Psychological and Legal Perspectives of Digital Media - Coursework Example

Digital Media Introduction The future is bleak with the heightened use of the digital media. Digital media has increasingly evolved in recent years in a myriad of ways. Digital media refers to images, audios and videos decodable through a computer, and they can be lodged in remote locations like websites and other local devices such as hard drives, CDs and DVDs. As much as the analog-recorded media is identical to the digital media in several ways, the capability of digital media to be created copied and transmitted. In addition, digital media can be downloaded, streamed and stored. Mobile devices, such as iPods, have gained much popularity, allowing people to download and experience videos, audios and images anywhere and anytime. Arguably, video and audio have a significant use in educational settings and the ease in the use of this technology, intensified awareness, and reduced costs of computing have seen digital media gain preference in educational centers (Pavlik 252). However, it is imperative for us to envision digital media’s value carefully, beyond the contiguous excitement that comes with it. This paper succinctly describes the various reasons why the increased use of digital media is a regretful initiative by outlining the various social, health, cultural, legal and psychological shortcomings that comes with it. Psychological Perspective Digital media poses the need for divided attention. According to Nicholas Carr, a renowned author of on digital media, individuals who use digital media, rather than the linear texts used traditionally, exhibit relatively little comprehension. He asserts that when one has to read texts constellated with links and other multimedia presentations, it is highly probable that he or she remembers little about the presentation or reading. On the contrary, the individuals who embark on the focused and sedate manner of information taking using the printed resources are able to concentrate in libraries or a quiet place, leading to a heightened understanding and keeping in memory of what one has read. Carr maintains that the distraction instanced by alerts, emails and other messages serve as the main reason behind the reduced memory and understanding for the users of digital media (“Does the internet make you dumber?”). Apparently, juggling many tasks at the same time translates to minified productivity and creativity. On the same reasoning, when one uses digital media, there is a continuous urge to juggle between concentrating on the content of the material read and other distractions. The digital media user has many competing options to a point of performing below the expected standards. Libraries are initially facilities where people can go and access printed books and extract their contents through the ample environment provided in libraries. It may be argued that digital media enables users to access a great deal of information as compare to libraries. However, the access is of trivial importance if the individual cannot comprehend nor remember readings from these sources. People miss the ability to concentrate effectively in a given task. Alluding to Carr’s sentiments, Eric Kandel, a neuroscientist winner of the Noble Prize, substantiates on the injustice social media is doing to the mind. He affirms that we can only derive the best out of our personalities, memories and thoughts by being able to center our mind on a given thing and sustain the concentration thereto (Kandel 21). Users of social media often have the desire to master the concepts in their complexity, something that they are not able to achieve due to contravening functioning of the brain. Many critics have argued that the concentration effects brought about by digital media can be corrected as soon as the person stops using digital media. Nonetheless, neuroscientists have proved otherwise by postulating that the cellular framework of the brain of humans readily adapts to the tools that one uses even after switching off the cell phones and computers. A single alteration of the mind habits works to strengthen some pathways of the neural system while weakening others with a result of shaping our ways of thinking even when off the digital media. The human thought attributed to digital media does not matter; rather it is the depth of the thought. Digital media divest downtime that the brain desperately needs. According to Matt Richell, the Chief executive of Hachette Australia, maintains that despite the benefits that come with increased use of digital media, the forfeiture of the brain’s downtime is detrimental. He describes down time as the time needed by the brain to come up with ideas, remember information and learn better. By inferring from an experiment with rats in the University of California, Richell postulates that the presentation of a new experience to the rats had an effect of new activity patterns in their brains. However, when the rats get a break from the explorations, these patterns are processed in a manner that creates a lasting memory of the experiences (“Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime”). On the same bearing, a person at the gym can use listen to an audio book, while churning the legs on the fast loop and watching television at the same time, owing to the opportunities presented by digital media. At this state, the brain is busy and the required downtime is overlooked. With downtime, the brain gets to get over the experiences it has had, substantiate them and then turn them into long lasting memories. The person working out at the gym will not remember anything on the television nor on the audio book. Rather, she or he would have gone for a run outside, leaving behind the devices. Digital media is yet to turn this generation into a pack of zombies. Legal Perspective The various features of digital media work to discourage creativity and innovation through the contravention of intellectual property rights. According to Lucchi Nicola, an Italian Investment Management professional, every feature of digital media contributes to the killing of innovations due to the fear of not getting value for their initiatives through intellectual property rights. Ease of replication that comes with digital media has posed copyright problems to the law. With digital media, one is able to make exact copies as those of the copyrighted work without compromising quality. The capability of transmission with much ease, also, means that a single copy of a copyrighted work can be loaded into a computer that is connected to a series of other computers through a network. Besides, digital media has the plasticity feature, that is, computer programs, music, photos and videos can be manipulated, transformed, mixed and ripped easily to a point of not being linked to the original work. Another copyright problem posed by digital media is the works’ equivalency when in digital form. The fact that works are in the same medium makes the distinction between copyrighted works (Lucchi 12-13). Innovators get value for their works through the revenues they get from their copyrights, but digital media works to deprive them of this right. It may be argued that digital media enables user browse and find information easily when needed. However, people are ignorant of the intellectual property law behind it. People are committing crimes that they are not aware of due to ignorance. As much as the right-holders try to set up barriers to limit access of their works to those who pay for it, digital media has evolved to make this impossible. In that thinking, prospective innovators are discouraged and instead do not invest in innovation and creativity. In recent years, several crimes relate to digital media. According to Surette, a media, crime and justice scholar with international recognition, video games, television programs, music videos, music and movies are influences to crime. More specifically, the Grand theft Auto video game has been examined publicly repeatedly given its story line and the number of crimes attributed to the playing of the game. Prostitution, street racing, stabbings, assassinations and bank robberies are some of the main crimes that entail the storyline of this video game. Surrete gives an account of an eighteen-year-old teen that shot two police officers after being found in a stolen car in Alabama. After the killings, he grabs the car keys of a police car and starts racing as police go after him. Eventually, after his capture he says, “Life is like a video game” (72). The most frequent users of digital media are teens whose brains are still developing and have high chances of adopting what digital media teaches them. Critics argue that with parental guidance, digital media is harmless. Do parents follow the teens everywhere they go? It beats logic. Cultural Perspective New culture adoption is perceptibly the civilization instanced by digital media. As the Emory University’s English professor, Mark Bauerlein, asserts, digital media has brought about a culture of ignorance and it is very injurious to the society. In his words “the young people are uninterested in world realities” (25). Digital media is addictive and young people are often caught up in it in that they do not think beyond clothes, pop music, sitcoms, Facebook, twitter and video games. Digital media have created a culture of not reading books. Instead, people prefer getting the content promptly through digital media. For instance, when students are given summer reading assignments that entail reading a novel, they are too busy with digital gadgets for them to concentrate and read a novel and by the use of the internet videos and summary writings of the novel; they are contented to have gotten the content of the novel. Moreover, the use of spellcheck has led to a culture of not caring about spellings when writing online, which translates to the classrooms too. It is hard to find a digital era student who can hardly spell a simple word. Bauerlein adds that it has become a culture that good writings and original thoughts are ridiculed and made fun of (110). People have ceased to value brilliance rather they are embracing mediocrity. Libraries are used for internet access rather than acquiring information from printed books. The internet is merely used for material call up before being passed on, that is, the internet serves as a delivery system (Richell, “Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction”). It is a potent argument to say that the cultural alterations are intended to make work easier and effective but it is important to look beyond the short-term benefits. Is this the culture we wish the future generations to embrace? Social Perspective Despite the duplicitous perspective of being densely networked thanks to digital media, it has proven to be otherwise. Stephen Marche, a novelist at Esquire, affirms that the digital natives are lonely than ever before. He accounts for the death of Yvette Vickers, a former playmate at playboy, who died almost a year before the police found his body. Investigations revealed that her most recent calls were made to her fans and social media friends rather than her family. Apparently, her network web had grown broader and shallow at the same time. Distant friends cannot give a hand when needed. It is right to argue that Vicker isolated herself from family and proximate friends for the idea that her fans and many distant friends were sufficient to serve her social needs. Vicker is not in isolation on this path. People all over the world are using digital media to meet soul mates, business partners and friends, among other things (Marche, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?”). It will be unfair to bash someone for arguing that it is right to have online friends and soul mates who you cannot afford to be out of contact for even a second. However, trusting strangers is something that comes with a myriad of risks. Many cases have been reported of online friends who kidnap each other on their first meetings, others are fraudsters and many other ill descriptions. Where did the howling analog way of doing things go? Where analog randomness was highly coveted; happy accidents served as the exclusive way of finding soul mates. Evidently, digital media is doing us more harm than good. Health Perspective Increased digital media use can pose serious health problems. According to Pavlik, a renowned health professional, the users of digital media like mp3 players are exposed to potential loss of hearing. He attributes these sentiments to the fact that many users of mp3 players listen to audio through ear buds. A survey carried by Larry Magid showed that almost half of teenagers considered portrayed signs of hearing loss. Pavlik also adds that repetitive stress injury (RSI) can affect the users of digital media like computers. Tendons, nerves and muscles on the wrist of the hand are destroyed when one is involved long typing periods and use of the mouse for manipulation. Moreover, eye problems can develop with the increased exposure to the light from the digital devices (Pavlik 270-271). One can argue that restraining from using the digital media will help in alleviating these side effects but more often, surveys have shown that surgeries are needed. In the analog media, there were minimal unanticipated injuries to the health of human beings. Conclusion The future is dreary with the intensified use of the digital media. Digital media has enabled people to work efficiently due to its features. As a result, it has gained popularity in the recent years. However, the harm digital media has created is nothing to take lightly. Deprivation of the most fundamental rights to the brain like down time and concentration has affected people psychologically. Intellectual property right owners have been deprived of their revenues by digital media. Video games and other digital media have served to transform innocent teens into criminals. Cultural changes that do not favor intellectual development have been embraced using digital media. Online interactions are being preferred to Face-to-face interactions. Hearing, seeing and repetitive stress injury (RSI) health problems come hand in hand with digital media. Unless we realize the consequences of our actions, instead of burying our heads in the trivial benefits posed by digital media, our ancestors and future generations will never be proud of us. Works Cited Bauerlein, Mark. The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (or, Don't Trust Anyone under 30). New York, NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2008. Internet resource. Carr, Nicholas. Does the internet make you dumber? The Saturday essay, June 5, 2010. Web. 30 July 2014. Kandel, Eric R. The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain: from Vienna 1900 to the Present. New York: Random House, 2012. Print. Lucchi, Nicola. Digital Media & Intellectual Property: Management of Rights and Consumer Protection in a Comparative Analysis. Palo Alto, Calif: Ebrary, 2007. Internet resource. Marche, Stephen. Is Facebook Making us Lonely? The Atlantic, 2 April 2012. Web. 30 July 2014. Pavlik, John V. Media in the Digital Age. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. Print. Richell, Matt. Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime. The New York Times, 24 August 2010. Web. 30 July 2014. Richell, Matt. Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction. The New York Times, 21 November, 2010. Web. 30 July 2014. Surette, Ray. Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice: Images, Realities, and Policies. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2011. Print. Read More