The Impact of New Media - A Day in My Life
I think it’s hard to fully recognize the effect of new media
on our daily lives. Social media, in particular,
is a form of media that people actively engage in. Throughout the day, I use multiple platforms
for various purposes. On my way to work,
I engage in “micro blogging” using the popular platform Twitter. In addition to expressing my own thoughts, I
see “tweeting” as an excellent opportunity to share news and information. When
I’m not posting content, I also monitor the site for any items of interest from
the people I follow. Another form of
media I use are photo sharing platforms like Instagram. Both of these forms of media were made more
popular by the use of applications or “Apps” that make them accessible on smart
phones.
During my time at work, I check YouTube throughout the day
for any news updates that may be of interest to my government’s organization. Press releases and news stories can be very
important to my agency’s focus and may even require a response. The idea of having situational awareness and getting
ahead of a news story is always a positive response to any emerging crises. YouTube provides an excellent way to see news
and media content outside of a particular market, providing content that can be
uploaded from around the world.
As my work day ends, I head home and look down at my
phone. After all day at work, I see that
I have push notifications from a news app I downloaded. This is the point in the day where I begin to
read news stories interest me personally, as I have customized my news feed to
scan sites that I have selected. This
most likely continues into the evening.
Without noticing, or exerting much effort, I have been “connected” all
day; for many people this is life in the 21st century.
During my time using social media, I have witnessed very
important news events including the 2011 East Coast Earthquake, the Newton, CT
shootings, and the Boston Marathon Bombings.
During these times of tragedy and confusion, many people, including
myself, used social media to receive instant updates. Speaking from personal experience, I used
social media to check in with some family members when cell phones weren't
working in DC.
Connecting people, regardless of location, is a clear positive
influence of social media. What interests
me in this age where technology connects me to media throughout the day, is
that I’m not a big fan of being constantly connected. I have tried to limit my use but as the
description of my day shows, I have a use for every platform I use. It seems almost necessary to be connected to
new media in order to be considered informed.
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