Reflective Essay

Dr. Chris Moore

16th June, 2009

By Emma Langley

Word Count - 1179

Technology, in turn New Media Technologies such as the Internet, laptops and 3G

Mobile phones, have made the communication process between other individuals

all around the world, possible to interact with. Having the ability to communicate

through numerous alternatives, which such traditional models of communication

could not make possible. Social Networking, therefore through New Media

Technology, has entered not only the public sphere but the private sphere of our

lifestyles. Dominating individuals of the western cultures’, time, leisure,

communication and social interactivity. It is through New Media and its various

technologies, which have fostered the growing participation of social networking

sites, forming a participatory culture and an industry that is re-defining the

concept of a presentational culture, into a dominating representative culture.

With millions of pro/users within the social networking sphere, devoting more

time to creating the ideal online personality, than of participating within reality.

According to Jenkins (2006), convergence culture is, “where old and new media

collide, where grassroots and corporate media intercept, where the power of the

media consumer interact in unpredictable ways” (pp.2). It terms of convergence,

Jenkins (2006) defines it as, “the flow of content across multiple media platforms,

the corporation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behaviour

of media audiences who will go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of

entertainment experiences they want” (pp.2). Convergence therefore, is the key

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to understanding the online worlds and the key to understanding the behavioural

patterns of its media audiences within these various online worlds.

Production  Commodity  Consumer  (Repetitive Cycle) Production

Figure 1.1 – Convergence Relationship

Through convergent technologies and media practices, “social networking sites

such as Facebook and MySpace are now more popular…with Australians

spending one in every 10 minutes online… [accounting for] 10 per cent of all

Internet time worldwide” (Bloomtools 2009). This growth in networking

interactivity is linked primarily to the behavioural patterns of media audiences

and the idea that audience participation is growing due to the search of the ideal

entertainment experience. With Facebook, Myspace, YouTube and Msn

Messenger, being prime examples of the convergence process, where a flow of

information across different media platforms takes place, in result the user’s goal

of being entertained is achieved.

Social networking, however is more than just being entertained, it becomes a

form of daily routine. According to Eloise Langley when interviewed on 10 July

2009, to why it is so essential to be a user within the virtual online worlds, “it is

my generation’s way of communication, to stay up to date with the social

dilemmas which are happening, and to find out these dilemmas/gossip instantly,

without traditional hassle, through the phone or face to face.” This response,

coming directly from the so-called technological generation, who are perceived

as being the most technologically advanced, that however does not make it

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exclusion to the younger populations, with a growing amount of generation x, y

and even baby boomers, becoming involved within social networking sites. Evans

(2009), states that, “With the social networks, people may feel like they are 'left

out of the loop' if they don't have an online persona because so much

information flows through these social networks e.g. parties/events, birthdays”.

This flow of content, across the multiple media platforms, is how the

public/private debate is questioned. With the home being transformed from a

traditional place of face-to-face communication, to the present environment

dominated by technology. According to Marshall (2004), “it is equally about a

changed relationship to media and presentation that proliferates and generates

more and more personal websites, webcams and commercial sites that play with

the idea of looking in on private worlds… [forming] the cultural discourse of what

is public and what is private, who is the performer and who is the audience”

(pp.55).

With the public and private transformations, through various social networking

sites and new media technologies, the concept of privacy and control over

displayed content within the World Wide Web is essential in addressing. Such

high profile celebrities as; Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Hudgens and Stephanie Rice, all

failing to control their private information, entering the publicly accessible sphere

of the internet, when controversial images were posted on the internet. Privacy

and control forming a relationship between the user and new media

technologies, as control to what is available within the public and private sphere

is an optional feature of social networks. Jones (2009) stating, “I began to think

about my personal information sprawled across the internet. Although the

information was under my control I felt it wasn’t necessary that people knew

what I was doing on the weekend or view last week’s photo… There are [millions

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of] registered users on MySpace, Twitter and Face book alone, so who knows who

was viewing my pages”. Jones outlining that displaying information is self

controllable, that the internet is not a place to publicly display content of a

private nature.

Content therefore, to some degree should remain private and self-monitored,

limiting the amount of personal information on social network sites. By choosing

not to display phone numbers or direct mailing addresses, control and inturn

safety can be achieved. Devereux (2009), stating that, “To me, safety is of a top

priority, and although I enjoy sharing my life with friends and relatives both in

Australia and overseas, I refuse to share it with complete strangers.” Marshall

(2009) suggesting that, online has a different impact than the spoken, we need

to question how do words change when we translate them into text. Further who

has the ability to view, process and use the publicly displayed information

through the internet and social networking sites.

Having the ability to upload, transfer and communicate with no traditional

communication skills, can be connected also to control and to the concept of

hypereal Identities, with computing not being about the computers anymore, it

being about living” (Flew 2008). The idea that through the forming

representational culture, participates form the ideal persona, having the ability

and flexibility to create false traits, looks and abilities, with little to no question.

Offering “an entrance into another reality” (Flew 2008, pp.42). Evans (2009)

commenting that, “Like most net users, I tend to present my online persona as

my ‘ideal self’ than rather my actual self.” Making it clear that within the virtual

realm, individuals try to present themselves as ideally, as possible, forming a

sense of online presence which is not of reality. A way to escape reality!

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New Media Technologies, hence the access to social networking sites, hold both

strengths and weaknesses in terms of convergence and the new, dynamic

technologies, to the issues towards living within a public or private sphere, to the

false sense of living within/through social network sites. Overall if control is taken

to limit the risks, the hours of interactivity and the concept that “life in the real

world is far more interesting, far more important, far richer, than anything you’ll

ever find on a computer screen” (Stoll 1995). Then new media technologies and

being a pro/user within numerous social networking sites can become a

beneficial and entertaining objective within a 21st Century, technologically

advanced world.

Reference List:

Bloomtools 2009, ‘Facebook and MySpace still growing in popularity’,

accessed 14/04/2009, http://www.bloomtools.com/articles/facebook-and-
myspace-still-growing-in-popularity.html

Devereux, L 2009, Blog Post #3, weblog, accessed 15/6/2009,

http://twitwall.com/view/?who=laura8391

Evans, K 2009, Online Worlds, weblog, accessed 14/6/2009,

http://twitwall.com/view/?what=020D070A06

Flew, T 2008, ‘Approaches to new media’, in New Media: an Introduction,

3rd (ed.), Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, pp38-57.

Jenkins, H 2006, ‘Introduction’, in Convergence Culture: where old and

new media collide, NYU Press, United States, pp1-24.

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 Jones, L 2009, Convergence Culture, weblog, accessed 15/6/2009,
http://twitwall.com/view/?who=Lib006

Marshall, D 2009, Online Worlds: Presentational Media and Interpersonal

Communication, lecture, BCM101, New Media: Histories/Industries/Practices,
University of Wollongong, delivered 1st April.

Marshall, PD 2004, ‘The Internet: The multimedia-accessible universe and

the user’, in New Media Cultures, Arnold, London, pp45-60.

Stoll, C 1995, ‘Computer, Digital, Intro’, in Silicon Snake Oil: Second

Thoughts on the Information Highway, Doubleday, New York, pp5-15.