1. New media seems to be partially, if not majorly, responsible for the deterioration of spelling and grammar these days. With the free landscape of the internet and mobile texting, people seem to be much more concerned with how short they can make a word than how much sense they are making. Also, I can't even begin to recall the number of times I've seen the word "then" mistaken for "than".
2. Is new media subtly setting in stereotypes? Too many ads nowadays drive the notion of "emo" teenagers and stick-thin supermodels. Only extreme examples of any niche seem to garner attention. A pathetic plea for attention of an example here, but hey, I played videogames as a youngin', and I think I'm adequately literate and physically fit!
3. Are parents relying too much on new media in raising their children? I speak in reference to the recent onslaught of such "educational" media such as "Baby Einstein" and other learning programs. Personally, I don't believe a television set makes a good baby-sitter; research suggests that children who are raised on educational programs turn out to be less advanced than their peers who learned through more conventional methods.
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I also share a rather negative view of new media in general. Technology is fascinated with synthesizing reality. Teaching your kids for you, holding our meetings for you, providing music for you. I'll stick to my reality, thank you (as I comment on a blog post.... sheesh.)
ReplyDeletePfft. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'll concede that new media has its usefulness in several ways. It's just that the bad stuff seems to be a tad more prominent.
I agree, even as I thought of the internet... it was all the bad things that came into my head to talk about. Yes it is good, but a lot of negative effects have been created.
ReplyDeleteTrue, that. It's a shame, really. Few things can ever just be 100% good.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree. New media can be beneficial but often it results in incoherent arguments (if you can even consider a "no you are" an argument) and atrocious grammar and spelling.
ReplyDeleteI think new media is just a new forum to be who we already were, for the most part... lazy, crass, shaved apes. The fact that previous generations couldn't get away with it is no mark of virtue on their part.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, Kevin. I was talking with someone today who had a soap box that media is not the problem: we're getting what we ask for. If we want media to change, we have to change. The only reason negative media is thriving is because we're reciprocating it, buying into it. If our interests change, the media will change.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly how I feel about it, Lydia. They sell trash because it sells.
ReplyDelete