The New Media

Question 1

What is meant by the term ‘mass media’?

Answer 1

Those forms of communication that transmit information, news and entertainment to mass audiences. Traditionally done via newspapers/magazines etc; now dominated by ‘new’ forms of media.

Question 2

What are the differences between old and new media?

Answer 2

Old media sources are produced with a single purpose while new media is screen based, digital technology that distributes and enables consumption of media products (new media also makes use of integrated images, texts & sounds).

Question 3

What are the features of old media?

Answer 3

Old media: delivers content through separate media platforms; communicates a single message, in a single way, to a mass audience; and is media in which individuals can choose whether or not to consume.

Question 4

What are the features of new media?

Answer 4

Lister et al suggest that 4 concepts (digitality, virtuality, interactivity and hypertextuality) are what distinguish ‘new’ media from ‘old/traditional’ media.

Question 5

What is meant by media digitality?

Answer 5

Media uses a computer; this may be for things such as storage, distribution, and/or access via a screen.

Question 6

What is meant by media hypertextuality?

Answer 6

Media is linkable and enables users to search, interact and customize content.

Question 7

What is meant by media virtuality?

Answer 7

Media allows the user to immerse themselves in the unreal, virtual world.

Question 8

Why are people today increasingly buying smart televisions and subscribing to cable television?

Answer 8

It offers a choice of hundreds of television and radio channels, and gives access to download streaming services. Smart TVs also offer a greater set of services such as web browsers and screen casting.

Question 9

What are the 4 characteristics of new media?

Answer 9

Digitalisation, Technological convergence, Economic convergence, Cultural convergence.

Question 10

What is digitalisation?

Answer 10

Changes in the way information is stored and transmitted due to the growth of digital technology in the 1990s. All information, regardless of format, is now converted to binary.

Question 11

What is technological convergence?

Answer 11

The convergence of different types of information into a single delivery system, as a result of digitalisation, that is available to new media devices.

Question 12

What does Boyle note about digitalisation?

Answer 12

Information can now be delivered across a range of media platforms that were once separate, and it is now possible for a single device to carry out many functions (e.g., maps, music, games, videos etc).

Question 13

What is economic convergence?

Answer 13

Media/telecommunication industries that once produced separate/distinct systems, form economic alliances since digitalisation has reduced boundaries between sectors. Cross-fertilisation of ideas and resources, underpinned by digitalisation produced these new forms of converged multimedia systems.

Question 14

What is cultural convergence?

Answer 14

Jenkins noted that media convergence has changed how members of society interact with media and each other; he calls this cultural convergence (e.g., a 2014 Ofcom report found that Facebook remains the default social networking site for 96% of UK adults online, while 9 million UK adults communicate via Twitter).

Question 15

What are the 4 impacts of cultural convergence on the family?

Answer 15

Interactivity, Choice, Participatory culture, and Collective intelligence.

Question 16

What is meant by interactivity?

Answer 16

New media is interactive, responding to user input in real-time. This is optimized by the internet which allows users to access any information that they require at the click of a button, while also providing the option for users to mix and match the information they want (e.g. by using multiple news sources).

Question 17

What does Jenkins argue about choice?

Answer 17

Media audiences today have greater choice in comparison to pre-90s audiences; they are able to interact with a variety of media using a single multi-purpose device.

Question 18

What does Boyle argue about choice?

Answer 18

Television has evolved from supply television, to demand television, where viewers/subscribers choose both what/when they consumer information.

Question 19

What is participatory culture?

Answer 19

Jenkins argues that media convergence and interactivity means that media producers and consumers no longer occupy separate roles. Participants now interact according to a new set of constantly evolving rules, with users uploading their own content to social media, often collaborating with other users and new media; he calls this participatory culture.

Question 20

What is collective intelligence?

Answer 20

Jenkins claims that traditional/official views of the world provided by media owners, politicians, civil servants etc are now challenged by collective intelligence that is constructed by new media. This new user led source of information is often critical of information produced (top down) by traditional forms of media.

Question 21

How are users differentiated in new media?

Answer 21

By class, gender, age, and location.

Question 22

What does Ofcom’s “‘adults’ media use and attitudes” in 2015 document?

Answer 22

The extent of media literacy (the ability to use, understand and create media and communication in a variety of contexts), and how the media landscape has changed since 2005.

Question 23

What media changes do Ofcom note from 2005-2015?

Answer 23

1. Number of adults accessing the internet using a variety of devices increased from 54% to 84%.
2. 69% of people accessed the internet via smart devices, and PCs or laptops.
3. Weekly hours of internet use among all adults doubled from 9.9 hrs to 20.5hrs.
4. Texting was the preferred form of social contact for the majority (96% texted at least once a week).
5. 7/10 internet users had an account on a social media platform, with 81% of those claiming to visit the site daily; this rose to 93% for 16-24 y/os.
6. While TV consumption remained popular, it increasingly converged with the internet and smart devices (e.g., use of catch-up, or streaming services to create their own schedule).
7. Consumptions such as short from user-generated platforms (e.g. Youtube or Wikipedia) as sources of information considerably increased.

Question 24

What is the generational divide?

Answer 24

A divide between generations exists in terms of how people use new media; Boyle notes that new media is often associated with younger generations. However, Ofcom suggests that this generational divide may be in decline as older generations increasingly engage in online activities such as social networking via smartphones.

Question 25

What is cross media multi-tasking?

Answer 25

Utilizing media in many different ways simultaneously (e.g., texting friends while browsing several windows, or watching tv while doing homework); Ofcom suggests that 12-15 y/os are more likely than adults to engage in this behavior.

Question 26

Why does Boyle argue that the media experience young people growing up in the UK at 2015 is markedly different to that of the previous generation?

Answer 26

They have had a more intensive experience of media across a shorter period of time. The new media of the internet, social media, smart devices, and texting are ‘now’ media, that significantly differ from previous media because of their immediacy and accessibility.

Question 27

Why does the way in which young people access and seek out entertainment and news differ from previous generations?

Answer 27

They are more likely to want it all now - and tailored to their specific needs and identities.

Question 28

What has happened as a result of young people’s access to a greater range of new media devices?

Answer 28

There has been an amplification of traditional concerns over new social anxieties about young children accessing inappropriate content online, as well as being at risk of new online dangers such as cyberbullying.

Question 29

What is the digital class divide?

Answer 29

The suggestion that the poor are excluded from new media usage; they are a digital media class who cannot afford to keep up with M/C use of new media technology.

Question 30

What do Ofcom surveys indicate about the digital class divide?

Answer 30

Although the digital class divide has narrowed, a digital underclass (characterized by unemployment, lower levels of education, and low digital skills) exists in the UK. Evidence suggests that the group has increased its use of the internet at a much slower rate than other social groups, and those that do access the internet have poorer skills than those in more educated groups.

Question 31

What is the digital gender division?

Answer 31

Significant gender differences exist between how men and women in the UK use new media technology. Women were more likely than men to use email or chat rooms, and men played more computer games on consoles.

Question 32

What did Ofcom report about digital gender differences in 2014?

Answer 32

Males were more likely than females to access the internet (23.3 hours in men: 17.8 hours in women), and women are more likely than men to use social media.

Question 33

What did the research conducted by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) in 2014 suggest?

Answer 33

Women now account for 52% of those who play digital games; this is closely related to the population of the smartphone, which extended the availability of computer games beyond previously available platforms. The survey found that games such as Candy Crush Saga and Angry Birds were particularly attractive, accessible, and didn’t require much learning time.

Question 34

What did Olson et al find about boys and videogames?

Answer 34

Boys were more likely to play violent video games because they wanted to express fantasies of power and glory, master exciting and realistic environments, and work out their anger and stress.

Question 35

What did Olson et al find about girls and videogames?

Answer 35

An increasing proportion of girls also began coping with anger through violent video games.

Question 36

What did Hartmann and Kilmmt find about women’s video games?

Answer 36

They generally disliked violent content and preferred the social interaction of aspect games.

Question 37

What did Royse et al find about female gamers who played between 3 and 10 hours a week?

Answer 37

They were mainly motivated by technical competition offered by games that allowed them to challenge gender norms.

Question 38

What is the global digital divide?

Answer 38

The digital divide between developed nations and developing nations is worsening, especially in the least developed countries (according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2014).

Question 39

Why is the global digital divide worsening?

Answer 39

The developed world has greater access to mobile broadband/the internet than lesser developed societies; according to the World Bank, by 2012 ≈75% of the world’s population had access to a mobile phone.

Question 40

How does the estimation that 72% of Africans use a mobile phone create a false impression of a digital revolution?

Answer 40

• Masks the fact that mobile connectivity is limited.
• Only 18% of these phones are smartphones.
• There are regional disparities.
• Only 7% of Africa’s inhabitants are online.
• Most of the languages on the internet are English (compounds difficulties of access).
• A fairly large proportion of African countries have lower literacy levels.

Question 41

What do Curran and Seaton argue about the new media debate?

Answer 41

It is dominated by two perspectives; Neophiliacs and ‘Cultural Pessimists’.

Question 42

What are Neophiliacs?

Answer 42

See the new media’s spread and influence as positive; offers more choice and the opportunity to participate more interactively and effectively in the democratic process.

Question 43

What are ‘Cultural Pessimists’?

Answer 43

New media isn’t really that new and contributes to the undermining of the democratic process; interactivity is an illusion since ownership of media is still overwhelmingly concentrated in the hands of powerful corporations. The new media is a factor in the decline in the quality of popular culture and is leading to new social problems such as cyber-bullying, addiction to pornography, and online sexual grooming.

Question 44

What arguments exist in support of the Neophiliac perspective towards new media?

Answer 44

=> Offers consumers increased choice through convergence, compression, and interactivity
=> Growth of the internet has led to a revolution in e-commerce (e.g. buyers able to compare ranges of goods)
=> Revitalizes democracy by offering the opportunity to gain information and education, and by making politicians accountable
=> The internet has been used by activists in a variety of ways (e.g. monitoring illegal/immoral activities of corporations)

Question 45

What arguments exist in support of the Cultural Pessimist perspective towards new media?

Answer 45

Cornford and Robins:
=> Old tech is integral to new media; speed is the only difference, not interactivity. New media is an extension of old media.
=> While increasing consumer choice, the internet also has some dubious side effects (e.g. surveillance and increased materialism).
=> Sceptical that NM will lead to a more democratic society with political and social order; it strengthens the power of existing elites.

Harvey:
=> Led to the dumbing-down/decline of popular culture, due to TV channels with cheap import material, films, repeats, sports, etc.

=> Undermines the potential for media democracy; the internet in particular is dominated by a small number of media corps.

Question 46

What are the other negative effects of new media?

Answer 46

=> Lack of regulation means that freedom of speech is taken too far e.g. racism, homophobia, ease of access to explicit content, etc.
=> Alone together (Turkle) - While new media has connected people, it has also resulted in greater anxiety and isolation.
=> New media as chaos (Keen) - The internet has no moral code and truth is selective and subject to change.

Question 47

What specific criticisms of new media does Keen give?

Answer 47

=> SN sites do not contribute to the democratic process in any way; they’re simply vehicles for narcissistic self-broadcasting.
=> User-generated sites (e.g. Wikipedia) are open to abuse and bias, making them unreliable sources of information.
=> Internet contributes to cultural illiteracy since the young are less actively engaged with the world; lower attention spans.