What is Emerging Media?
- Amie Martinez
- Jan 17, 2021
- 3 min read
MC7019: Week 1 Blog
Since the invention of the Internet, scholars have been trying to unlock the mystery behind emerging communication technologies. How do they impact our world and the spread of knowledge? What about out political sphere and democratic processes? Or what about our businesses, entertainment or even mental health? How does social media today play into all of this? But first and foremost, what even is emerging media?
To answer these questions, scholars in the mid-1990s began to conduct an array of studies using different theories and methodologies to study common technologies at the time, especially the Internet (Borah, 2017). They described "emerging media," "new media" and "digital media" as computer and communication technologies which create a new mass media landscape that people adopt and adjust to (Borah, 2017). While Web 2.0 served as their example, I like to consider social media as one of the biggest emerging media of today. Think about the first time you used Instagram. Without a doubt, it took you some time to figure out how to navigate the platform, which pictures got the most likes and why everyone seemed to write witty captions. Or think about this past year when you most likely needed to learn how to use Zoom as your work and/or classes shifted remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. These platforms revolutionize the way we interact with our friends, family, coworkers, peers, students, teachers and many others. Most importantly, social media like Instagram and Zoom have been adopted around the globe at an "unprecedented speed," revealing the truly powerful nature of digital tools in our daily lives (boyd, 2015). This reality sheds light on the double-edged sword of emerging media. We live in a time where we are so connected, yet data surveillance and privacy concerns are rampant. This "excitement and horror" as dana boyd (2015) describes is the reason scholars continue to study emerging media and its radical impact on the world and individuals.
The thing, too, about emerging media is that they are more than just about the users - they are also about the developers. Early digital media developers intentionally created the platforms to include features that would encourage users to stay online, such as Facebook's "News Feed," "Friends" lists and reaction buttons (Ellison and boyd, 2013). These features can blur the lines of online and offline realities, making some of us wonder who are our online "Friends" and who are our real friends - and if there is a difference. Default settings on social media also influence how much personal information users share online. I remember learning in an undergraduate psychology class that people - more 95 percent of them, to be exact - stick with the default option (Catalanotto, 2016). If Facebook's default privacy option was "public," think of all the data and personal information that Facebook and third-party advertisers would know about you, most likely without your knowledge. These kinds of "socio-technical issues" as Ellison and boyd (2013) describe are just a few examples of how developers need accountability and ethical training when creating new platforms.
We as users must understand that exciting new media does not come without consequences to our privacy and even mental health. Scholars must continue to study these impacts as quickly and efficiently as possible to keep up with the rapid speed these technologies emerge. It may seem like an impossible task, but - to be quite frank - the world depends on it.
References
Borah, P. (2017). Emerging communication technology research: Theoretical and
methodological variables in the last 16 years and future directions. New Media &
Society, 19(4), 616-636.
Boyd, D. (2015). Social media: A phenomenon to be analyzed. Social Media+ Society, 1(1),
2056305115580148.
Catalanotto, D. (2016). 95% of the people stick to the default option. Service Design
Ellison, N. B. & boyd, d. (2013). Sociality through Social Network Sites. In Dutton, W. H.
(Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.
151-172.
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