DIGITAL MEDIA
Introduction
Digitalmedia profoundly shape our lives in the
21st century.
They affect who we know, how others see us,
and how we interact with others.
They also shape how we learn, participate and
engage with others in social, professional, and
educational contexts.
Digital media are seamlessly integrated into daily routines and
identities (Potter, 2009).
Most contemporary students are tech-savvy.
However, skill at using digital media doesn’t guarantee
thoughtful choices about how it does or should fit into and affect
our lives.
Understanding Digital Media
Digital media are electronic modes of communication that store and
manage data in digital form.
Digital f2f (face-to-face), electronic systems mediating between you and
the other person or persons.
Video games, e-books, and most televisions are also digital media.
Features of Digital Media
Older forms of electronic communication, such as the telegraph and radio,
rely on analogue technology.
In contrast, digital media rely on digital technology, which is easier to store
and manage because it uses only two numerical values (0 and 1).
Three key characteristics of digitization are ease of manipulation,
convergence, and nearly instant speed (Steele, 2009).
Manipulation
The ability to manipulate information is not new; it was possible
with analogue film and video and photography.
For instance, a photo could be retouched and video could be
edited however, need a high level of skill that few people had.
In contrast, most people who have grown up using digital media
know how to manipulate them—for instance, using Photoshop’s
clone stamping and allows you to alter photos.
Convergence
Today, soldiers in Iraq routinely have Skype with family members.
This is possible because the technology for transmitting sound
and the technology for transmitting visual images are both
digital.
When video, audio (telephone), and computer data are all stored
and transmitted as digital signals, they can be managed on the
same network.
Speed
The third distinguishing feature of digital media is speed.
Most obviously, this means that information can travel very
quickly.
And IM is named instant messaging because it’s so fast.
Expectations of speed
Have you ever gotten impatient when you texted a friend and
didn’t get an immediate reply?
Have you ever been irritated by an online site that was slow to
load?
Accuracy
Another implication of the increased speed of digital technology
is its potential to jeopardize accuracy.
Rayford Steele (2009), points out that “in a world of instant
access where everyone can be published or viewed, the time
pressure and the volume increase make careful vetting that
much harder”.
A History of Communication
Technologies
Actually, technologies of many types have been with us since
humans first inhabited the Earth.
For example, fire and the wheel are technologies that profoundly
changed human life.
Communication technologies include long-established devices,
such as the telephone, and newer technologies, such as
Smartphone, iPods, and iPads,
Written Communication
Although you might not think of writing as a technology, it is.
Like other technologies, writing allows us to record, transfer, and
work with information by writing letters, papers, reports, legal
documents, articles, books, and so forth.
Telephonic Communication
When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in the mid-1870s, he
made it possible for people to reach out.
Today, many people rely less on “land lines” than on cell phones and
personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Cell phones were first made available in 1977, when AT&T introduced the
first cellular network 2,000 customers in the single city of Chicago (Stone,
2004).
In 2011, there were 5.3 billion cell subscribers worldwide (Global Mobile
Statistics, 2011).
Computers
The electronic computer was invented in 1940.
In the 1970s, the Internet came on the scene, having been
developed by the U.S. Department of Defence.
Today, approximately 79 percent of the U.S. population uses the
Internet (Zickuhr, 2010)
Wi-Fi
Originally called 802.11, marketers later gave it the cooler name Wi-Fi (Levy,
2004b).
Once wireless technology was developed, it rapidly expanded beyond
Internet connections.
Today, the Global Positioning System (GPS), IM, fourth-generation (4G) cell
networks, surfing websites and Social Networking Sites are common uses of
wireless connectivity (Fitzgerald, 2006; Pogue, 2006)
Electronic Conferencing
Audio conferencing allows people at different locations to participate in a
discussion.
Computer conferencing allows multiple participants to send and receive e-
mail in sequential exchanges.
Video conferencing combines the advantages of other kinds of
teleconferencing while avoiding many of their disadvantages.
Using satellites to transmit visual images, people in distant locations
appear on-screen with newscasters in a studio.
Interconnected Communication
Technologies
Convergence of technologies allows interconnectivity, which is
the connecting of various devices.
For instance, yesterday’s separate technologies of telephone and
computer are combined today in cell phones.
With interconnectivity, your refrigerator can text you that the
milk has reached its expiration date (Sennott, 2003).
Uses of Digital Media
We use digital media for many of the same reasons we use other modes of
communicating.
However, the features of digital media that we’ve discussed affect the
nature and the possibilities of interaction (Logan, 2011).
We’ll look at five prominent ways we use digital media.
Creating Identity
The most basic ways in which we craft online identities are through screen
names and email addresses.
The name you choose says something about who you are or who you want
others to think you are. i.e. Dancer, MrChef
Duck and McMahan (2009) note, email addresses also communicate
identities.
The email address teacher@[Link] tells you that (1) the user is
probably a teacher who (2) works at IIUM, which is (3) an educational (edu)
institution and located in Malaysia (my).
The Domain Name System was created in the 1980s.
Initially, it start with eight suffixes then 22 and in 2012, an
estimated 500 more domain names may be approved.
For instance, Jaguar might exchange its current [Link]
address for [Link].
This change is to get domain names that enhance branding for
companies, bloggers, and individuals.
Some have extensive collections of avatars that represent
different aspects of themselves.
People may also create on-screen identities that help them learn
social skills.
Online identities may also allow people to experiment with new
facets of identity.
Another healthy use of on-screen personalities is to accept
limitations or changes in ourselves.
online identities hold the potential
for hurt or serious harm
Some people who become skilled at adopting online personas
have difficulty developing authentic selves and sharing real
feelings and fears with others (Turkle, 2002, 2004).
Another concern is that online identities can mislead others,
sometimes in dangerous ways.
Predators may represent themselves as children’s and teens’
friends.
Connecting with Others
A primary use of digital media is social interaction and
relationship development and maintenance.
Nearly 60% of people in Malaysia use Facebook.
Perhaps you meet someone in an online on Facebook and that
person becomes a friend or romantic partner (Rainie, et al.,
2011).
For many people, online matching is easier and more productive
than face-to-face dating.
Online dating sites make it easy to find people who share our
interests and values and who meet criteria that are important to
us (Anderson & Emmers-Sommer, 2006).
Communication that relies on digital media also tends to involve
more disclosures at early stages of interaction (Lengel, 2009).
Sites that aim to make romantic matches generally ask new
users to provide significant information about themselves to
facilitate matching them with others who are similar.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the information people
provide online is accurate.
In fact, 50% of people in one survey of online dating
acknowledged they had misrepresented themselves by providing
inaccurate information (Whitty, 2007).
In addition to meeting people online, many of us use digital
media to maintain and develop relationships in which people also
interact face-to-face.
Perhaps you stay in touch with high school friends that you
seldom see face-to-face through a social networking site and
texting.
Digital media also allow us to check on people we care about in
times of danger.
Learning
Digital media are also prevalent in education at all grade levels
and all types of institutions.
Students and faculty alike are relying on more and more types of
technologies for teaching and learning.
Many colleges and universities have course management
systems such as Blackboard or it’aleem that faculty are
encouraged or required to use.
Communicating on the Job
Digital media have radically altered how we communicate in
professional contexts.
Many issues that used to require face-to-face meetings can now
be handled by email, which remains a primary form of digital
media in the workplace.
It allows co-workers in different physical locations to plan, review
documents, make decisions, and collaborate.
Job Disqualifications
According to Rothberg (2008), employers nowadays will conduct background
checks by Googling candidates’ names and checking social networking sites
such.
The four types of information found on these sites most likely to result in
dismissing a candidate were:
1. Information about using alcohol or other drugs
2. Sexually provocative or photographs or descriptions of inappropriate
activity
3. Poor communication skills
4. Speaking negatively about employers or co-workers at previous jobs.
Digital media make us more efficient or
productive
Because computers manage information so quickly, it seems obvious that
it have greatly boosted productivity and economic productivity.
A number of people say that digital media not only don’t lessen work, but
actually create more work and more hours on the job.
Digital media can also reduce the operating expenses of businesses and
government.
Digital media also allow employers to monitor employees to ensure that
they are working while on the job.
Organizing
Digital media are also an extraordinary tool for social and political
organizing.
They allow contact, interaction, strategizing, and community building
among people who are geographically scattered.
Current political campaign relied on social networking in unprecedented
ways—from list servers and texting to blogs to YouTube videos.
Digital media also provide a data that can be organize and analyse to
study the level of forces that oppose them.
Controversies about Digital Media
How do digital media shape our lives?
How do we want them to shape our lives?
Do digital media really make us more efficient or productive?
Technology is turning human communication into something impersonal.
Newer technology has made us lazy.
Instead of spelling out words, people write LOL and BRB.
Can’t we talk to each other anymore?
Some scholars worry that online communities have the potential to
promote narrow mindedness, because people may join only communities
that share their values and views (Dreyfus, 2008).
People who visit only networks, and chat rooms that support their own
perspectives.
Ideas that differ from those of the majority in an online community may
be ignored (Jarrett, 2006).
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is intentional harm that is deliberately inflicted on
others through phones and computers (Cyberbullying Research
Centre).
As far as impact on victims, cyberbullying is every bit as harmful as
face-to-face bullying.
It can have devastating effects on self-esteem and, lead to
depression and even suicide (Jacobs, 2010).
The online group’s decisions are typically sent to others, often
including the victim who is then publicly humiliated.
Cyberhate
Some online communities that specialize in hate speech are particularly
adept at attracting young children.
Should anyone be allowed to create a site that pro-claims hate of particular
groups?
Should anyone be allowed to visit sites that exist to promote hate?
Is this kind of communication protected by the constitutional right to
freedom of speech?
Who Benefits?
As much as digital media enrich our lives, we noted that digital media first and
foremost benefits the people who own and invest in media with huge profits.
LinkedIn exemplifies the commercialization of digital media.
Users provide the content that makes LinkedIn valuable, and the owners and
venture capitalists profit.
The same is true of social networking sites such as Facebook and the YouTube.
People like us provide the content that makes the sites profitable for others.
How Do Digital Media Affect
Thinking?
Recall that Marshall McLuhan claimed that the media we use
change how we think and experience the world.
Scholars identify three ways in which use of digital media affects
human thinking.
Whether these changes serve us well or not is a matter of great
debate.
They Encourage Multitasking
Digital media affect thinking is by encouraging multitasking.
It’s become common for people to interrupt conversations to answer cell
phones, make notes on PDAs, and check pagers.
Students bring laptop computers to class and, when not taking notes, they
IM friends, play games, surf the Internet, or work on other tasks.
But can humans really concentrate on more than one thing at a time?
Digital media encourage us to rely
on it
Web sites are visually vibrant and interesting, we learn to
respond to dazzling images more than to other stimuli such as
verbal content or dull images.
As a result, heavy use of digital media may teach us to hold
attention and to expect visually exciting stimuli continuously
(Freeman, 2009).
Research indicates that we are more likely to forget information
that we find online because we assume we can easily retrieve it
again from the Internet (Cohen, 2011).
They May not Facilitate
Independent, Critical Thinking
First, they make it easy to rely on external authorities.
Do you use a program to check and correct grammar and
spelling on papers you write?
Such programs are useful to skilled writers because they allow
them to catch typing errors or occasional mistakes in
grammar, syntax, and punctuation.
Second, relying on digital media for entertainment may undermine
imaginative, independent thought and sustained mental focus (Begley,
2009).
Children build their imaginative power by using words to create make-
believe situations and invisible playmates and by collaborating with
other children in play.
Third way in which digital media may discourage independent
thought comes, ironically, from the democratization of the
Internet.
Any opinion or claim posted online is likely to be met with a counter
claim and a different opinion.
Steele (2009) believes that newer media tempt people to rely on
peer authority rather than expert authority.
Many online sites allow postings by anyone; the editor may or may
not be cautious in checking the postings and their accuracy.
Everyone may state opinions and make claims—but not everyone is
equally qualified, and not every opinion is equally well grounded
Guidelines for Interacting with
Digital Media
There’s no chance we are going to return to land lines,
typewriters, and hand-written letters.
Digital media are here to stay.
Consciously Manage Information
Flow
More information was produced between 1970 and 2000 than in
the previous 5,000 years (Potter, 2001), and the amount of
information produced continues to expand.
On average, people hear, see and read 34 gigabytes of
information every day—that’s 100,000 words (Read, 2010).
But access to more information doesn’t necessarily make us
more knowledgeable.
Knowledge requires more than information.
It requires evaluating the credibility of sources
of information, thinking about how bits of
information fit together, and connecting
information to understand the big picture and
draw reasoned conclusions.
Google, Microsoft, and Intel have formed a group to study the problem
and devise ways to help people cope with the relentless onslaught of
information.
Studies show that the continuous switching from e-mail to IM to cell to
Internet fractures attention spans.
The interruptions and switching between tasks costs U.S. businesses
more than $650 million a year (Parker-Pope, 2008).
Participate in Deciding How to
Regulate Digital Media
What guidelines are reasonable?
What guidelines infringe on freedom of speech and freedom of
the press?
What guidelines protect people, particularly minors; and what
trade-offs in freedom are we willing to accept to have those
safeguards?
Privacy
Privacy is a key issue that regulations must address.
Many online advertisers collect cookies, bits of data that Web
sites collect and store in users’ personal browsers.
This gives advertisers information about you that you might not
choose to release.
Spyware, which allows a third party to track individuals’ online
activity, gain personal information, and send pop-up ads tailored
to users’ profiles.
Spyware is often bundled without users’ knowledge into software
that can be downloaded for free.
For instance, free software that people use to swap MP3 music
files often contains spyware that monitors what users do on the
Web.