development in digital forms of communication Flashcards
The digital revolution - Global village
Two types of ‘new media’:
- The extension of new media platforms such as online news and on demand television.
- Other forms of platforms such as mobile phones, laptops and tablets allowing easier and more novel communication.
Our world in data (Digital revolution) - Global village
Shows there has been a huge digital revolution globally. However the ‘digital population worldwide as of April 2017 was 3.81 billion people were active internet users (half pop) and 2.91 billion were social media users.
McLuhan - Global village
He is an innovative thinker that predicted social media, who did his writing in the 60s. He predicted a ‘global village’ would occur, where one world was interconnected by an electronic nervous system. This meant “Everybody lives in the utmost proximity created by our electric involvement in one another’s lives”.
Information can now be passed on electronically (e.g. TV) and due to it moving at the ‘speed of light’ this creates new patterns of communication and social interaction. It allows people to create and maintain relationships online. (E.g. through social media like Snapchat and Skype). Communities across the globe become entwined in another’s affairs and the internet reduces the entire globe to the dimensions of a village.
Carter - Virtual communities
Cyber City - Online community for people to meet others with similar interests. Invest as much effort in maintaining relationships in cyberspace as in other social spaces.
Conducted research into Cybercity - a virtual community with over 1,062,072 users in June 2004. He spent 3.5 years from September 1999 - April 2001, and visited the community at least once a day. He shows how cyberspace is just another place to meet people with similar interests. Suggests people in Cybercity are investing as much effort in maintaining relationships in cyberspace as in any other social space. People who meet others online continue these friendships into their offline lives by meeting them in person. Cyberspace is becoming increasingly embedded in people’s everyday lives.
Boelstorff - Virtual communities
Second Life - can create an avatar that represents their identity as they want to be seen. Can create an alternate virtual world. Form relationships with people from anywhere in the world.
Researched virtual community ‘Second life’. Residents can change their identities through creating virtual representations of themselves called avatars. Avatars can communicate via local chat, group chat, global text and voice. There has been controversies linked to the community, with reports of crimes linked to prostitution, pornography and rape. There is also in world gambling. Boundaries are maintained through the virtual community having adult censors, in addition to a specific set of rules each avatar has to follow, eg, dress codes and code of behaviour. If rules are not followed, avatars can be booted from the game. One critique is in the Jeremy Kyle clip, where vulnerable people are now able to express themselves and make friends, however they neglect real life and put their Second life above real life.
Digital social networks
Social networks have always existed in a face-to-face form, however the growth of digital technology has led to online, digital social networks linked to: Friendship groups (e.g. Snapchat, Instagram), Work networks (e.g. Whatsapp, LinkedIn), Family networks (e.g. Facebook, Whatsapp), and Networks linked to hobbies, interests or religion (e.g. Pinterest, Tik Tok).
It can be argued that those who do have access to the online world have greater social capital (e.g. Linked In).
Castells - Digital social networks
Claims that new information technologies have not only transformed communication technology but have brought about a new age. He states that the world has shifted from industrialism to post-industrialism to informationalism - meaning technology is now mechanical but informational. The rise of new information technologies is bound to have a rapid and dramatic impact on everyday human relationships. The world has become a much smaller place, where we can interact and respond to each other in real time. Whole communities and forms of life can simply be cut out or switched off. He paints a gloomy picture of the trends that have been set in place by globalisation; many will feel increasingly lost in the information age.
Boyle - Media convergence
States that separate forms of media can now be accessed through one device, videos and text can all be stored and accessed on one website. Social media profiles are also interlinked, for example you can access your Facebook friends in Instagram. These patterns of interlinking have been adopted to promote Western, capitalist ideas such as the pursuit of profit, being presented as important. This is due to the idea that companies can now advertise on a range of media platforms, websites and social networks.
