The Meaning of the Term New Media - Essay Example

A vast majority of the technologies included in the new media are digital. They are dense, networkable, interactive, and can be manipulated. Examples of new media include but are not limited to the Internet, computer multimedia, and CD-ROMS. Television programs, books, and movies are not included in the new media until they allow digital interactivity.
New media in general and the Internet, in particular, is the most important and frequently used source of information in the contemporary age because of many reasons; Availability of information is 24/7, and there is a wide variety of sources of information including journal articles, blogs, and threads, the Internet is one of the cheapest sources of information, and the content can be retrieved, used, and sent to the desired destination all at the same time. New media is frequently accused of many negative effects on our lives in terms of obesity, wastage of time, and much more, which is not right.

Saying that new media has had only negative effects on people is not only a very broad generalization of its effects but also a very reckless approach to the analysis of its effects. Critics accuse new media of spreading obesity among teenagers and young adults whereas the real responsibility to keep themselves smart rests with the very teenagers and young adults. They need to manage their time better so that they do find time for some physical workout. Accusing new media of causing people to waste time is also wrong. Critics say that people spend hours and hours on social media websites, which breaks their connection with the physical world.

This is so untrue! Too much an extent, the activities people used to do in the physical world are now performed in the virtual world which saves time. Before, people needed time to hang out with friends to socialize with them. Nowadays, all they need is a computer with an Internet connection to chat with their friends on daily basis. All the extra time wasted otherwise in going out is saved and may be put to positive use. New media is accused of causing social exclusion in people as they don’t find time to socialize with others. The reality is exactly the opposite of this. New media has served as a platform to promote social networking and relations. People make new friends and can chat with them 24/7 irrespective of geographic distance.

In his article, Andrew Keen says that Google is not our friend and the rationale he puts forth to support his opinion is that it is protruding too much into our life. Most of the literature that criticizes the Internet for creating negative effects in our life plays with words. For example, Andrew Keen says in his article, “Having successfully become our librarian, Google now wants to be our oracle. It wants to learn all about us, knows us better than we know ourselves, to transform itself from a search engine into a psychoanalyst's couch or a priest's confessional” (Keen, 2007).

In this sentence, Andrew Keen has projected Google as a noun, like it is a person who is manipulating our life. Google is just a search engine that cannot possibly want or learn as living beings do. If there are articles on Google that dictate to us what to do throughout the day, it is our choice to read them or not, or even use the information in our everyday life after reading it. Michael Gerson says. “in the online world of Second Life, many people prefer to take the shape of anthropomorphic animals called "furries," (Gerson, 2007). Again, it is at the discretion of the user what he/she wants to be like in the online world.

Concluding, New Media does have certain negative effects on people, yet the extent to which this happens varies from one case to another, and the loss can mostly be attributed to personal negligence and carelessness of the users. New Media is just another form of technology that if used positively will generate positive results and vice versa. Read More