Topic 1: The new media

Question 1

What are some examples of traditional media?

Answer 1

Newspapers, magazines, advertising campaigns, radio, television, cinema and music.

Question 2

Explain the term ‘new media’

Answer 2

The emergence of new forms of communication that have appeared in the last 25 year.

Question 3

What are some examples of new media?

Answer 3

Laptop computers, tablets, smartphone technology, digital television and texting

Question 4

What do Neophiliacs believe about new media?

Answer 4

-Offers consumers more choice,
-Good for democracy
-Monitor and criticise the activities of powerful

Question 5

What do Cultural pessimists believe about new media?

Answer 5

-Democratic potential is exaggerated, new forms of media bought by same media corporations that own older forms of media.
-Problematic
-Leading to cultural illiteracy
-Dumbing down of popular culture
-Decline of community, emerging new social issues

Question 6

What are some characteristics of new media?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

How has media been digitalised?

Answer 7

Changes in the way information is stored
All information regardless of format is now converted to binary code

Question 8

How has new media produced technologically convergence?

Answer 8

By putting different functions into one delivery system.
-Boyle (2005) digitalisation allows information to be delivered across a range of media platforms that were once separate and unconnected technologies

Question 9

How has new media produced. economically convergence?

Answer 9

Media companies making alliances with each-other because digitalisation reduced the boundaries between media sectors

Question 10

How has new media produced cultural convergence?

Answer 10

Jenkins: New media has changed the way that members of society interact with both the media and each other
e.g media changing consumerism
e.g media changing how people communicate with one another

Question 11

How is new media interactive?

Answer 11

-They are responsive in real time to user input
-Lets users select stories they want to read/watch in the order they want

Question 12

How is new media giving audiences choice?

Answer 12

Jenkins: audiences can interact with variety of media on a single device
-Increases degree of choice
Boyle (2005): Society’s use of television has evolved, increasing channels and choice. Viewers no longer constrained by TV schedules.

Question 13

How has new media produced participatory culture?

Answer 13

Audiences are no longer passive, they collaborate with media and others to upload media content.
Jenkins: convergence and interactivity have produced ‘participatory culture’ producers and consumers no longer have separate roles.

Question 14

How has new media produced collective intelligence?

Answer 14

-Jenkins: consumers and producers pool together their knowledge, creating a collective intelligence
-New media content is alternative user-led source of information, critical of information produced by traditional media.

Question 15

Outline what was found in Ofcom’s 2015 report ‘Adult’s media use and attitudes’

Answer 15

-84% adults accessed internet with variety of devices. Increase from 54% in 2005
-69% access via smartphones, tablets etc
-Weekly hours of internet hours doubled 9.9 hrs 2005- 20.5 hrs 2015
-7/10 profile on social media
-81% check social media per day
-93% 16-24 yrs check social media per day
-Increase of short form media e.g youtube

Question 16

Explain the generational divide of usage of new media.

Answer 16

-New media associated with young people
-Ofcom, older age groups increasingly engage in online activities on tablets and smart phones
-Boyle (2007) young generations have had a more intensive experience of new media across a shorter period of time.
-The ways in which young people access and seek out entertainment differs, they want it suited to them
-Young peoples greater range of new media has amplified anxiety on their usage , through access to pornography, terrorist propaganda and new forms of bullying / grooming.

Question 17

Explain the digital class divide

Answer 17

-Poor excluded from new media they are digital underclass, cannot afford to keep up.
-Ofcom: Digital class divide has narrowed, but 75% of AB socioeconomic group owns a smartphone compared to 54% of DE group.
-Helper (2011) Digital underclass has increased its use of the internet at slower rate.

Question 18

What does Helper (2011) say about the digital class divide?

Answer 18

A digital underclass is characterised by unemployment, low education and low digital skills.
This group has increased its use of the internet at a much slower rate.

Question 19

Explain the digital gender divide

Answer 19

-Gender differences in the use of new media
-Li and Kirkup (2007) Men more likely to use email and play computer games
-Ofcom (2015) Men higher hours on internet per week, women more likely to use social media.
-Internet Advertising Bureau 2014, Women = 52% of digital gamers. Popularity of the smart phone and puzzle games.
-Puzzle games appeal to women as they are free, intuitive and accessable
-Olsen (2008) Boys more likely to play violent games to release frustration, increasing number of girls
-Hartmann and Klimmt (2006) Generally, females didn’t like violent nature of games
-Royse et all (2007) Motivation by competition to challenge gender norms.

Question 20

What does Li and Kirkup (2007) say about the digital gender divide?

Answer 20

Difference in use of new media between men and women
-Men more likely to use email or chat rooms, men played more computer games

Question 21

What did Olsen et al (2008) find about the digital gender divide?

Answer 21

Boys more likely to play violent video games because they wanted to express fantasies of power and glory. Increasing number of girls also using violent video games as a means of coping with anger

Question 22

What did Hartmann and Klimmt (2006) say about the digital gender divide?

Answer 22

Women gamers generally disliked violent content, and prefered social interactions of the game

Question 23

What did Royse et al (2007)’s study find about the digital gender divide?

Answer 23

Studied female gamers, played between 3-10 hours a week.
Mainly motivated by technical competition offered by games that allowed them to challenge gender norms.

Question 24

Explain the global digital divide.

Answer 24

-Developed world has greater access to mobile broadband and the internet than the less developed world
-World bank: 2012 75% worlds population had access to a mobile phone. 6 billion mobile phones, 5 billion in developing countries.
-2014 GSMA 72% of africans use mobile phones, Only 18% of these are smart phones, there are regional disparities
-Only 7% of Africa’s inhabitants are online
-Large proportion of African countries have high levels of illiteracy

Question 25

What two perspectives dominate the debate about the new media in the UK according to Curran and Seaton? (2003)

Answer 25

The Neophiliacs and Cultural pessimists

Question 26

What do the Neophiliacs believe about the new media in the UK?

Answer 26

-Optimistic about spread and influence of media technologies
-Offers more choice and opportunity to participate interactively in the democratic process

Question 27

What do Cultural pessimists believe about the new media in the UK?

Answer 27

-Suggest new media isn’t really new
-Interactivity is an illusion, media ownership is concentrated by the powerful
-New media contributes to the undermining of the democratic process
-New media contributes to the decline in the quality of popular culture
-Leading to new social problems such as cyberbullying etc

Question 28

How do Neophiliacs believe new media is beneficial to society?

Answer 28

-Increased consumer choice = more media delivery systems
-E-commerce revolution = economic successes in E-retailers
-Revitalising democracy = offer opportunities for people to acquire the education needed to play a part in the democratic process, media offers them a wide range of information and alternate perspectives.

Question 29

What does Neophiliac, Seaton say about new media?

Answer 29

The internet is advancing progressive politics, generating political activism and launching the participation of governments.
-Gives a voice to those who would otherwise go unheard and allows likeminded people to join together.

Question 30

What does Neophiliac, Itzoe (1995) say about the internet?

Answer 30

Internet is a platform for people to communicate freely
-Internet has been used in a variety. of political ways by activists such as monitoring illegal/immoral activities of big businesses and to co-ordinate activists.

Question 31

What does Neophiliac, Murthy (2013) say about the impact of twitter?

Answer 31

-Twitter is extremely useful as a news gathering medium worldwide
e.g Egyptian protests, twitter enabled activist information and helped to bring international attention to the news

Question 32

How do cultural pessimists Cornford and Robins believe new media isn’t actually new?

Answer 32

-Old technology is still integral to the use of new technology,
-Interactivity is not something new, but speed of it is
-E.g News coverage of 9/11
-New technologies only have the refinement and embellishment of traditional media

Question 33

Why do cultural pessimists believe that the democratic process has been dominated by media conglomerates?

Answer 33

Most of internet is owned by a small number of media corporations, which play a key role in online advertising, promoting their affiliated political parties.

Question 34

What does Jenkins (2008) say about domination by media conglomerates?

Answer 34

New media has been developed as a result of investment by the big media corporations creating technological convergence.

Question 35

What do cultural pessimists say about commercialisation of the internet?

Answer 35

Internet is extremely commercialised, people use internet to manage bank accounts etc.
Major shift in using internet for educational use to now commercial use.

Question 36

What do Conford and Robins say about commercialisation?

Answer 36

Monitorization of internet usage through e.g. cookies, are a downside of the commercialisation of the internet.