Changes in Media and Its Effects on Personal, Social and Work Lives - Assignment Example

? Changes in Media and Its Effects on Personal, Social and Work Lives The Interview Question: What, in your opinion, has changed in media over the last fifty years? Granddad: A lot has changed since the time when I was much younger. For starters, we did not have the means to receive instant information, as is the case today. When we received news, especially in the forties, most of it tended to be weeks old. The only current news that we were able to receive at the time was local news, and the main means of receiving it was by radio. However, all this came to change with the fast development of technology. Before we knew it, we had television, and all this changed everything because we could not only hear the news but could also see who was presenting it as well as videos of the news itself. It has indeed been a privilege for me to live long enough to see the development of media from its infancy to where it is today. Question: What are your feelings concerning the development of the Internet and social networking? Granddad: it is quite fascinating how the technology for transmitting media has developed and how fast that development has been. The things that we used to think were impossible have now become reality and this is something quite extraordinary. The Internet is a technology that I did not become aware of until sometime in the mid nineties when it was first introduced to me. I found it to be most useful because I could use email to send information, which I would have otherwise sent by mail, and I could find information instantly online, without having to go to a library, as used to be the case. I have come to adapt to this new technology like a fish in water, because it has made my life all much easier, especially now that I do not move around as much as I used to. I am an avid user of social networking sites such as Facebook, where I have come to encounter plenty of information as well as made many friends. I have also been able to rekindle old relationships with people whom I knew when I was younger, but life put us in different paths. Furthermore, the different sources of news have ensured that any biased news can be detected. I personally prefer watching news online and during the Iraq War, recently, I used to watch Al Jazeera and BBC to get a balanced picture of the news. Question: Which media do you think has managed to survive way into the modern times? Granddad: In my opinion, I believe that television, and most especially cartoons, have not lost the charm that kept people hooked to them. When I was young, I used to love the Disney cartoons and I followed them every chance I got. I still see the same fascination in cartoons among kids today and this, I believe, is continuity. Personally, I am still a huge fan of cartoons because they not only remind me of my younger days but also make me laugh, something that I have to admit, has become extremely rare for me in other forms of entertainment. Question: What was the relationship between politicians and media, and has this relationship changed? Granddad: In previous decades, it was extremely difficult to find politicians who were open with any form of media. In fact, media was always treated with suspicion because of the belief that their main purpose was to destroy political careers by creating scandals. This, I believe, has changed since many politicians have come to embrace the media to further their own political careers. President Obama in the United States is an example of this new trend among politicians. He has used the media so well that he has managed to maintain his popularity where other presidents would have fallen from grace. I may add that media has come to influence change in society because without it, the Americans would not have been able to elect a black president. Essay Media has experienced plenty of changes, especially from the mid twentieth century to the present day. It has not only led to the development of better means of communication between people but has also enabled the swift access to information from all over the world. Furthermore, media has come to affect the lives of the individuals who are its audiences, so that it has not only affected their lifestyles but has also come to affect the items that they purchase and use. Media has become such a powerful force that it influences the day-to-day living of individuals, something that was rarely the case in previous years. The development of the Internet and all the technology related to it, such as social networking and emails, has increased the influence of media to greater heights than it was before. It has not only made the lives of people easier so that they do not have to go to great lengths to stay in touch with their fellows, but has also ensured that the people who use it have become absolutely dependent on it. The dependency on modern media has taken a turn that was never seen before, since even though in the past decades there was some dependency on media, it was not as acute as it is today. The media dependency has created a situation where people are rejecting physical activity in favour of participating in the virtual world that is the contemporary media. Media today has evolved to such an extent that one is able to get accurate news from diverse regions of the world, and among the news that tends to be most followed is that on war. While previously it was only possible to get news from western media, which did not provide a clear picture of the events taking place, this is no longer the case since there have developed quite a number of international news networks, which are not based in the West. These provide a perspective from the other side – the one that has often been ignored by western media, mostly because of the lack of understanding of what was going on, or because of cultural differences. An example of such networks is Al Jazeera, which is based in the Arab world and it provides a better picture of this region than western media such as CNN and BBC. Al Jazeera is one of those networks which showed the true picture of the Iraq war and not what the American government wished for its people to see: the realities of the war. This network displayed a professionalism that western media should envy and perhaps try to emulate because it remained neutral throughout the conflict, something which western media has often failed to do (Nelson 2003). In fact, if the American public were to consider the information, which this network broadcast during this war, there would be a realisation that the American public would not have supported such a war, i.e. if they had seen what it did not only to the people of Iraq but also to the American men and women who went to fight in the war. One would say that while western media has remained stuck in its bias towards their own governments, the media in the rest of the world is slowly, but surely, advancing towards becoming more credible sources of news showing a balanced perspective from people on both sides of the story. One of the most fascinating things concerning the development of media today has been the creation of not only the Internet but also of social networking. Social networking has become so important that it has come to become indistinguishable from regular life. While in previous years, if one wanted to contact another, he or she would have to make a phone call. This has changed completely because people have adapted to the use of social networks instead, which allows for instant communication all over the world. In the sixties and seventies, people communicated on a rare basis and hardly did they communicate outside their own circles of friends, family, and workmates. This has come to change with the development of the Internet and the evolution of social networking that came with it. Among the most popular social networks in the world today is Facebook, which is one of the most easily accessible websites on the Internet today (Kennedy 2011). It can be received not only from computers but also from any gadget that can access the Internet. This has ensured that the majority of its users are always available at whatever time they feel the need to communicate. The easy accessibility of this network has also enabled people to conduct business through it since Facebook allows for companies and individuals to buy advertising space in its website. Since it constantly has many active users, this network has become a favourite for many businesses to advertise their products. This has helped to increase the sales of those companies or individuals who advertise within this network. The easy accessibility of Facebook has enabled its users to give constant updates of what they are up to, while their friends make comments concerning such updates. When one considers social networking from this point of view, one can conclude that it is a public journal where one records events from their life and their feelings about such events (Hall, Brown, Gleeson & Zinn 2007, p.10). Because of this accessibility, Facebook and similar social networks have become one of the most influential means through which politicians campaign. It has come to revolutionise the way political campaigns are conducted, and has become a one of the major determinants of the outcome of elections. An example of this is in the recent election campaigns when Facebook stated that Mitt Romney's campaign was among the first users of the service's adverts on cell phones. These adverts, which showed up in a Facebook user's news feed, linked to Romney's page and indicated which friends are fans of the candidate (Carr 2012). Media technology has had a huge impact on the lives of the people who use it, and these have become so dependent on it that they can no longer do without it. People no longer send their letters through the postal services and instead use email. Booking vacations can be done online and one does not have to go to a travel agent; shopping and research can all be done online without one having to go anywhere. The development of communication and other media has ensured the faster development of the economy because not only are things done at a much faster pace, there is also increased productivity. The development of new media technology has made it easier for businesses to manage their employees better as well as to keep proper inventories. It has also opened up space for employment to those people who are specialised in the running and creation of new media technology, hence reducing unemployment. It is, therefore, a fact that we are now completely dependent on the new media technology in our daily lives and it is most likely that this dependency will continue to increase (Paul 2003, p.472). One of the prominent developments in the twentieth century was the development of cartoons on television; cartoons, especially those developed by Walt Disney, were of a great influence on the children who were born in that era and this meant that it has a huge fan base (‘Walt Disney’ 1995). Watching cartoons has been found to be extremely useful because it has the advantage of inspiring humour. This is especially beneficial if a person feels depressed and just wants to forget all their problems. Cartoons have a way of making one relieve all the pent-up emotions, which a person has been suppressing. The development of new technology for the making of cartoons has enabled people to continue being interested in them. It has ensured that children are still interested in them, thus cartoons are still among the most watched items on television. When people watch cartoons, it is most likely that one will find themselves laughing because of all the humour contained within the characters in them. Because of humour in them, cartoons have a wide audience worldwide, especially among children and those who can be called the youthful. The conversion of favourite cartoon characters into characters in video games has ensured that there is still a large fan base for this media, as was the fact some fifty years ago. There has developed an unprecedented relationship between the media and politicians to such an extent that one will see media taking sides in political matters. Among the most noteworthy relationships that can be mentioned is that which the current American president has been able to foster with the media. Barrack Obama is among the most media friendly presidents that have ever been at the White House, and this has ensured that his image always gets plenty of media attention (Reston 2008). As a consequence of this personal relationship with reporters from diverse media, Obama gets more coverage from the media than his political rivals and this ensured that he was popular enough to garner the needed votes to take back the presidency. Different media have, over the years, developed into some of the most powerful and influential institutions not only in the Australia but also all over the world. Obama’s use of this institution, for example, has been very skilful, especially where many politicians consider it the enemy unless it is serving their own interests. Politicians, especially those who are in government, have come to embrace the media, often using it to transmit their messages to the public, as well as a tool for garnering public support for legislation that they need to pass. Media has become among the most powerful means of transmitting news and entertainment to people. The development of new media technology has ensured that people are always aware concerning the different events that are taking place in the world. Social media has become one of the fastest means of transmitting news and this source has become even more reliable that traditional news networks (Soat 2010, p.18). The development of such technology as Skype has enabled individuals to communicate on a face-to-face basis in different parts of the world, something that was not possible only thirty years ago. The fast development of media and the even faster adaptation to it by the public have created a situation where diverse companies are working hard to ensure that they develop media technology that is more advanced than that of their rivals. The ability of such media as social networking and mobile phones to ensure swift communication has become extremely influential with billions of people all over the world using it. While in the past people tended to pass their time in outdoor activities such as participating in sports, today all this has changed as people have now shifted from many of the physical activities in which they would have indulged (Cribb 2000). In conclusion, it can be said that there has developed a tendency by many of those who have adapted to new media to live a virtual life where they pass their time in social networks, communicating with their friends and making new ones. The media has become the source of awareness for many of the global problems that are being faced, and unlike in previous decades, it has become a forum through which individuals from all over the world can come together and provide their views on the solution of these problems. References Carr, DF 2012, ‘Obama vs. Romney on Facebook vs. Twitter’, Informationweek – Online. Cribb, J 2000, The black hole in Australia's media, Control Publications Pty Ltd, Hawksburn, Australia, Hawksburn. Hall, C, Brown, A, Gleeson, S & Zinn, J 2007, ‘Keeping the thread: older men's social networks in Sydney, Australia’, Quality in Ageing, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 10-17. Kennedy, J 2011, ‘Facebook rules Australia's social media scene’, B & T Weekly. Nelson, E 2003, Camera Angles: battle for viewers colors TV picture coming from Iraq – different coverage by CNN, Al-Jazeera shows influence of ideology and commerce – `invading' vs. `coalition' forces, New York, N.Y., United States, New York, N.Y. Paul, N 2003, ‘Online communication: linking technology, identity, & culture / building virtual communities’, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, vol. 80, no. 2, pp. 471-473. Reston, M 2008, CAMPAIGN '08: REPUBLICANS; Envy's in the air over Obama and the press; 'The media is in LOVE with Barack,' McCain's camp says in a video that mocks coverage of the Democrat, Los Angeles, Calif., United States, Los Angeles, Calif. Soat, J 2010, ‘7 questions key to social networking success’, InformationWeek, no. 1254, pp. 18-24. ‘Walt Disney: art and politics in the American century’ 1995, The Journal of American History, vol. 82, no. 1, pp. 84-84. Read More