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.