.g. the bourgeoise, who have 'hegemonic control' no longer have absolute control as they used to. In the past, when social networking sites were not developed, those who had power exploited those without power, at the expense of producing profit and serving the interest of the capitalist system. For example, certain groups such as ethnic minorities were represented by the elite, not only because they had a hegemonic function to do so, but because it was one way in which the bourgeoisie could maintain their status quo and maximise their power. However, today, the Marxist theory can be challenged. The impact of new and digital media now means that individuals can now represent themselves through social networking sites e.g. profile pictures, bibliographies and statuses, rather than being represented by the elite through what they think they know about you. We could argue that the impact of new and digital media is gradually challenging the hegemonic structure (possibly break it in the future.
Pluralism: On Facebook people can update their statuses without a word count limit , whereas on Twitter there is a limited number of words that can be used . This is a good thing as audiences get straight to the point they are making , rather than writing loads of boring information which will turn off any facebook or twitter reader . This follows the pluralistic model as people have the right to express them self more freely and there a lot less censorship and control compared to other social media sites such newspapers , respectively the Times and The guardian .
