What kinds of technologies are part of the new media? How important is the Internet to the new media? Why and how are the new media replacing and / or enhancing the old media?
Examples of technologies that are part of new media include: smartphones, tablets, E-readers, user-generated content (Youtube, blogs, Wikipedia, and Instagram), and social networks (Twitter and Facebook). The Internet is crucial to new media because most, if not all, these new technologies depend on an internet connection to operate. The World Wide Web allows countless ideas and content (videos, publications, opinion pieces, images, etc.) to circulate around the world in a digital "cloud", which are accessible to anyone who may interested in looking for them. I would say that the Internet is the driving force of new media and, without it, the Digital Age would come to a standstill.
One reason new media are replacing old media is because devices such as tablets, smartphones, and E-Readers are capable of so much more than just delivering news. There are thousands of apps that can be downloaded, each of them serving their specific function, and adds convenience and productivity into the person who uses the device. Also, publishing news onto a website is cheaper and more easily updated than printing news by using a printing press. News companies can report breaking news via an article or even a headline on their websites. Many Facebook and Twitter users get their local or national news from status updates on the social networks, and may not even need to consult a more "credible" source sometimes.
In Andrew Savikas's article, "Don't Fear New Technologies," the author writes that "It's ironic that we're so bad at dealing with change, because it's something we face constantly--though arguably never before at the current rate." In essence, we have to embrace new media in order to keep up with the times. It is inevitable that technology will improve, maybe at a quicker pace than we can handle.
I completely agree with you about all the forms of new media and how they're replacing old media because with new media you can publish local or national news on a minute to minute basis with a simple headline. Even though new media is replacing old media it doesn't mean that it's better, I actually prefer old media because I find it to be more of a credible source than new media. And I know how the saying goes out with the old in with the new. I think there should be a new saying some old, some new will make a better you. Still working on a better catch phrase, but why not have the best of both worlds.
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