The new media

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Technological convergence

  • Digitalisation has resulted in the convergence of different types of information - music film and photographs - into one single delivery system such as a smartphone.
  • Boyle notes that digitalisation allows information to be delivered across a range of media platforms that were once separate and unconnected technologies.
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Economic convergence

  • Media and telecommunication industries that had previously produced separate and distinct systems of communication began to make alliances with each other as a result of digitalisation.
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Cultural convergence

  • Jenkins notes that technological convergence has also produced cultural convergence because it has had a significant impact on our consumer habits and social interaction.
  • For example, in 2012, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that six out of ten British adults used the internet to buy products such as food, clothing and holidays.
  • Ofcom (2014) found that Facebook remains the default social networking site for 96% of UK adults who are online. 
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Interactivity

  • New media is interactive because it responds in 'real time' to user input through clicking on links or selecting menu items with a mouse.  New media also allows users to 'mix and match' the information they want, for example, people can choose to access news from a variety of different sources.
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Choice

  • Jenkins argues that media audiences can now interact with a variety of media often using a single device in search for entertainment and information.  
  • Boyle notes that society's use of television has evolved from a system of supply-led television to a demand-led television, organised around the idea that viewers choose what they want to watch and when.
  • Streaming websites such as Netflix and catch-up services such as All 4 enable consumers to take an active role in the construction of their own television schedules.
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Participatory culture

  • New media audiences are no longer passive receivers of entertainment and knowledge, they often actively collaborate with new media and other users by uploading content to sharing sites such as YouTube and Ted Talks and by letting others know their opinions via Twitter and Reddit.
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Collective intelligence

  • Jenkins suggests that this participatory culture is producing a 'collective intelligence', which refers to the way in which new media users combine skills, resources and knowledge.  He claims that this collective intelligence challenges traditional and official ways of seeing the world provided by media owners, politicians and civil servants.
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Compression

  • Digital technologies enable the compression of signals whereby many signals can be sent through the same cable
  • As a result, raw markets organised around the concept of 'narrowcasting' (transmission of media content to a specialised audience) have been developed. 
  • BBC3, for example, is targeted towards the younger generation.
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Generation divide

  • Boyle notes that the new media is often associated with the younger generation.
  • A 2015 Ofcom survey found that 5,900 UK citizens had never used the internet, but only  31 of these were aged 16-24.
  • Ryan points to sensory and cognitive impairments amongst older adults which may create difficulties when using internet sites.
  • The Office for National Statistics notes that 4.2 million people aged 65+ have never used the internet, while a further 0.9 million have used it, but not in the past 3 months.
  • Nevertheless, there is evidence to suggest that the generation divide may be in decline as 48% of internet users  aged 65-74 now  have a social media profile, and the use of smartphones amongst this age group has nearly doubled from 8% to 15% (Ofcom).
  • However, although the older generation are more connected than ever, over-65s only spend 15 hours a week online compared with 32 hours amongst 16-24 year olds.
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Class divide

  • The poor are excluded from the new media revolution because they are a digital underclass who cannot afford to keep up with the technological elite.
  • Ofcom surveys indicate that although the digital class divide has narrowed in recent years, it still exists.
  • Ofcom (2015) found that 95% of the AB socio-economic group (managerial and professional occupations) use a range of new media devices compared with only 75% of the DE socio-economic group (semi-skilled and unskilled occupations).
  • 3/4 of ABs own a smartphone, compared with 54% of DEs.
  • Helsper notes that the digital underclass has increased its use of internet at a much slower rate than other social groups, and those members of this group that do not have internet access rate their skills as poor.
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Gender divide

  • Li and Kirkup found that men are more likely than women to use chat rooms, and men play more computer games on consoles such as Xbox than women.
  • Ofcom reported that males use the internet more than women (23 hours per week compared with 17 hours), and women are more likely to go online to look at social media sites (67% versus 60%).
  • The Internet Advertising Bureau suggest mobile puzzlers such as Candy Crush are attractive to females because they are free, accessible and do not require much learning time.
  • Olson noted that boys are more likely to play violent games because they want to express fantasies of power and glory, and work out anger and stress.
  • Hartmann and Klimmt found women gamers generally dislike violent content and prefer the social interaction aspect of games.
  • Rosye argues women are motivated by the technical competition offered by games which challenges traditional gender roles.
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Global digital divide

  • The World Economic Forum argue that the digital divide between developed nations and developing countries is worsening.
  • The International Telecommunications Union (2016) report that the least developed countries have only 15% internet penetration, whereas internet penetration is 81% in developed countries.
  • The United Nations note that whilst the average global internet speed is 7.7 megabits per second, Nigeria's average broadband speed is 1.5 mbps.
  • According to the World Bank, there are 6 billion mobile phones in use worldwide, of which nearly 5 billion are in developing countries.
  • The Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA) estimated that 72% of Africans use mobile phones, but this fact creates a false impression of a digital revolution because only 18% of these are smartphones.
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Neophiliac perspective

  • Convergence and interactivity that characterise new media technology has increased consumer choice.  There are hundreds of entertainment and news channels on television, and people can choose from a variety of media delivery systems, for example, people can buy music in CD form or on iTunes.  Neophiliacs argue that competition between media companies improves the quality of media output.
  • The internet has led to an 'e-commerce revolution'.  Successful e-retailers such as Amazon have undermined high-street sales.  E-commerce has resulted in more choice for consumers and lower costs because it creates competition between companies.
  • New media allows people to accquire the information needed to play an active role in democracy, and hold politicians accountable for their wrongdoings.  For example, social media played an instrumental role in the 2017 general election, with the Labour Party's online presence influencing the 63% of the youth that voted for them, and Chinese activists on Baidu have used the site to expose corrupt officials.
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Cultural pessimist perspective

  • Cornford and Robins argue 'new media' is not new.  'Old' technology, e.g. telephone landlines, is integral to the use of new media.  They suggest that interactivity is not new, as people have written to newspapers and phoned in to radio stations for years.
  • Jenkins critises the idea that new media enables ordinary people to contribute to its content because it has developed as a result of investment by big media companies.  Microsoft, for example, has developed most of the software required for accessing the net, and Comcast is the USA's biggest internet provider. These companies have advantages over individuals in setting up sites such as funds and technical expertise.
  • While new technologies may produce more choice for the consumer, there are dubious side effects. Companies such as Google stores a terrifyingly detailed record of our browsing history which is used for marketing purposes or sold on to other corporations.
  • Cultural pessimists are sceptical of the view that new media will lead to more democratic communications, e.g. Facebook has recently shared data of 87 million people with Cambridge Analytica in order to influence electionsSeaton argues that online political involvement mirrors real life political involvement as only 6% of webpages are dedicated to political issues (Hill and Hughes).
  • Harvey suggests digital television has 'dumbed-down' popular culture as media comapnies fill channels with cheap imported material such as reality shows.
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Lack of regulation

  • It is frequently argued by politicians that new media, particularly the internet, is in need of state regulation.
  • Theresa May, for example, said that terrorists have 'safe spaces' online and technology firms aren't doing enough to combat radicalisation.
  • Criminals also operate on the dark web selling illegal drugs, weapons and child por*ography.
  • The internet has also given rise to a new set of problems including cyberbullying, abusive online trolling, child grooming and cybercrime such as the attack against the NHS which led to the cancellation of 2,800 appointments.
  • However, many people feel that this is a price worth paying for the free expression and exchange of information the internet provides.
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Isolation

  • Turkle refers to new media users as 'cyborgs' because they are always connected to each other, regardless of where they are, via their laptops, tablets and smartphones.  
  • However, Turkle points out that although new media connects its users, it also results in greater anxiety, isolation and depression, especially amongst young girls. 
  • For example, NHS data reveals a 68% rise in hospital admissions because of self-harm among girls under 17 in the past decade, and the World Health Organisation says 50% of 15-year-olds in England and Scotland think that they're too fat.
  • Livingstone argues that children today communicate more with the virtual world  than with adult members of their own family.  Parents often have to text their children to gain their attention at meal times.
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Chaos

  • Keen is critical of aspects of new media, especially the internet, which he claims is 'chaotic'.
  • He says that social networking sites such as Facebook do not contribute to the democratic process because they are merely vechicles for narcisstic self-broadcasting.
  • User-generated sites such as Wikipedia are unreliable sources of information and have created a generation of 'cut and paste' plagiarists.
  • Media outlets such as Twitter are unchecked and uninformed sources of opinion.  Lies and trolling are the norm.
  • The internet is contributing to cultural illiteracy.  Keen claims young people are less engaged with researching the world around them because the web gives them easy access to 'facts'.  Consequently, young people have shorter attention spans and poor problem-solving skills.
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