The Media And Its Technology
Introduction
The media plays a major role in the society today, it is an eye opener, or the eye of the society; it is almost the new literature in the society today because it has played many roles that literature used to play from antiquity. Technological advancements have enhanced interactivity and virtually transformed the world into a global village. News spread today like grass fire, in a matter of minutes major events happening on any part of the globe is transmitted to the world at large. The media dates its beginnings to the 1920’s when the first TV box was launched by a Scotsman John Logie; his advancement was received wholeheartedly by the community, seeing the impact that it had on the society, researchers delved into subsequent research on ways of improving the established technology, Sparks (2009).
The color TV was discovered in the 1960’s, this brought the society close to a close picture of the real happenings; at this time, the Telstar satellite was launched too, this enabled Trans-oceanic picture coverage, the global village began emerging. Since then milestones in technology have seen more and more advancement in the media, the internet whose roots can be traced back into the 1960’s has turned the tables in the media, social networks such as twitter, face book, YouTube and Skype have become the new modes of communication within various social constructs. The media has had its own positive and negative impacts on the society with more impacts expected in the future as new technological advancements continue to unveil.
Technologies in the media
One area technology has played a major role is in the media arena. Since the discovery of Information Technology the media has been the major pillar in the society. Much of knowledge is transmitted into the mind of the society through the media today. The media for example has gone ahead and busted some traditional myths upheld by different society; the marginalized societies have also had their voices heard through the media. Practices of different societies has felt the impact of the cultures of other societies, this awareness has been brought about by the power of the media coupled with the milestones in technology, Biagi (2011).
The greatest milestone in technology in the media was brought about by the advent of the computer. The internet protocol enables the world to communicate with ease; TV stations have also improved their coverage through the internet protocol. Television channels can now be viewed across the world with the aid of the Internet, the DSTV services has brought about a revolution to the Television Network today; it’s no longer the error whereby one could only view the TV channels of his/her country alone.
The technology has virtually brought all the important TV channels of the world at the finger tips. Today if you are in Africa you do not have to go to the old Trafford and watch a match between Arsenal and Manchester United, it is aired straight from the Stadium through the TV channels. It is overwhelming to find that the European clubs have much of their fans from Africa; this is the power of the media.
The internet has brought about social networks such as Face book and twitter, through these networks one can remain connected to his/her friend if he/she has a digital device such as web enabled mobile phone, these devices are available today at very low prices as compared to the period when ICT technology was not well advanced. The social cites are not only for fun but also they keep the society informed as well. For example in my Face book profile today I have friends from across the world that we can chat at any time.
Through my friends I am informed of happenings across the world. I am able to interact with them across the internet, my friends from Africa and Asia give insights about the cultures of their society and I don’t have to go there to study them, if I happen to visit those countries I will conform with ease to their ways of life, Biagi (2011).
Today you find various pages in the social networks which inform the society of things previously kept secret, what you could not discuss with your colleagues face to face can now be discussed at ease in the social networks. Through twitter we are able to learn different lifestyles of icons of the society, celebs like Richard Branson or Bill gates have their web pages from where we can access their profiles and their lifestyles and learn the secret to their success, we can then conform accordingly. The internet can be termed as the backbone media. Since its advent, the media has undergone unprecedented advancements and milestones. The cyber space has created many intra global networks through which information can flow to every corner of the world.
The advances in the information systems and the media have however had the costs and benefits to the society. Since the introduction of the media technologies the society has not been the same, as the old saying goes, knowledge is light. With a new knowledge we are bound to behave in a different manner from which we used to, the direction of the human behavior whether good or bad depend on the information which we have been fed with.
The media today have virtually all the kinds of information. The information is accessible at the finger tips to any party of the society with knowledge to retrieve it. What could be hidden before the advancement in the media today can not be hidden, for example you can not dictate today which TV channels your kids watch because even if you do away with some channels, they are able to get it from their friends, the same you can not control the web pages they view because the internet is at their expense.
Positive impacts of the media to the society today
Advancement in the media technologies has many of advantages to the society today. ICT has enabled easy transmission of information; this information has been of high use to the society. To begin with, the media has seen an upward social shift; the voice of the average citizen has been heard in the society. The media has been able to raise the voices of the marginalized communities, by going to their areas and airing their issues. Prior to the advent of the media technology no one was interested in visiting the marginalized communities, however through the media their views have been brought to the awareness of the society, Larson (2005).
Through the media also, the voting system has been made more open and transparent. In democratic countries including the United States, the media is free to air every proceeding in the voting process. This ensures that there is no rigging in the elections because the big eye of the media is able to see this. Prior to the advance of the media technologies there were a lot of irregularities in the voting process just because the back door activities of the election officials could not been seen by the mass.
Today, the media has brought a revolution in the voting process; no event goes without being caught by the camera. It has made election officials more accountable for every thing they do in the voting process. Technology devices such as mobile phones have been used to prevent flaws too; the public is able to report any irregularities via them, the flaws are then aired through the media and the unscrupulous official can be made answerable to the same, Leighley (2003).
Secondly, the media has made the world a global village; this is a long time dream realized recently when the cyber space came into play in the media. Every event and happening at every part of the world today can be aired by the mass media. Take for example, the grenade attacks by the Al Shabaab militias in Kenya, a group believed to be affiliated to Terrorism networks across the world. The United States government was able to monitor the attacks through the media and offered advice to its Citizens that Kenya may be a dangerous country to visit.
The free flow of information enabled by the media makes all members of the society aware of different events happening across the globe. They can then prepare accordingly before taking their actions. The global information available through the media, which is for example on the world markets, makes the society choose wisely on their preferred shopping markets. They are able to know the prices of commodities at the different markets and can choose accordingly the markets thriving with the commodities they want to shop for, Straubhaar & Larose et al. (2011).
The media also has brought about a great advantage to learners, especially those whose courses feature current events. The media airs and broadcasts all events happening across the world. Different media houses also have their web pages where they can post News from across the globe. Students who can not catch the events through the TV can have an access to the same via the World Wide Web. This keeps them abreast with the current events. This makes learning easier for them.
The internet being the backbone of telecommunications through various cyber space protocols, has take a big step in enhancing the teaching and learning process. Today there are many online courses which students can attend. This has cut down many costs, for example students who are far away do not have to travel to the physical classrooms, and they can attend their classes online.
Another interesting feature of the media is entertainment. Different media have different entertainment programs for the various age groups in the society. Take for example the era when the media had not flourished, there were limited modes of entertainment to the society. The kinds have the cartoon network, which is also for adults who may be interested; entertainment also comes in the form of music and some other programs such as soap operas.
The media entertainment is one of the cheapest modes of entertainment because it available at a low cost and the society does not pay subsequent prices to be provided with it. The other important attribute of this entertainment is that it educates at the same time, there are various kids’ channels which educate them in an entertaining manner.
There are innumerable benefits of the media to the society I only selected a few as an example, however, the media has negative impacts to the society. Some of the information provided by it is considered unfit; the society has over the time developed undesirable habits which can be blamed on the information provided by the media. The kids are the most adversely affected because their minds in their early development can not filter what is important from what is not important. The parents today are virtually unable to monitor what their kids watch and the web pages they can access, this is attributable to the various technological devices available, the kinds can access the media and the cyber space through their mobile devices.
Negative impact of the media to the society
The members of the society most impacted negatively by the media are the kids. Some media houses do not select the motion pictures they air on their programs. Some radio broadcasts also teach undesirable behaviors to the kids. Their young minds virtually absorb everything that is taught to them, they therefore change their habits in accordance ton what the media provides to them. Information is transmitted at unfrequented speed across the media; unscrupulous individuals can therefore spread unwarranted rumors and hate speech especially across the social networks. The media technology has also brought lazy habit to the society.
Today you can stay at home and get all the entertainment you want; computer games do not require any movement either. You can virtually get everything whilst you sit down through the media; this has promoted a lazy community. The media technologies have advanced the crimes, some crimes like the cyber crimes were not mentioned before the advent of the internet, Dill (2009).
Future trends
With the current trend in the media, and the technology, the media is likely to take a new milestone in the near future. It is going to completely change how the society does things. For example the internet protocol may in future bring to an end the physical class attendance; the students may in the near future attend their lectures online. It is likely also that before kids attend school then they will already be having most of the information they require for their learning because most will be provided by the media.
Conclusion
The media technology has had its positive and negative impact on the society today. It is however expected that everything that has advantages has its own disadvantages. If technocrats can take the initiative to minimize the cost accrued by the society due to the negative implications it has, then more benefits could be realized from the media. However as seen above the advantages of the media advancement by far outweigh the disadvantages and the society has realized more of its benefits than its costs. However more needs to be done on the media because today its advantages come hand in hand with its disadvantages.
References
Biagi, S. (2011). Media impact: An introduction to mass media, 10th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth publishing
Straubhaar, J. & Larose, R. et al. (2011). Media now: Understanding media, culture and technology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth publishing
Sparks, G.G. (2009). Media effects research: A basic overview. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth publishing
Dill, K. E. (2009). How fantasy becomes reality: seeing through media influence.USA: Oxford university press
Leighley, J.E. (2003). Mass media and politics: A social science perspective. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth publishing
Larson, G. S. (2005). Media and minorities.USA: Rowman & Littlefield publishers
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