Media: The New media Flashcards
(62 cards)
What is the new media?’
-Screen-based, digital technology integrating images, text, and sound.
-Involves distribution and consumption of digitised content (late 20th–21st century).
-Includes computers, tablets, smartphones, the internet, e-books, CDs, DVDs, mp3s, blogs, user-generated content (e.g., YouTube, Facebook), and interactive video games.
Technological convergence
-New media combines multiple functions in a single device (e.g., smartphones can call, text, browse, take photos, play music, and stream content).
-Digital cable and satellite TV offer customized viewing through digiboxes, downloads, and catch-up TV.
-Businesses and advertisers can reach millions through a single platform.
Blurring of boundaries (Livingstone & Bovill)
-Converging technologies merge traditionally distinct activities (e.g., work, education, and entertainment).
-Users switch between or combine tasks seamlessly.
Cultural convergence (Jenkins)
-Consumers actively seek, share, and connect information from different media sources.
-New media enhances interactivity and participation in digital culture.
Compression
-Digital tech enables the compression is signals.
-Many signals can be sent down the same cables.
-Resulting in 100+ channels in digital TV.
-Results in narrow-casting media programmes specialised for specific niches (ie. BBC for channel often).
Traditional vs New media
Traditional Media:
-Delivered through separate platforms (e.g., TV, radio, print newspapers).
-One-way communication to mass audiences (passive consumption).
-Audiences assumed to be homogeneous.
-Limited consumer participation or control (“take it or leave it” approach).
New Media Transformation:
-Technological & Cultural Convergence: Consumers influence media content rather than just receiving it from media owners.
-Greater interactivity and personalisation of media consumption.
Features of the new media (Lister et al): Digitality
-Media content is digitised into binary code.
-Enables storage, distribution, and access via digital devices (e.g., smartphones, computers, digital TV).
Features of the new media (Lister et al): Interactivity
-Consumers actively engage with media instead of passively consuming it.
-Convergence allows users to interact with multiple media forms simultaneously.
-Users can create and customize content, increasing choice and control.
Web 2.0 vs. Web 1.0:
-Web 1.0: Passive consumption of pre-made content.
-Web 2.0: Users collaborate, share, and generate content (e.g., Wikipedia, YouTube, blogs, social media).
Features of the new media (Lister et al): Hypertextuality
-Media content is interconnected through links, creating a “web” of information.
-Allows users to search, interact with, and customise media according to their needs.
Features of the new media (Lister et al): Dispersal
-Media is now less centralized and more tailored to individual choices.
-Internet use for shopping, entertainment, email, social media, podcasts, and downloadable content.
User-generated content:
-Media production is no longer limited to professionals.
-Example: In 2014, over 100 hours of video were uploaded to YouTube every minute.
Features of the new media (Lister et al): Virtuality
-Users immerse themselves in virtual worlds (e.g., computer games).
-People create virtual identities on social media (e.g., Twitter, YouTube, Facebook).
Features of interactivity: Jenkins (2008)
Participatory Culture:
-Consumers now produce as well as consume media content.
-Shift from passive information reception to active content creation.
-Media circulation depends on audience participation.
Collective Intelligence:
-Knowledge is shared across users worldwide.
-“None of us can know everything; each of us knows something” (Jenkins, 2004).
-Creates a new source of media power, potentially challenging traditional media owners.
Examples of Collective intelligence
-Review platforms (e.g., Amazon, TripAdvisor) counter advertising influence.
-Online user groups (e.g., health forums) allow people to share experiences and build knowledge.
Who uses the new media?
-14 hours/week online (new) vs. 12 hours/week TV viewing (trad).
-93% of households had internet (2019)
-80% of the population used the internet (2014).
-48% of adults had social media profiles (mainly Facebook).
-27 hours/week spent on TV.
-Internet ads now exceed traditional media.
-Spam is a cheap method of mass advertising.
Stratification in the new media
-Internet access and use often reflect and amplify existing social inequalities.
-Poorest families, unemployed, elderly, disabled, rural residents are disadvantaged.
-91% of those with higher education use the internet vs. 34% of those with no formal qualifications (Dutton & Blank, 2011).
-38 million adults in Great Britain used the internet daily (2014)
-6.4 million adults never used the internet, and 16% of households had no internet (2014).
Stratification: Digital Divide by Social Class
-Middle and upper classes are the biggest users of new media due to greater affordability.
-Poorest social classes have the least access, with 65% of non-internet users from the bottom two classes (Jones, 2010).
Digital Exclusion:
-A third of the population, marked by socio-economic disadvantage, is digitally excluded.
-Digital underclass forming among those with low education and no employment (Helsper, 2011).
-Even with access, disadvantaged groups lack confidence and skills to use the internet fully (Helsper, 2011).
How does this worsen inequalities?
-Digital skills acquisition progress has stalled, particularly for lower social classes (Livingstone & Wang, 2011).
-Lack of access or skills leads to social exclusion and information poverty, preventing participation in society.
-Middle class more likely to have smartphones on contracts (e.g., iPhone).
-Working class more likely to have cheaper phones (e.g., BlackBerry).
Different social networks:
LinkedIn is used by the elite (50% earn over £50,000).
Twitter and Facebook are more popular among lower-income users (Jones, 2010).
Stratification: Age differences
-Younger people are more media-savvy as they have grown up with new media (Boyle, 2007).
-16-24-year-olds are 10 times more likely to go online via mobile than those aged 55+.
/Internet access and usage declines with age.
-10% of disadvantaged 16-24-year-olds remain infrequent internet users (Jones, 2010).
OfCom findings - Age (Younger vs Older)
-Spend more time online and are greater internet users.
-More likely to have home internet access and own/use a smartphone.
-More likely to use a mobile phone for internet access.
-More confident in using new media technology.
-Use new media for fun, relaxation, and social networking (e.g., taking photos, listening to music, playing games, watching videos).
-More likely to get news from mobile devices rather than TV, radio, or newspapers.
Stratification: Gender differences
-Men are more likely to use fixed games consoles, tablet computers, and smartphones.
-Women are more likely to use e-readers for reading.
-Men spend more time watching videos online (3x more than women).
-Women report “high addiction” to mobile phones more than men.
-Young women make more calls and send/receive more texts than young men.
-Women more likely to use social networking sites.
Gender differences: Li and Kirkup’s Study (2007)
-Men are more confident with their computer skills, use the internet more for gaming and communication (email/chatrooms).
-Women are more likely to use the internet for research and study but underestimate their ability.
-Men view the internet as more of a tool for personal fun, while women see it more as a study or research tool.
New media & Social change
-Social class, age, and gender differences in new media use are diminishing.
-New media is increasingly penetrating everyday life, and almost everyone will be using new media in the future as more services move online.
-The devices used for accessing new media are continuously changing and expanding.
Location & the Global digital divide
-Wealthy western countries ** (information-rich)** have better access to new media, while poorer countries (information-poor) struggle due to lack of resources and poverty.
-Private businesses won’t provide digital networks in poorer areas due to low demand and affordability.
-Lack of access in poorer countries creates a global digital underclass.
-85% of websites are in English, limiting access for non-English speakers.
The digital divide
-In 2015, 3.2 billion people used the internet (45% of the global population).
-Europe and North America have a disproportionate share of users (28% of users, 16% of the population).
-Africa has low internet access (9.5% of users, 16% of the population).
-Even within Europe, there are significant differences in internet access (e.g., 95% in Norway vs. 51% in Romania).
