For the course of Digital culture and new media, it would be necessary to understand the nuances that the new media studies and the transforming technological advancements have on the freedom of having an opinion that is not shadowed by the cultural, social or political factors that surround. This course gives an overview of the digital space and how it poses challenges along with facilitating the process of information exchange. I have chosen four resources that will enable an understanding of the nuances of digital culture.
1. Fenton, Natalie, editor. New Media, Old News: Journalism and Democracy in the Digital Age. SAGE, 2012.
While the news has become more easily accessible and economically available, Journalism has been a disputed subject in the contemporary age. Today, news can be acquired within the tip of the finger, which often leads to too much information or information overload. With the dawn of new digital media, the focus has shifted from news and information availability to beyond the news that gets passed on. Ethics and the journalists’ ethos involved in news-making, the authenticity of the news and the integrity of the individuals involved in the production process apart from the journalist hold considerable importance. Hence, in a digital generation wherein information and communication are exuberantly and abundantly available, having strong ethical horizon roots makes every difference. Natalie Fenton’s New Media, Old news, is a book collection of essays, describes and discusses the dilemmas surrounding the relationship between News, Journalism, and democracy.
Natalie Fenton’s book is a comprehensive discussion on the quandaries that affect the process of news making. She addresses the burning question, why is it necessary to monitor, discuss and hold to account to maintain a deliberation in the journalism industry. The book explores the repercussions of New media and the social, technical and economic changes that result in the reconfiguration of news journalism and its consequences on the vibrant democracy. The field of journalism is in the developmental phase, which is undergoing a very fundamental transformation. This, combined with the technological and digital advancements, ends up creating an information silo. Fenton’s edited book becomes an ideal resource to better understand and reflect upon the contemporary world’s transformations from a multi-dimensional and holistic point of view.
2. Arvidsson, Viktor, and Foka, Anna. “Digital gender: Perspective, phenomena, practice.” First Monday (2015).
The gender divide has had a significant impact on the generalisations and their portrayal in digital platforms. The accessibility of media in the digital age has increased manifold, and with the ability to access the mass, digital media shapes public opinion. Media helps in setting up identities and defining the characteristics that are ‘appropriate’ of these identities. Viktor Arvidsson and Anna Foka’s paper, Digital gender: Perspective, phenomena, practice, examines and studies the intricacies that digital medium builds and the impression it has on the public opinion and society.
3. Popa, Dorin, and Delia Gavriliu. “Gender representations and digital media.” Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 180 (2015): 1199-1206.
Digital media shapes and promotes a public image and opinion and hence creates an impression in the audience’s minds. While the media representatives have been upholding a holistic picture, it fails to address the inequalities and public image ‘transported’ by these digital channels. Through the paper Gender representations and digital media, by Dorin Popa and Delia Gavriliu explore the gender representations in digital media undergoing a radical transformation in recent years.
4. Creeber, Glen, and Royston Martin. Digital culture: Understanding new media: Understanding new media. McGraw-Hill Education (UK), 2008.
In the contemporary world, new media is a product of the combination of digital technologies and the communication generated and propagated. The interconnectedness of the digital networks and new media has made the accessibility of data and information convenient and easily reachable. When studying digital humanities, it is imperative to understand what new media is and how it has the potential to affect and impact. Glen Creeber and Martin Royston’s book, Digital culture: Understanding new media: Understanding new media, gives an introduction to the discussions surrounding digital theories, televisions and cinema, video games, using case studies. While its important to how and why digital media is compelling and impactful.
