New media and their significance

Question 1

What does the term ‘mass media’ mean?

Answer 1

Refers to those forms of communication that transmits information,news, and entertainment to mass audiences.

Question 2

What is an example of mass media’s?

Answer 2

Traditionally done by newspapers, magazines, radio,cinema and music.

Question 3

What does the term ‘new media’ mean?

Answer 3

Refers to the emergence of new forms of communication that have appeared in the last 25 years.

Question 4

What is an example of new media?

Answer 4

Laptops, computers, tablets, smartphones, digital televisions, and texting

Question 5

What are the characteristics of the new media?

Answer 5

Digitalisation
Technological convergence
Economic convergence
Cultural convergence
Interactivity
Choice
Participatory culture
Collective intelligence

Question 6

What is digitalisation?

Answer 6

The growth of digital technology in the 1990s resulted in changes in the way information is stored and transmitted. All information, regardless of format is now converted into binary code.

Question 7

What is technological convergence?

Answer 7

Digitalisation resulted in the convergence of different types of information e.g. text, photographs video,film, voices and music. It is now possible to watch television and films, to take photographs.

Question 8

What is economic convergence?

Answer 8

The coming together of different devices. For example, you can watch films and phone a friend on a mobile.

Question 9

What is cultural convergence?

Answer 9

The change in the way that members of societies interact with each other.

Question 10

What impact has cultural convergence had on your family?

Answer 10

Interactivity
Choice
Participatory culture
Collective intelligence

Question 11

What is interactivity?

Answer 11

Where the internet gives people a choice to select the stories they want to read or watch,in the order they want or to read watch them. The ability for the new media to respond to the users input.

Question 12

What is choice?

Answer 12

It means that today’s new media audience has a greater degree of choice to what they do.

Question 13

What is a participatory culture?

Answer 13

When the users actively collaborate with the new media and other users by uploading content.

Question 14

What is collective intelligence?

Answer 14

Where everyone puts their ideas and combine skills.

Question 15

What contributes to a digital divide?

Answer 15

Class
Age
Gender

Question 16

How has age affected the digital divide?

Answer 16

Younger people tend to use the internet’s and new media more than older generations, simply because they don’t know how to use it.

Question 17

How has class affected the digital divide?

Answer 17

It has been suggested that the poor are excluded from new media because they cannot afford, whereas the middle and higher class can afford the technology.

Question 18

How has gender affected the digital divide?

Answer 18

Males are more likely to use their technology for gaming whereas women and likely to use tot to talking to people and shopping online

Question 19

What are neophiliacs?

Answer 19

They are optimistic about the spread and influence of new media technologies.

Question 20

How do the neophiliacs think new media is beneficial to society?

Answer 20

Increased consumer choice
An e-commerce revolution
Revitalising democracy.

Question 21

What do neophilliacs argue about increased consumer choice?

Answer 21

People can choose from a number of different of media delivery systems. For example,people may choose to buy music in CD form or to download it from ITunes.

Question 22

What do neophilliacs argue about the e-commerce revolution?

Answer 22

E-retailers have been successors such as Amazon and EBay have undermined all the high street sales for books,films and music.

Question 23

What do the neophilliacs argue about revitalising democracy?

Answer 23

Gives a voice to those who usually goes unheard.

Question 24

Who are the cultural pessimists?

Answer 24

They have a negative view on the new media. And that it is leading to bad consequences

Question 25

How Do cultural pessimists think that the new media isn’t beneficial to society?

Answer 25

Not so new media
Domination by media conglomerates 
Commercialisation 
Reinforcing elite power
Decline in the quality of popular culture.

Question 26

Why do the cultural pessimism argue that it is the not so new media?

Answer 26

The only new thing about the media is that it is faster. Information gets around faster but the content is still the same.

Question 27

What do cultural pessimists say about the domination by media conglomerates?

Answer 27

They argue that the role of media conglomerates has changed to dominate the media, for example Facebook

Question 28

What is conglomeration?

Answer 28

Refers to a corporation that consists of different companies with diversified interests in a wide range of product services.

Question 29

What do the cultural pessimists say about commercialisation?

Answer 29

That in 10 years there has been a major shift in internet activity from educational use to commercial use. They claim it encourages materialism and false needs.

Question 30

What do cultural pessimists say about reinforcing elite power?

Answer 30

Media technologies are strengthening the power of the existing elites rather than promoting different ideas such as free speech or democracy

Question 31

What do cultural pessimists say about the decline in the quality of popular culture?

Answer 31

Increased choice if media has led to a decline in popular culture.e.g. That tv may have increased the number of channels but has led to a dimming down of popular culture with cheap versions of sport films and music