Social Issues Regarding Digital Media in the Digital Age - Research Paper Example

Social Issues Regarding Digital Media in the Digital Age Introduction The deep focus humans have directed towards education, research and enlightenment and the world, in the recent times, has evidenced technological transformation that has advanced every cranny of the society to unimaginable digital heights. It is true the forefathers who made unbelievable inventions during the early centuries would today be ashamed of the little they knew about technology. The efforts they made during those times cannot go unapplauded as they formed the antecedent that directed and shaped the inventions that have since emerged in the recent times. The technological breakthroughs that been evidenced especially in the area of information and communication have had far-reaching consequences not only on the economic lives of individuals but also in the social behavior. Today, it looks like the oxygen people breathe is technologically purified. So much has been done with technology that its advantages remain to be challenged. On the same note, the myriad issues that have come along with this modernism have raised some social and ethical issues. Is it not easy to find pornographic sites of late? How difficult is it for a child to retrieve unwarranted information (especially graphic/visual)? What about cyberbullying? These issues are countless and only through a critical analysis can they be unfolded. This paper seeks to explore comprehensively and cover social issues associated with this digital era. Various underlying aspects (both positive and negative) will be extensively discussed to bring these social issues into perspective. Exploration of the Technical Meaning of Digital Media While it may seem so obvious, the meaning of digital media and information technology remains a matter that various scholars give diverse descriptions about. The scholarly/academic meaning of the word ‘digital’ may differ from that which is known in the streets. For example, in the ay today use, the word may be used to refer to social media or millennial technology that is commonly used by teens and youths for purposes of fun. Digital media has also been used to refer to all sorts of media that have visual capabilities. However, these terms and descriptions may not accurately represent the technical understanding of digital media. According to Peters (2014), digital media are those communication outlets (media) that are encoded or programmed in a readable configuration. They have the capabilities to undergo creation, modification, distribution and storage in computer systems. There are numerous examples of digital media starting from the most common one, the social media through video games, eBooks, digital audio, websites, digital videos to online newspapers and magazines. Currently, lots of people around the world use these myriad forms of digital media for fun, communication, jobs among others. The resounding transformation has been catastrophically felt everywhere around the globe. The State of Digital Media in the Society With the constantly advancing technology, the public square has become largely virtual with an increased number of social media usage growing radically from a mere 30% seven years ago to more than 70% today. These statistics, according to experts, are expected to grow to about 80-90% in the next decade. This must be amazing, isn’t it? The world with over 90% engaged in social media is undreamed of, but that is the reality that the world will wake up to in the future. Similarly, the old textbooks found in the library are threatened as students and scholars have also boarded the digital train. People have shifted to buying softcopy books online. According to Peters (2014), over half the readers in the US today prefer buying online books rather than the physical ones. These figures are estimated to move higher, thanks to the many digital gadgets that permit these accessibilities. The areas above (online books and social media) are just but a few quarters that digital wave has enormously swept. Other forms such as online videos (YouTube) and online music sites extend the list further with surprising statistics (Peters, 2014) Social Issues with Digital Media in the Digital Era Digital media has improved the society and brought countless benefits. They include efficiency in communication, social interaction building, enhanced globalization efforts and international relationship, improved business and economic activities, bridged geography, advanced innovations and inventions in technology, connecting communities and transforming the societies. However, numerous social concerns have been raised. Social media is one invention in the digital era that has, as shown by the statistics, impacted on a larger portion of the society (Winget & Aspray, 2011). Its influence and challenges have, just like its benefits, been felt by almost every user. In the music and entertainment arena, issues such as copyright and intellectual property rights have been a concern that has perplexed artists and the stakeholders in the music and entertainment industry. Some these factors need to be clearly and comprehensively discussed to gain a deep insight into the broader issues of digitalization. Consumption and usage of social media among other digital platforms may be sweet and bitter at the same time depending on how they are handled and actions undertaken in the course of their handling. Among the issues that have been cited by various experts to be of social concerns are discussed below. Cyberbullying Just like the ordinary world, the digital world has citizenship restriction that when not complied with may plunge one into trouble especially with their digital peers in the cyberspace. Numerous cases have been reported in which individuals gets bullied for diverse reasons; an act that torture them mentally, sometimes to an extent of depression. Many reports have been forwarded citing cases in which young teenagers commit suicide. Hielmcrone (2012), defines cyberbullying as an act in which one or a group of individuals attacks, harasses and psychologically assaults an individual or organization via electronic gadgets with the intention of creating discomfort. Although bullying did not start with the era of advanced technology, modern bullying conducted through text messages, emails and online chats intensified with the coming of digital materials such as phones and computers. Social media has seen the worst case of bullying as it forms a meeting point for billions of online users, and the intended hate can easily be propagated to cause catastrophic damage. Cyberbullying that occurs in Social media, according to Peters (2014), has much impact than those conducted on private platforms such as text messages and emails. This happens because, in social media spaces such as Facebook and Twitter, such harassment is viewed by others who may spread the harassment even further causing widespread damage unlike in the case of text messages. Cyberbullying may be generated spontaneously or premeditated. Whichever the cause, the consequences have proved to be adversely deeper than what had been imagined before research was conducted. For the spontaneous one, an individual may post a photo on social media but since the post does not meet the digital media standards, they may subsequently be harassed with insults pushing them into psychological torture. Images with non-trendy clothes and unfashionable and figures considered not awesome enough to appear on public platforms among others have been receiving several forms of cyberbullying from insults to sarcasm and other forms of abuse. Celebrities are not left out as the new age of technology continues to illuminate their lives (both personal and professional) bringing criticism a thing of social media. The fact that people can congregate in online platforms to give their opinions on the trending issues makes crowd bullying- what most people refer to as online mob justice - an easy task (Winget & Aspray, 2011). Although many governments and agencies have attempted to control and/or eliminate cyberbullying with the many regulatory policies of social media use, not much has been achieved making this issue a serious social concern. The ethical and sociocultural implications of these critical issues are far beyond what can be seen. In democratically advanced nations, the line between freedom of speech and cyber abuse is sometimes thin and lawyers representing parties charged with cyberbullying often win cases owing to their strong defenses on grounds of positive criticism as well as freedom of speech. Online Fraud With the growing number of online shoppers, online fraud has become a real concern within the online social setup. The internet has provided a suitable platform where fraudsters can navigate their ways and swindle various favors from unsuspecting online users while posting anonymously (Prattichizz, 2013). It is not uncommon to find cons post items online (items that they perhaps do not have) at relatively cheap prices but once an unwary buyer disburses the payment, their lines get blocked and accounts deactivated. Also, cases of online dating have been met with fraudulent responses as fraudsters have taken it a notch higher to an extent they masquerade as potential partners online to disappear once air ticket fee has been sent. Undermined Interpersonal Relationship and Social Interactions There is a growing concern in the way the society today approaches its social interaction. While the digital media has improved the global relationship, it has extensively undermined the physical relationship among members of the society. As a matter of fact, people have shifted from the neighborhood friendship to Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter relationships. The society has seen a new trend in which problems are all solved online including those that would best be remedied if personal friends, peers, and mentors were approached. According to Winget and Aspray (2011), it has become much easier to trust online users that people one meets in their physical worlds. Relationships and dating have been transformed to become an exercise of the keyboard. With its capability to allow for picture sharing, digital media has seen a rise of international dating. The moments when people would walk after a woman in their neighborhood for years seeking a hand in marriage are no more. Lately, it is only an internet-enabled device that one needs to log on to the thousands of dating sites that are available. It is preposterously easy to find a partner today by just engaging a computer mouse. Child Pornography: An Ethical Concern The society is waking up to the reality that the digital era is gradually but consistently eroding the morality it has traditionally observed. Children can today access phone, tablets and computers installed with the internet. These devices are used to browse web pages that some have sexual contents that are unhealthy not only to their moral growth but also their mental health. Pornography addiction has been on the rise among underage children because unwarranted contents are not protected on the internet. The audio and videos children watch are shocking and not even the abstract legislations have managed to regulate this entirely. The world is still at a standstill on how this issues can be effectively be addressed .raising a generation exposed to sexual acts at tender ages have far-reaching consequences that the world cannot keep up with (Prattichizz, 2013). It is also these social media platforms that recruitment of children into pornography is done. According to Hielmcrone (2012), underage children have always been enticed into participating in pornographic acts easily since they can be found and approached through the online forums with little difficulty. The issue of pornography as a moral concern stretches beyond children to even adults. There are individuals who, owing to a range of factors stopped, opt to find sexual satisfaction through watching pornography. Dating and marriage have ceased to be the significant social institutions they used to be, thanks to the contentment received from digital media. Conclusion The issue of digitization and the social embracement of digital technology is a serious concern that requires immediate remedy. Besides coming with numerous benefits, the challenges that have emerged in this digital era are evidently numerous. First, as seen, the issues of cyberbullying is a growing problem that most stakeholders in the technology sector are crying foul of. Individuals as well as organizations/groups get bullied on a daily basis. The available regulatory measures have not been able to eliminate or even significantly control cyberbullying. Much more has to be done. Consequently, online fraud and child pornography are ridiculing ethical or moral concerns in this century of advanced technology. The fact that anonymity can be used to perform unwarranted acts online has escalated these problems to greater heights. Lastly, the social relationship and interpersonal relationships have been adversely affected as people have turned to online sites as the base of friendship ignoring the physical ones. Having seen that, the discussion cannot end without appealing for various stakeholders within the social context to find ways through which these challenges can be effectively addressed. References Hielmcrone, H. (2012). The Digital Library and the Law – Legal Issues Regarding the Acquisition, Preservation and Dissemination of Digital Cultural Heritage. Microform & Digitization Review, 41(3-4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mir-2012-0025 Peters, C. (2014). Worlding: Identity, media, and imagination in a digital age. Digital Journalism, 2(4), 615-617. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2014.880266 Prattichizz, G. (2013). Living young in the digital age beliefs and behaviors of youngsters cybernauts on copyright and social media. GSTF Journal on Media & Communications, 1(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.5176/2335-6618_1.1.5 Vogt, S., Forster, B., & Kabst, R. (2014). Social media and e-participation. International Journal of Public Administration In The Digital Age, 1(3), 85-105. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijpada.2014070105 Winget, M. A., & Aspray, W. (2011). Digital media: Technological and social challenges of the interactive world. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. Read More