The Impact of New/ Digital Media

MM52-Article, 'Someones watching you.'

This article is about online surveillance and how the government along side companies can access personal information from peoples online accounts. The article talks about the threats of how governments and companies can access your personal information in order to make a profit. The article features a story about a school in America using webcams to spy on students and goes into further detail about other ways people are spied on, online. Additionally, the article talks about Edward Snowdon and how he leaked private information about how the British and American governments spying operations on millions of yahoo users. Furthermore, not only does the article talk about how companies and governments can access personal information, but it goes into further detail about technology developing which would lead to much serious cases of peoples private and important information being accessed. 

In my opinion, I disagree with the idea of people such as large companies and the government being able to access my private information. Furthermore, as I use quite a lot of social apps I don't think it's worth having them if my personal information is being accessed by governments. I think people should be allowed to have the choice of whether or not they want their information to be shared. Additionally, I think it's unfair that most people don't get a say in this and most times are completely unaware of what is actually going on. 

Introduction to NDM: reading and blog task

Page 10: Living and learning in a digital age

This article is about the study of young peoples 'ordinary' use of the digital media and how it impacts their behavior in terms of learning, hanging out with their friends and acting around family. By doing this study they wanted to see if there was a particular 'pattern' in their actions. The purpose of this research was not see what happens at school, but more of at home. Furthermore, the researchers were interested in the certain 'anxieties' about social media and whether they were true or not. They felt that if they spent a long enough time with young people they would get a clearer understanding of how they keep aspects of their lives hidden and if studying young peoples 'ordinary' everyday use of the media reveals deep patterns of change in the ways that they learn, relate to their families and hang out with their friends. 
However, when carrying out this investigation there were many challenges they faced. For example, one main challenge was whether it was fair or not. This led to questions such as, 'will the research harm anybody?' and due to this there was this concern of exposing certain things that may be illegal or inappropriate - such as sexting. In the end they came to the result that this investigation would not harm anybody, also they didn't come across and illegal or inappropriate encounters. The research resulted in the conclusion that school is less interested in cultural and social uses of the media than in the ways that they can make management and control more effective. 


Page 46: Periscope and the implications of live streaming.

This article focuses on the pros and cons of Periscope - live streaming. Periscope is an app that was purchased by Twitter before it was even launched. Anyone following you on Twitter or Periscope can view your live stream and either comment or like your stream with virtual hearts. The video stays up on your page for 24 hours in case people want to re-watch it. It allows you to watch live streams from all across the world. However, one of the main concerns when releasing apps such as Periscope is privacy. There's the concern of 'bullies' broadcasting their victims. Also, Twitter and Periscope videos could be potentially shared with third parties. Furthermore, there's the concern of peoples locations being shared on Periscope. 
However, there are some pros to live streaming, such as being able to get in touch with people from across the world. As well as this you're allowed to stay/keep updated with whats going on with your friends and family. 


Page 53: A2 A* exam essay on Spotify.

This essay was successful as it explained what Spotify was, along with giving statistical figures about how many people use the application. Not only does it do this but the essay gives the reader the pros and cons of Spotify and therefore as the concept of informing/educating the reader. By conveying these points in the essay it shows the reader that the student has done their research and knows what they're talking about. Additionally, the essay includes comparisons to other applications that are similar to Spotify. Not only does this compare the app, but it goes through the pros and cons by doing this. Additionally, the essay goes through the reasons of why some people use Spotify and how it differs from apps like YouTube and so. 
Therefore, as the essay explains and goes through the pros and cons of Spotify, as well as comparing it to other applications in detail is what makes it a successful essay. 





How has digital media changed your life in the last 5 years (for positive or negative)?

I think that digital media has changed my life both positively and negatively in the last five years.However, I think it's changed it more positively than negatively. 
 It's changed my life positively as it's allowed me to be constantly updated with what my friends and family are up to, through social apps such as Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. Not only has it allowed me to keep updated with what my friends and family do but it allows me to stay updated with celebrities that I follow. Furthermore, it's allowed me to keep updated with latest trends. 
However, it's also impacted my life negatively as it mainly disturbs me from doing my work, as I waste most of my time on social media apps. Also, as digital media has developed I've become reliant on my phone. I never used to have so many social media apps before, I use Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and WhatsApp. Whereas before I used to use maybe just WhatsApp and Facebook. So, as I've gotten older I've started to use more and more social apps. 
Moreover, I think digital media has influenced my life more positively than negatively as even though, the digital media does disturb me from doing work and so, it's also allowed me to be constantly in touch with family and friends, as well as discovering new things.