Understanding Contemporary Media
The humane natural tendency to communicate is the pivotal link of understanding that connects us to one another, from one generation to the next. The various approaches of communication, in which we socialise to connect with others, have evolved drastically over the years, enhancing forms of contact and changing the structural mechanisms of the social community that allow us to effortlessly and efficiently communicate. From the traditional ink and paper, to the telegrapher, over millenniums, the progressive incorporation of technological devices within contemporary society has led to the notion of the ‘information revolution’, also known as the ‘information age’, that suggests that we are in the midst of a
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Subsequently, it has been divided into the categories of ‘old media’ and ‘new media’. These categories of media are able to characterise the technological and information revolution that altered the structures of the social organisation. It is the incorporation of information and communication technology into our lives that old media is now articulated as mass media that existed before the Internet’, such as newspapers and television to address the general public. The contemporary term of new media provides “on-demand access to content anytime, anywhere, on any digital device, accomplishing this through the vast interconnectivity of the Web” (Vogt, 2011, pg. 17) in which include online newspapers, blogs, and social media. The divided terms of media reflect the paradigmatic shift from a controlled, hierarchical, one-way form of communication to the spatially unbound, centralised, and two-way use of information and communication systems that are gradually incorporated into contemporary …show more content…
Here, McLuhan persists that “the medium is the message” as “it is the medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action” (McLuhan, 1964, pg. 9). McLuhan’s emphasis on the implications of media guides society to understand the depth of media and communication technologies that are invading our collective ways and patterns of behaviour. Analysing Marshall McLuhan’s transcendent concepts of media induces the understanding of its social and cultural impacts that it has on our society whether we are aware or
From walkmans to CD players to iPods, technology has evolved over the succession of the years; humans have taken extensive steps towards a technological transformation that has revolutionized the manner in which several individuals communicate with one another. Likewise, various humans have opted for more modern methods to connect and contact their loved ones such as speaking on a cell phone, video chatting, e-mailing, instant messaging, and conversing through social media. With these contemporary methods of communication, global interaction has now been facilitated and easily accessible; conversing with individuals from across the world is as transparent and prompt as speaking with individuals within the same city. Nonetheless, these technological
Print media, however, are fundamentally restricted by their physical nature. Enter the Internet, arguably modern society’s greatest technological advancement, with its ability to digitally recontextualize the written word. Again, forever changing the nature of communication. This paper will focus on the web’s functional, social, and cultural remediation of print media. It can be argued that the Internet is a modernized version of the printing press.
Media affects everyone and everything; There is no escape. Media is everywhere and surrounds everything. Henry Jenkins and Marshall McLuhan have differing points of view as to what the meaning of media is. They both, however, have their particular ponits which they describe well. Jenkin's talks about the different types of cultures that exist, focusing on popular culture, in his essay, "What Everyone Should Know About Popular Culture.
Recent advancements in technology have changed society dramatically. Particularly, technology has improved communication throughout the world. The first form of communication other than speaking and letters ...
In a world that has been overtaken by technological innovations, it is no surprise that the conventional way of communicating has suddenly become outdated and rejected. With the speed of light, a lot can easily get done; many people across the globe now conveniently interact with one another through instant messaging, text messaging, email, and other faster means of communication. Nonetheless, there are people who still reckon with the hoary method of communicating. In her essay “In Praise of a Snail’s Pace”, Ellen Goodman, the author, depicts a picture of a system that has derailed from the old and decent way of doing things into a “world of hyperactive technology” (52). This transition has captivated the majority of people into neglecting the slow but graceful way of living in general. Goodman explains the negative impact which technology, especially the internet, is having on communications, families, businesses, relationships, and the society at large. She calls it “continual partial attention” (52). The author’s rhetorical is not about doing things at the pace of a snail; rather it is about doing certain things at the right pace while paying proper attention to detail. The author convincingly
From the start of the human history, information traveled as fast as a ship could sail, or a horse could run, or a person could walk. It gradually began to change. At the invention of telegraph, information could be sent quicker. So communication was anticipated, it was more of a waiting period to reach to the second person. Then the second person received the letter or telegraph, sent the answer back, which was very time-consuming. Nevertheless, communication between people face-to-face was fundamental. It was as necessary as breathing, therefore back in the days, there were a lot of gatherings, and it was characterized by simplicity, friendliness, and socialness. But the technology completely changed the daily lives of ordinary people. Now days, people are more immediate.
Marshall McLuhan and Raymond Williams, both cornerstones in their respected media theory and cultural studies, differed in their opinions of the relationship between media technology and social change. McLuhan believed in technological determinism, which is “an approach that identifies technology, or technological developments, as the central causal element in processes of change” (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan 290). In other words, McLuhan believes that new technology drives the way cultural values and social structures develop. He was interested in the cultural effects produced by electronic media; he was especially interested in the effects of televisions. McLuhan’s The Medium is the Massage argued that technology has changed the way humans do things and interact, that “all media are extensions of some human faculty” (McLuhan 5).
McLuhan’s work with literature and culture produced the revolutionary thought that “the medium is the message.” In other words, cultures are changed not only by the “content” of technology, but also by the technology itself.
“The medium is the message,” uttered by the late media scholar and theorist Marshall McLuhan, and they have been revered and dissected ever since they were spoken. There has been several different interpretations on the premise of McLuhan’s words, and the meaning behind them. The best way to start unraveling his theory, is to get a general understanding of the terms used in his famous quote. In McLuhan’s own words, a medium is simply “an extension of ourselves.” Simply put the medium personifies or enhances what we as humans cannot do on our own. In a mass media perspective this means the use of technology including radio, television, and the Internet to project our thoughts, feelings, and senses (Frederman) . Finally, it is important to note that the plural of the word medium is media. Now that there is a general understanding of the medium, the other important word McLuhan spoke of is the “message”. The message is simply what the audience perceives through the medium. This could be anything from watching a television program or listening to the radio. Also, note that some believe the message McLuhan preached is a lot more complicated and not obvious. This view can be explained by, the message isn’t the news, but the attitudes that are affected by watching or listening to the message. Whichever, definition is taken for the “message”, the dissection of McLuhan’s quote will still be interpreted in a similar fashion.
The Mass Media is a unique feature of modern society; its development has accompanied an increase in the magnitude and complexity of societal actions and engagements, rapid social change, technological innovation, rising personal income and standard of living and the decline of some traditional forms of control and authority.
...ely available and accessible from everywhere. New media has introduced innovative platforms and ways to consume media products, they have been embedded into our social context that we are unaware of the different ways we are constantly relying on technology. This leads us to call for more contemporary studies towards new media audiences for a more in-depth analysis and how they have merged the different contexts of media consumption.
“We barely have time to pause and reflect these days on how far communicating through technology has progressed. Without even taking a deep breath, we’ve transitioned from email to chat to blogs to social networks and more recently to twitter” (Alan 2007). Communicating with technology has changed in many different ways. We usually “get in touch” with people through technology rather than speaking with them face to face. The most popular way people discuss things, with another individual, is through our phones. Phones have been around way before I was born in 1996, but throughout the years, they have developed a phone called a “smart phone”. The smart phone has all kinds of new things that we can use to socialize with our peers. On these new phones, we can connect with our friends or family on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Technology has also developed Skype, a place you can talk with people on the computer with instant voice and video for hours. The new communication changes have changed drastically from the new advances made in technology through our smart phones, social networking sites, and Skype.
The evolution of media, from old media to new media, has transformed the way we understand the world around us. New media is interactive and is user-generated while old media is a more traditional way of communicating through television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, etc (Lecture Notes. January 12, 2011). New media gives us a new perspective by allowing us to interact with one another through the Internet. Media has become much more personal and diverse as user-generated content becomes more prominent in our lives (Lecture Notes. January 24, 2011). We are exposed to various viewpoints shape our understanding and knowledge of the social world, but does the form of media actually affect the way we understand the content which is presented to us? For my paper, I will determine whether or not the medium is the message by analyzing two different types of media sources and how they affect our understanding of the content. For my old media source I have chosen a news clip from the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric that deals with the ongoing Egyptian uprising. For my new media source I have chosen a video blog, or ‘vlog’, by an Egyptian man named Omar who discusses the crisis in Egypt from a personal point of view. Both media sources deal with the same topic, but result in different understandings of the crisis.
In recent years, technology has become the most used and preferred way of communicating, extending across many platforms. All of these programs, such as e-mail, instant messaging, social networking websites in conjunction with text messaging and the ability to access all of these entities on the go, have come into fruition based on the immense and widely found growth made in technological advancements that have occurred in our society. With this, a massive change has developed in regards to referencing how we as humans engage in communication. We have now shifted into a society that relies heavily on the existence of digital communication, whether it be through the means of a mobile device (text messaging) or the Internet (Facebook, Twitter,
Hence, any debate of the future becoming digital must take into consideration the reaction of the media to the technological innovations of the world, from the Personal Computers (PC) to the smallest Smartphone. Although mass media has increased with technological innovations, what driv...