New Media Essay

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Over the last 20th century new media and forms of communication have changed dramatically. Often referred to as ‘old media’ which consist of newspapers, TV and radio has now in the 21st century become replaced with the growth of ‘new media’ which is largely dependent on the internet. New media is often interactive and can be manipulative which all create an often involuntary effect on our attitudes and behaviour in society. The Office for National Statistics recorded that ‘In 2013, 36 million adults (73%) in Great Britain accessed the Internet every day ’ with ‘access to the Internet using a mobile phone more than doubled between 2010 and 2013, from 24% to 53%.’ It is no surprise then that this dramatic rise in internet phenomenon results in people aged between ‘16-24 engaging in online activities that focused on leisure or recreation; especially new activities such as social networking (93%)’ . However, one serious problem that sociologists are keen to investigate is the influences and effects of new communication media and how it affects our attitudes and behaviours. Throughout the essay I will focus on the creation of social identity from new media, the question of ‘authentic’ social experience and also how new media communication affects our attitudes and behaviours.
As a community we have become consumed in new media, and are often naïve in believing its truthfulness as we become dependent on it as we are exposed with information of news from all over the world. All of which are often delivered via the World Wide Web across the internet, which are influenced by daily blogs, wikis, social networks and virtual worlds of content sharing. As a result this has an impact on the way we behave. An example of this is peopl...

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... a result, new communication media effects people’s behaviour online as the danger is they become desensitized to what they are saying and oblivious to the effects of their actions as ‘New technologies facilitate the same to process a blur between reality and imagination’.
In conclusion, it would appear that new communication media has a direct influence on our social attitudes and behaviour. There is the idea of the self and of the audience that are mediated through a complex relationship that can be disastrous as evidence of cyber-bullying emerges on such communication websites. Therefore, many sociologists would argue that new communication media relationships are not necessarily as authentic as they first appear, and are simply only connected by groups that simultaneously create their own virtual worlds that are not put into practise in everyday life.

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