Summary of The New Media- Topic 4 in The Media Topic AQA A-Level Sociology- * Notes from a Grade A Student *
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Course
The Media
Institution
AQA
Detailed Summary notes from a Grade A second year sociology student
Includes research, key sociologists, detailed evaluation points and key terminology
Characteristics of the New Media:
● Digitalisation- The growth of digital technology in the 1990s resulted into information
being converted into binary code
● Technological Convergence- Digitalisation lead to the convergence of
texts/photos/films/voices/music into a single system (e.g. mobile phones)- everything
is on one device
● Economic Convergence- Companies that used to provide separate services (e.g.
TV/Telephone/Wifi) have made alliances with each other
● Cultural Convergence- The New Media has changed the way in which people in
society interact with each other. An example is the change in consumerism- more
people are using the internet to buy food etc compared to other nations. Facebook
remains the default social media site- 96% of UK adults use it
● Interactivity- The New Media is interactive and operates in real time- links allow
people to access up to date content, as well as emphasising choice and enabling the
mix and match of media
● Choice- The New Media has more choice than Traditional Media- Boyle (2005) notes
how television has changed and the fact that people are no longer constrained by TV
schedules
● Participatory Culture- Audiences are no longer passive receivers of entertainment
and information. They actively collaborate with the media by sharing information and
sites, writing reviews and expressing opinions via Twitter and Reddit. Jenkins argues
that this has produced a participatory culture in which media consumers and
producers interact with each other rather than being separate
● Collective Intelligence- Jenkins argues that participatory culture produces collective
intelligence- nobody knows everything, everyone knows something and people can
poole ideas together and challenge the world of traditional media
OFCOM- Changes in Media Usage Between 2005 and 2015:
● 84% of UK adults accessed the internet in 2015 compared to 54% in 2005
● 60% accessed the internet via smartphones and tablets as well as PCs and laptops
● Weekly hours of internet usage has doubled from 9.9 hours to 20.5 hours
● 96% of people text at least once a week- preferred form of social contact
● 70% of internet users have a social media account and 81% claim to visit at least
once a day
● Watching TV is still popular but it has increasingly converged with the internet ,
tablets and smartphones- viewers construct their own schedules using Sky+ and
Netflix
Who Uses the New Media?
Generational Divide:
, ● 12-15 year olds are more likely to be cross media multitasking than adults (e.g.
watching TV and being on the phone at the same time)
● Generational divide may be declining- older age groups are starting to engage in
online activities (e.g. social networking sites)
● Anxieties over young people’s use of the new media continue to focus on bullying,
grooming and access to inappropriate content
Gender Divide:
● Men are more likely to access the internet but women are more likely than men to
access social media sites
● Women are increasing their game play of Angry Birds and Candy Crush
● Boys are more likely to play violent games whereas girls are more motivated by the
competition that allows them to challenge gender norms
Class Divide:
● Gap has narrowed although 95% of the AB use a range of new media devices to go
online compared to 75% of the DE group and 86% of all socio-economic groups
● However, a digital underclass still exists- this is characterised by unemployment, low
education levels and low digital skills
● This group have been slower to increase internet usage as they can’t afford it and
rate their skills as poor
Global Divide:
● Worsening divide between developed and undeveloped countries
● 2014- 72% of Africans were using phones but there is limited connectivity- only 18%
were smartphones, there are regional disparities, dominated by the English
Language and only 7% of Africa is online
Cultural Pessimists’ Perspective on the New Media:
The “Not so New Media”
● Cornford and Robins (1999) argue that new media isn’t that new
● Old media such as TV and Landlines are crucial for the use of the new media
● Interactivity isn’t new- people responded to newspapers by phoning in and people
use new media to engage with TV shows (e.g voting in I’m a Celebrity)
● New media is only new because of its speed
● New technologies permit the extension and refinement of Traditional Media
Domination by Media Conglomerates:
Conglomeration= Business corporation that consists of different companies with diversified
interests in a wide range of products/services
● Media democracy is undermined due to concentration of ownership and
technological convergence (Jenkins 2008)
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