Mar 19

Media in a Changing Global Culture

Globalization of digital media has radically changed the ways in which people across various cultures interact with the media messages present in the world around them. While in the past, media literacy was not expected or necessary in order for an individual to navigate the day-to-day operations of their lives, the technological advances of today’s society have made it challenging for those without these abilities to understand and connect to those around them. Elizabeth Thoman and Tessa Jolls’ article “Media Literacy: A National Priority for a Changing World” explores how media literacy has become a crucial skill that must be fostered and developed from a young age. They write, “the goal of media literacy is not to memorize facts about media or even be able to make a video or design a PowerPoint. Rather the goal is to explore questions that arise when one engages critically with a mediated message.” Focusing on the who’s and why’s of a specific piece of media can lead to a greater understanding of the world around us. Thoman and Jolls also specify the ways in which media literacy applies to a variety of media types, including visual. A specific example of this in today’s global culture is the popularity of memes, which can be understood across cultural and geographical boundaries. Through a simple image, multiple layers of meaning can be expressed, and media literacy on a global scale allows these meanings to be understood. Take this meme, for example:

This photo requires no extended explanation for a media literate person. The “distracted boyfriend” meme has been in circulation online since 2017, and makes reference to a famously comedic character from the Spider-Man comic universe.

Memes are just one of the many ways that the globalization of digital culture has bridged gaps between different communities. In “Does Globalization Mean We Will Become One Culture?” by Mark Pagel, Pagel cites the presence of Starbucks coffee houses around the world as another form of media, because it exists as an unchanging constant which can be relied upon to provide similar experiences to all of its customers. Though oceans away, two people’s shared Starbucks experience serves as a connection which provides common ground, making the world feel like a much smaller place. While media globalization has in some ways proved a valuable cross-cultural tool, the article also addresses factors which may hinder the growth of a unified culture, such as resources and demography. According to Pagel, different societies will be less inclined to “cooperate” as it becomes less beneficial to do so, and as the standard of living rises among poorer populations. He writes, “these factors will cause people to pull back from whatever level of cultural ‘scaling’ they have achieved to the previous level.” Examples of this in current events have included the growth of conservative, far-right political groups with xenophobic ideologies. Even as people have become more connected through media, others have recoiled from this integration of cultures, perceiving it as an attempt to erase their own cultural identity.

Mar 19

Media Across Culture

There have been many improvements in media and with these improvements comes changes across culture. According to Media Literacy: A National Priority for Changing World, information about the world around us comes to us not only by words on a piece of paper but more and more through the powerful images and sounds of our multi-media culture.  Since the early times radios waking us up giving us the daily news to our  televisions and  computers one sees various things. Even if one does not understand the language it is like the saying a picture has a thousands words, language barrier is not a problem any more. Another thing with media forming across culture is throughout the 20th century, as the rate of technological and cultural change accelerated, young people adopted cultural styles and values radically different and often fundamentally at odds with their parent’s generation according to Eight Traits of the New Media Landscape. Before technology plenty of families would have to learn from their elders to keep the traditions in their families but now a days one does not bother to contact an elder for things like a recipe, they can just google it instead.  This can be a downside that as the generations go by ones culture is going to slowly disappear since there is not such thing as looking up family traditions on the internet. Besides all of this media forming across culture has become a “bumpy road with many setbacks and conflicts” there is good that comes with it according to Does Globalization Mean We Will Become One Culture.  Our “cultural nepotism” makes things like holding doors for people, giving up our seats on trains, or contributing to charities normal since it has become a normal thing to see across media platforms.

Mar 19

Media in a Changing Global Culture

Media Forms translate through culture by the use of technology including but not limited to phones, laptops, smart tvs, etc. because we can text and use social media and as technology expands more, everybody in the world can watch the same things as someone in thee other side of the world can. In the text, ” Media Literacy: A National Priority for a Changing World,” by Elizabeth Thoman and Tessa Jolls, it says, “Author Douglas Rushkoff1 calls the current youth generation “screen-agers” because their media use is not distinguished specifically as television or video games or movies or computers — or even telephones — but simply as a series of screens which they both access and manipulate in a constantly evolving stream of shared communication. This capability, in turn, is transforming the use and impact of media in everyday life:Screen-agers see media not as discrete products that can “impact” them or their culture but as elements of a multi-media mosaic that is their culture. Screen-agers “read” and “write” seamlessly using images, sounds and words. Screen-agers experience the world not in physical boundaries but as an instant global network of wireless connections and interconnections.In this kind of world, the content of a specific media message is no longer all that relevant. It’s only one of thousands received everyday. What is important is facility with analyzing new information as it’s received, evaluating it against one’s prior knowledge, formulating a response and ultimately communicating to others your decision or point of view.In other words, what is important is not so much the message itself as how we make sense of the message and by extension, of the mediated world around us. It demands a new kind of literacy, rooted in the real world of instant information, global interactivity and messages created on multiple media platforms.” As this evidence says, just because we live in different part of the world doesn’t mean we can’t communicate. As social media rises, we all react the same way and think the same things espically if it’s something we want to watch, we will continue to watch it. I am pretty sure that in Facebook, if someone wites in the comments that is in another language, we can have it translated to the language that we speak. As the use of media forms goes up, more frequently will we communicate with other cultures, and as doing that,change global culture.

Mar 19

Assignment 7: How do media forms translate across cultures?

There seems to be a Starbucks and a McDonalds in every corner of the world. Globalization is already well on its way. The world seems to be more connected, more alert, and in a sense more together. Now, I have the possibility to follow the protests happening in France against the government and I am able to lend my support through messages on social media sites. Little by little technology and media are taking over. They are making our lives more convenient but also pose some troubling consequences. The article, “Eight Traits of the New Media Landscape” by Henry Jenkins states, “There is a danger that as this technology becomes so familiar, so much a part of our daily routines that it becomes invisible to us: we can no more see the layer of media that surrounds us than fish notice the water they are swimming in.” He is describing how having electronics in every room in our homes and using some constantly everyday can lead us to believe that these things are normal and natural. I agree with his point of view and even though this article was written in 2006, it is still very relevant right now. I have gotten used to taking my phone to the bathroom and recently I have started leaving my phone behind and in the beginning it felt as if I was naked or missing a part of me but I am used to it now. When I think about how much electronics are involved in our lives I panic. I cut down the time I use electronics and prohibit myself from using them in front of others. It has worked for me but I still see people hanging out and not talking to each other but just on their phones for the majority of the time.

Our world seems to be revolving around electronics and media. This is impacting relationships, businesses, and even culture. The article, “Does globalization mean we will become one culture?” by Mark Pagel argues that we can be on the path to becoming one culture. Pagel argues that there more business are globalizing and this means that the messages and ideas within the businesses are also becoming global. While globalization is increasing I believe it is impossible for it to lead us to become one culture because there are so many different opinions within one culture and that it seems impossible for everyone to come to an agreement on something. The exchange of ideas is increasing and I think it has and will lead to an increase awareness in different cultures but hopefully it does not lead to changes within a culture for the worse. It is fascinating that one species is able to have so many different cultures and I think it would be a disaster if globalization could ever ruin that.

Mar 18

Changing Media

Media today has become a part of our everyday lives more than any point in time.  Media is known by its definition as the main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the Internet) regarded collectively.  As stated in the article “Eight traits of the new media landscape” “The technologization of the American home has been an ongoing process across the 20th century. Our family rooms have become home entertainment centers. Our family hearths are now electronic. Media technologies are fully integrated into our everyday social interactions”.  This could not be more true we have access to media from the very moment that we wake up.  If you have a smart TV or any TV you can reach news stations of all kinds.  Now we have smart home devices such as Alexa that can speak news and media out to us upon request.  Media has evolved from just televison, radio, and paper back to just about any and every device we have access to.  In that article Henry Jenkins uses 8 different points to explain the new media landscape (innovative, convergent, every day, appropriative, networked, global, generational and unequal).  Also in the article “Media Literacy:  A National Priority For A Changing World”  one key section that stood out to me especially in todays media day in age was “Today, information about the world around us comes to us not only by words on a piece of paper but more and more through the powerful images and sounds of our multi-media culture. From the clock radio that wakes us up in the morning until we fall asleep watching the late night talk show, we are exposed to hundreds — even thousands — of images and ideas not only from television but also from websites, movies, talk radio, magazine covers, e-mail, video games, music, cell phone messages, billboards — and more. Media no longer just shape our culture…they ARE our culture.”  The ending of that quote is key because it is 100% true.  We have past the point of culture shaping it has come to a point where this is now our culture due to all of the access of devices that we have today.

Mar 18

Media in a Changing Global Culture

Melanie Beltran

MCS 244

March 12, 2019

 

Media forms translate across cultures through the access of internet. With just one click of a button, you are suddenly sucked into a world of an endless amount of internet content. In the article, “Media Literacy: A National Priority for a Changing World,” it states, “Today, the field has matured to a greater understanding of its potential, not just as a new kind of “literacy” but more, as the engine for transforming the very nature of learning in a global multimedia environment. ‘Students will spend all their adult lives in a multi-tasking, multi-faceted, technology-driven, diverse, vibrant world — and they must arrive equipped to do so.’” Technology has taken such a huge turn in people’s lives. People are better versed and understanding of the world around them. The literacy, the coding, the programming have such a positive impact on learning. In the article, “Eight Traits of the New Media Landscape,” there are eight traits to a new media landscape. Those are innovation, convergence, every day, appropriative, network, global, generational and unequal. Each trait help magnify creativity, knowledge, and originality. Understanding logistics on media. In the article, “Does globalization mean we will become one culture?,” it states, “…the internet and social networking, although often decried, is probably a good thing even if it means the loss of cultural diversity: it increases our sense of togetherness via the sense of a shared culture.” The loss of diversity caused people from multiple countries and cultures to come together as a unit. However, there might be a loss of identity. There’s a transition to westernization where all you could see are McDonald’s. Media has been such a huge alteration to many distinct cultures. Technology has driven overtime, connecting many people to a more diverse world and at the time, putting them all in one culture, making less diverse.  

 

Mar 18

Media Evolvement

Media has quickly evolved from simply being able to read words on paper, to critically interpreting the images we see. As the article “Media Literacy: A National Priority for a Changing World” states, from television, movies, talk shows, cell phones, websites and more, media is no longer shaping our culture, they ARE our culture. The article mentions that education surrounding media is critical, as it is essential for us to teach our youth how to read and write using the emerging media. Similarly in the article “Eight Traits of the New Media Landscape”, it explains that individuals need to understand the logic behind media. Author Henry Jenkins uses 8 straights to characterize new media including; innovative, convergent, every day, appropriative, networked, global, generational & unequal. Jenkins explains that all these apply to different cultures, but of the 8, unequal is most close to the current education system. A prime example of such is seen in recent events, as the rich can simply pay their way into elite universities, while middle and lower classes struggle to prove they’re poor enough to receive financial aid.  Finally, in the article “Does globalization mean we will become one culture?”, the author explains how global brands maintain homogenization throughout the world. In other words, brands such as coca-cola and Starbucks, are the same in all countries. However, some of these brands also assimilate into their societies, such as food chains like McDonald’s, who have different menu options in China than the US. All in all, our culture is being shaped by media, and because of this, the way we go about our daily lives, businesses and even schooling, is being changed every day. 

Mar 18

The Internet of Things / Locative and Physical Media

While there are clear concerns inherent to the expansion of the internet of things, the revolutionary potential for quality of life improvement cannot be understated. Objects with internet connectivity integrate new technology into the daily routines of our lives, as described in Neil Gershenfeld and JP Vasseur’s article “As Objects Go Online: The Promise (and Pitfalls) of the Internet of Things”. In one example, they speculate about how city planning stands to be enhanced by blogjects that can register information pertaining to traffic and transportation. They write, “If every street lamp, fire hydrant, bus, and crosswalk were connected to the Internet, then a city could generate real-time readouts of what’s working and what’s not.” From there, city policy makers can look to the gathered data when tackling issues dealing with traffic congestion, car accident rates, etc. With this in mind, imagine not just cities, but whole countries, whose roads and highways have been redesigned based on information obtained in this manner. The internet of things could effectively lower accident rates dramatically on a national scale, saving numerous lives in the process.

Of course, it is important to recognize the ways in which the internet of things can be harmful to society as well. Domestic violence, for example, is often perpetrated through the use of internet-connected objects, which allow abusers to monitor, control, and manipulate those around them. “Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse,” by Nellie Bowles, examines how various smart devices can be taken advantage of and used for nefarious purposes. In one example, a woman’s husband had taken to controlling her through his power over their home’s thermostat. He would take away her warmth as a means by which to assert his dominance, and he would do it using an internet connected device. While solutions to these abuses often depend on the exact object being used by the abuser, there are some ways that companies may be able to ensure that their products are not used in this way. Emergency codes or backdoor access points in a product’s software may allow for abuse victims to take back control of these devices. Spreading awareness of the potential for harm in these devices is crucial. Abuse victims may not be aware that they are being monitored by objects in their own home, and companies are morally obligated (though unfortunately, not legally so) to disclose this information to the public, which might allow victims an opportunity to escape this form of digital abuse.

Mar 15

reality television changed commuication

TV has changed our method for correspondence in a few different ways, rather than surging home to see a show at a specific time, we record it onto our DVR or simply stream it on the web. Customary ways have changed and we don’t pay psyche to most network shows except if we approach them on interest.  in a Forbes article, “The Future of T.V.: Digital, Traditional And Something In Between”, by Lori Kozlowski, predicted that customary t.v isn’t going anyplace. TV has turned out to be such a fundamental piece of society.Netflix and Hulu on the planet have took a great deal of watchers from regular TV and they have made substance more easily accessible than Television.People became weary of paying for link when it was over the top expensive, and chose to pay for Netflix and Hulu, in light of the fact that paying a joined aggregate of 20$ to observe practically any show or motion picture you need is superior to paying 100$ per month, and not having the capacity to watch whatever show or motion picture you need to watch.Netflix is sans business and Hulu enables you to pay a little an additional charge to abstain from having plugs. HBO Go permits you observe all you most loved films, you don’t have purchase dvd’s any longer. These stages are additionally accessible at a reasonable expense with more benefits.

 

Mar 15

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is the act of getting data or contribution to an undertaking or venture by enrolling the administrations of countless. Such as the customary course, keep a similar generation unblemished and have everything on a similar recurrence or Go the nontraditional course, discover a gathering of individuals who can make/accomplish what you’re searching for and at an altogether less expensive expense. In the article “The Rise of Crowdsourcing” it states “For the last decade or so, companies have been looking overseas, to India or China, for cheap labor…The labor isn’t always free, but it costs a lot less than paying traditional employees.” So now these organizations not just need to pay their regular representatives the rate they’re utilized to however they can likewise actually simply pick and pick who they need to execute an undertaking to support themselves, not unlawful but rather certainly something that will influence the customary specialist.The issue with publicly supporting for individuals who handle explicit assignments is since these equivalent individuals are losing their business to individuals who are eager to accomplish more work between a few distinct gatherings. The impact that publicly supporting has had on organizations is these organizations are in the position where they aren’t searching for a solitary source any longer to have something made yet are currently connecting with a few people to get this errand finished and a significant number of these individuals are energetic for the chance to demonstrate what they can do in light of the fact that they’re searching for a chance to have situating in this organization or potentially the world. These days, our general public is so quick paced that it just bodes well organizations remain one stage in front of us. When we need something, we need it now-within the near future Publicly supporting enables that to happen.Companies are presently contending with beginner people because of publicly supporting.