June 2013 Evaluate the Impact of the Growth and Increasing Diversity of the New Media on Society Today. (33 Marks.)

June 2013 Evaluate the impact of the growth and increasing diversity of the new media on society today. (33 marks.)

It is fair to day that that the new media has indeed revolutionized society as the delivery of media content has caused the growth and increased diversity in society today. This was caused by the emergence of digitalization where a wide range of formats have combined together creating a digital convergence. Boyle explains that digitalization allows information to be delivered across a range of media platforms. For example, what was once only available on the TV is now available across a wide range of formats such as IPad, iPhone, computers etc. This shows that the extent of digitalization has contributed to the growth and increasing diversity of the new media on society. Jenkins argues that digital convergence has resulted in interactivity. Both convergence and interactivity have impacted on the growth and increasing diversity of the new media on society creating a participatory culture where media producers and media consumers interact with each other. Being able to vote for their favourite contestant and being able to call the judges on x factor has resulted in users having more control over media consumption than in the past as they are able to put forward their own opinions. In other words, interactivity has allowed us to be more selective and active in our media consumption. Does this mean that the growth of the new media gave us- the audience more power? The internet is evidence of participatory culture and collective intelligence that has impacted on the growth and increase diversity of the new media. Online discussion forums and social networking sites like Facebook are examples of how the audiences are actively engaging and sharing ideas through the media, thus creating an online global community.

Another concept that impacted on the growth and increasing diversity of the new media is compression. This refers to the availability of a...