Terry Flew (2002, 2005a) defined new media has a combination of the three Cs – computing and information technology (IT), communications networks and digitised media and information content, arising out of another process beginning with a ‘C’, that of convergence new media can also be thought as different types of digital media of sound, data, text, and images of all kinds stored in digital format.
I agree with Mark Poster and Sonia Livingstone as both theorist theories show that media provides a link between the audiences / reception studies in relation to broadcast and the internet, while Poster analyses the implications of new media on an individual, identity, culture, and social relations. Society needs to look at the internet or new media as a tool that helps to make their live easy in terms of getting information, connecting with other people (social networks), getting jobs, or for creating educational forums. Instead both theorists show how the audience is affected by new media as ought to look it as a tool of technology. The effect of internet or new media on society is undermined, by the critical social theorist as they under estimate that new media can cause social and cultural changes in society.
Technology to grow and improve needs people willing to allow trying different new things in terms getting new gadgets, software or gaming. Although research as proved that new media can be disruptive especially social media at schools and the workplace, some companies have banned social networking as it has been proven that people spend more time chatting than actually doing some work. The trend of new media continues to grow and society will find them being controlled by technology just like the movie IRobot depicts where humans lost control of their power to robots and they had to fight for survival.
There is nothing wrong with technology as long as when we can differentiate what is its purpose to educate, relax (gaming) or to connect with friends (Skype). We cannot allow new media to take over our lives and be the end of us when there is no internet connection. If we remember that we are being given different technological platforms, to gain access to things we should then be able to draw a line between the traditional way of doing things and that of new media.
New media can affect in a negative way as some may not cope without using the internet for a day let alone last an hour we have become so obsessed with this tool some have forgotten its purpose was to make lives easier and to save us time but we have used the internet to do crime, harm other, and to take over our lives as we struggle with it like an addiction. In comparison to Livingstone and Poster media environment does affect society in one way or another.
