By being an extension ourselves, how does the media determines its content?
We are not separate from the media, as much as the media isn’t separate from each other. No one thing acts or presents itself alone. In an age where viral videos can be easily misconstrued and acclaimed news sources are accused of spreading “fake news,” it must now be customary to look at a medium beyond its content, and see the cultural implications to how it came to be and its place in our modern world. In social media, we tend to isolate ourselves into echo chambers creating polarized spaces of thoughts. These spaces created by the means of Facebook’s social network medium are very segregated from others which lead to the questionable outcomes of the recent United States elections. The essence of media integration in our society doesn’t lie in what the convey (the content), but rather in how they alter our approach to that content. And even more than that, they touch the way we shape our thoughts!
Despite the nature of media being ingrained in us, the good coming from its hot and cold effects doesn’t necessarily mean it is applicable to all cultures. We all consume music, but not in the same way the top 40 dictates. We have even digested it differently throughout the years, from vinyl to cassette tapes to compact discs to digital downloads to streaming, and even then has vinyl and cassette tapes made their comebacks to a small, cool subculture. It is also worth questioning whether or not this distinction between hot and cold media is still relevant, as the emergence of Internet and smart devices strongly blurs the line. In an age where multiple media are merged into one single device, they are now capable of being communicative and in “high definition” as the same time.
No comments:
Post a Comment