Dark Side of Media

In Chapter 9 of the New New Media textbook, it starts to talk about the more darker side of new media because like most things in life there is always two sides to a situation. Obviously something that we use every single day like the new media devices such as the Internet; we tend to not so much stand back and look at the big picture of what its doing for us and what harm it may be causing. For the person who is technologically sound and has a well understanding of what some of the harmful threats they may encounter, they may not need to take notice. However some people on the Internet today, an example being a young kid in middle school, might not know the dangers or the darker side of new media that unfortunately some people have to deal with.

To me if someone were to ask the biggest danger people face when they use knew media is online gossiping and cyberbullying. This to me needs to be directed more towards a younger audience because they need to learn young what the dangers are of reading things online and having the pressure of other kids talking through a computer. This is a problem that just seems to keep growing and growing and will continue to do so until some realize what the affects are from doing so. I believe we have to teach our youth to not listen to what other kids say on the Internet, to not even snoop to their level and let it just go over their head. Easier said than done but I truly believe if you condition someone to not listen to the gossip and be above it that it wont effect them and they will benefit.

Like we discussed in class I don’t believe that it will ever truly be solved because your still going to have that little prick in school that no one really enjoys being around because their parents have no guidance for them so they have to make fun of other kids. As much as I hate seeing it happen it still does and still will. So my opinion is instead of trying to prevent them, you just have to condition the “normal” kids who don’t have problems to see over that prick kid who’s just trying to get a rise out of you. The world isn’t a pretty place all the time so I think that kids need to be able to protect themselves by being what I like to call strong minded, but the hard part is we are talking about young adolescents who are going through a crazy time in life.

As stated on Commonsensemedia.org “Appearance, conformity, and acceptance by peers is of utmost importance. As your teen is trying to fit in with peers, he or she may be struggling with how to make good choices and define ethical behavior. Teens may not want to tell you if they encounter cyberbullying.” Parents need to also be more understanding about what their child will be going through and how hard it can be to “fit-in” with other classmates without taking that wrong step. Obviously it shouldn’t have to be like that for anyone no matter what circumstance but it does so parents need to do the only thing they can do as of now and that is protect.

One last important note is that parents themselves need to want to be more aware of whats going on with their kids, not being over protective and know everything, but have their kids comfortable enough where they can come to them with a problem. No kid should feel like he or she cannot go to their parents to talk to them about a situation that happened at school I mean its your family.

Source:

"Stand up to Cyberbullying." Reviews & Age Ratings. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. <http://www.commonsensemedia.org/cyberbullying>.

Chapter 8: Smaller Potatoes

Smaller Potatoes

In chapter 8 of the text some of the “smaller potatoes” are mentioned, none of which I use on a daily basis, but there was one however that stood out to me as something that people should take more advantage of. In this new digital age of technology we are able to now broadcast any sort of sound out there for the world to hear with simplicity. Today we have podcasting which in the book describes it as “the new new media recording and dissemination of sound—music, interviews, soliloquies”. Although I don’t normally use podcasting I do know the basics of how to work it and what its uses are.

According to LearningTimes.com they describe what a podcast is and some of which I did not know. “A podcast is a digital broadcast made available on the Internet. The word “podcast” is derived from “pod” as in Apple’s iPod, the popular portable audio player, and “cast” from “broadcast”, meaning “to transmit for general or public use.” I didn’t realize that Apple had such a big part in sort of creating a podcast only because they had them on Itunes.

http://www.learningtimes.com/what-we-do/podcast-production/about/ --This is the link for LearningTimes.com which I think has some really good information that could be useful if you needed any help.

Based on the other “smaller potatoes” podcasting just makes the most sense to me because it literally is access anytime, anywhere. It is different from the others because unlike MySpace for example or Reddit, which have information right in front of you, podcasts need to be downloaded and created in order to have the benefit of using them wherever. Some of the reasons why I believe podcasts should be used by more people is that for one the convenience of having it on the go is a major positive. Being able to download and sync anything onto your smart phone or mp3 player allows people to share while discovering at the same time their choice of information.

The second reason why podcasting is more of a larger smaller potato is just the simplicity in the whole idea of sharing information so quickly through the use of a microphone with sound recording programs to then download what you want to listen to and take with you where ever you go. With the use of directories such as iTunes, all you need to do is search for a topic and download the podcast which is then automatically saved to your devices.

Lastly, why I believe podcasting is a tool that needs to be used more often is that people really don’t understand the endless amount of information and things you are able to record and hear. The possibilities run from listening to a book from your favorite author, to any sporting event/coverage, to music along with shows and speeches. Listening to the same music on your Ipod gets boring after a while but when you are able to listen to a book that you have had no time to read, uploading it to your iPhone for example allows you to listen in your car on the way to work.

I would definitely recommend using podcasts for personal benefit, but I believe more people need to become more aware so that they can take advantage of the opportunities presented.

Work Cited:

"What Is Podcasting?" LearningTimes RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. <http://www.learningtimes.com/what-we-do/podcast-production/about/>.

Levinson, Paul. "Chapter 8 Smaller Potatoes." New New Media. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2009. 126-60. Print.  

BLOG PROJECT: Top 10 Things Concerning New Media

If for instance The Notorious B.I.G. "Biggie Smalls" were to come back from the dead and was told about the new media of today, I would definitely make sure he knew what the top 10 things were to be concerned about regarding new media in today's society. Like all the things we have here in this crazy world everything has some negatives and some positives, it just makes the world go round. These top 10 things however, some good some bad, are things not only Biggie Smalls should be aware of but anyone new to new media or anything pertaining the Internet.

Here are my top 10 things that people should be aware of:

1. Identity/cyber theft. This one pops out to me first really when I think about not just media but the Internet in general. It seems to be a growing problem today with everyone putting personal information online which makes it easy for people to steal and use. Especially today with technology that seems to do just about anything, people can get into your records and get things like your credit card number or even your social security number which is basically as good as your own self. All of your information could be found so you take the risk. Big businesses like Target sometimes get their computers hacked which have peoples credit card information on them and could potentially put them all at risk. In an article on the Washington Post, Jia Lynn Yang and Amrita Jayakumar, report that “the thieves who stole massive amounts of credit and debit card information during the holiday season also swept up names, addresses and phone numbers of 70 million customers, information that could put victims at greater risk for identity theft.”
2. Shopping online. With the Internet boom many stores have made websites that allow you to actually shop from the comfort of your own home and have it delivered in a week. This is used by many today for convenience and makes it much easier to buy just about anything from all over the world.
3. Not all information on the Internet today is true. You need to make sure that when you are searching for specific information that your source is legit or verified. When your find something that you aren’t sure on you should compare with other websites and sources to make sure your information is valid.
4. Employers and schools check social media. Today because school and employers are investing their money and time into you they feel the need to do a search and basically see what your “really like” when you are just being you. They will look at your media sites such as Facebook and look through pictures for example to see what kind of person they are hiring or not hiring.
5. Information is stuck on Internet. The second you type something into the computer to put it on the Internet, it is now stored in the “cyber galaxy” forever even if you try and delete it. All information stays online even if you cant see, it is still stored somewhere.
6. Don’t rely too much. I firmly believe that relying too much on media and Internet can have some negative effects. Getting too caught up in the online world will cause you to miss out on things and take away from certain activities that you wont have time for. People sometimes spend way too much time on the Internet doing useless things that have no meaning to them.
7. Search Engines. Search engines used through the Internet have made it so that if you need or want to know something, you can find it on the Internet with ease. If the information is out there then you can be sure that it is somewhere online.
8. Smartphones. Today the use of cellphones with Internet capability have allowed us to use the Internet anywhere with connection in order to get our media and news faster. The smartphone has really helped in the spreading of information through things like media applications. Some of these applications include; Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
9. GPS location. One negative to have the Internet on your cellphone is that most of these apps used know your location because you are bouncing off of satellites which acts like a GPS. It’s can be creepy to know that if someone really wanted to they could track pretty much every move you make by updates you put out on your phone. Writing a tweet on Twitter, if location services are on, allows your friends to see where you sent that tweet from via city and state.
10. Viruses, malware, and spy-ware. As stated in “Computer Are Your Future” by Catherine LaBerta, in Chapter 9, “threats to social networking sites such as Facebook will increase...popular applications will continue to be the primary targets for cybercriminals”

Hopefully these ten concerns will be helpful to people out there in order to have a better grasp of the media and Internet today from someone who has seen things and used the Internet for some time now. These items should definitely be concerned with because they are valid and do happen every single day. Just like anything in life the more you know the better off you will be.

Yang, Jia Lynn, and Amrita Jayakumar. "Target Says up to 70 Million More Customers Were Hit by December Data Breach." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 11 Jan. 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/target-says-70-million-customers-were-hit-by-dec-data-breach-more-than-first-reported/2014/01/10/0ada1026-79fe-11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html>.

LaBerta, Catherine. Computers Are Your Future. Boston, MA: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.  

Facebook. Positive or Negative?

In todays society social networking is something that just about everyone uses to communicate with one another. While Myspace was before Facebook, it is said that Facebook has taken us to a whole new level with its new medium which allows us to communicate with anyone around the world.

Like most things in our society they come with both positive and negative effects, but most of which are still being learned or studied by researchers. Although I honestly don’t think there are any positives effects that Facebook has on our society, all but one, I do believe that it does have more negatives.

However I did find two positive effects that Facebook may have on our society or even on us as individuals. The first being the most well known stated in an article from the Detroit Free Press 2014, by Marco della Cava: “10 Years Later: How Facebook Changed Our Lives” is that Facebook is a platform for people to connect over long distances or even reconnect over lost years. This helps our society especially who in America have family all over the world and allows them to communicate wherever whenever. Although it was tough another positive you could say about Facebook is that it allows people who don’t have many friends to be able to find new ones. For instance, Jhon S Lam, from homebiz.bukiki.com shares that shy people for example may find it helpful in social interaction to make friends and share their thoughts easily rather than person to person.

For the many negative effects that I believe Facebook bring to our society as a whole two really stood out to me. The first being is that it can be a very big distraction. Like most things in life distractions are all around us and its up to us as decision makers to decide whether or not something is worth our time. I truly believe that time wasted on Facebook could be used for something better, something that can benefit you in life, rather than looking up what Johnny is doing on Tuesday night. According to BBC News: Technology, in an article posted on August 15, 2013 titled “Facebook use 'makes people feel worse about themselves'”, it is said that Facebook can cause negative psychological consequences to ones life. In this study results found that the more people used Facebook, the worse they felt afterwards, and that the more participants used the site the more their life satisfaction levels declined.

To me the negatives definitely outweigh the positives because the only thing that could be beneficial to people is that they have that platform to be able to communicate with one another and thats it. I think that Facebook is just another distraction in this busy world and for my own personal use doesn’t help me in any way. I deactivated my Facebook account over a year ago and I most likely will not go back to it only because I know that I can be without it and be okay with that.

Work Cited:

Detroit Free Press:

http://www.freep.com/article/20140202/NEWS09/302020136/facebook-anniversary-decade

BBC:

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-23709009

Positive and Negative Effects of Facebook on Our Society

Source: Positive and Negative Effects of Facebook on Our Society http://www.homebiz.bukiki.com/positive-negative-effects-facebook-our-society/#ixzz2uxbSewJL

The Internet

After doing some thinking about all the components of the Internet that we use today, I came up with some advantages and disadvantages of the Internet about what most of our society uses on a daily basis. To me these three advantages are the ones that make sense for just about anyone; the 1st being the we can get any information out there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This isn't true obviously if you cannot get connected to the Internet for whatever case, but for those who can the information is always there. The 2nd advantage is just simply having faster communication amongst people, you can pretty much talk to whoever you wanted to anywhere around the world. The 3rd reason why I believe that most people use the Internet is for entertainment. Today people are just always looking for excitement or whatever interests them, and on the Internet any single person can find something they like.

Even though the Internet is pretty much the greatest thing since sliced bread, it does have some downside to it that anyone can relate to because we have all been there at some point. One of the three disadvantages I thought of were social disconnect, which to me seems to be becoming more relevant today because people can get so engulfed in the virtual world that they tend to drift away from others. In July 2013, the Business Communication Articles explains that getting information may be a disadvantage as well because there are so many different people on the Internet that not all information may be valid, but could just be an opinion, therefore its wrong information. A 3rd disadvantage is theft of information, which has been and always will be a threat because there are "pirates of today" out there always trying to get credit card information or anything to benefit themselves.  

The Internet has many advantages along with its disadvantages but these are just some of what I think are most talked about at least in my own experiences.

Michael T. Bushee

Greetings Everybody,

I am Mike, I'm 21 years old and am in my fourth college semester here at SCCC. This blog was created through my class, New Media and Society, in order to get a better understanding of what media is really all about and why it is so relevant today. This is my first blog that I've ever done before or one that I will have to keep up with at least. As far as getting something out of this class, I just want to learn some new facts in order to broaden my understanding of new media in our society today. I just find it interesting how fascinated and obsessed people can be over new media on social networking sites that consume a lot of peoples time, which has done so more than ever. I am looking forward to having a great semester and seeing what the spring brings.