1. Multitasking is A Skill That Cannot Be Performed.
Study and research has shown and proved that it is mentally impossible to accomplish two thing at once. While the brain is trying to focus and accomplish a task, that particular task has its full attention, and it isn’t possible, for the brain, to pay equal amount of attention to two things at once. As it takes time to switch between goals in order to perform the actions that would lead to accomplishing those goals, the human brain proves its incapability to multitask.
"The ability to access many different forms of media in one place is also changing the ways we engage with media. In the past, we read newspaper in print, watched TV on our televisions, and played video games on a console. Today, we are able to do those things on a computer, tablet, or a smartphone, making it easy-and very tempting- to multitask" (Campbell p.13)
“Some critics and educators feel that media multitasking means that we are more distracted, that we engage less with each type of media we consume, and that we often pay closer attention to the media we are using than to people immediately in our presence (Campbell, 13)”
2. Social Media Makes Us Chat but Not Talk.
It is quite remarkable how dependant our generation is on social media and the interaction through it. They depend on it so much that they might be facebooking, tweeting, or instagraming to the public while they are sitting with their friends not talking to each other. I have to admit that I feel like an alien to my generation because I don’t really care about social media. I also do feel like an alien when I’m sitting with a group of people who would be talking to their cell phones instead of me.
“[social media] a venue for social interaction - a place where people can share creations, tell stories, and interact with others.” “Platforms that enable the interactive Web by engaging in users to participate in, comment on, and create content as means to communicate with their social graph, other users, and the public.”(Campbell, 52)
“In less than a decade, a number of different types of social media have evolved, with multiple platforms for the creation of user-generated content.” (Campbell, 52)
3. It Is All About Appearances.
I studied in business class that public relation is what brings companies and corporations customers and profit. However, in Media Revolution I learned that appearances are more important than profit because appearances is what brings about profit. The use of public relations to show the positive side of a story, a medium, or a firm over the negative side is what keeps social media thriving over image and reputation. And this is the heart of public relations.
"An image... is not simply a trademark, a design, a slogan, or an easily remembered picture. It is a studiously crafted personality profile of an individual, institution, corporation, product, or service" (Campbell, 421)
“Public relations importance is as simple as the statement that, “in politics, image has replaced action” (Campbell, 445)
4. The Economic Shift to Corporate Consolidation.
Companies used to work on, perhaps, a local and small level of business. However, with the convergence of media and economy it isn’t as safe or as profitable to operate on a small level. There are now corporations that run and control a large portion of a medium which allows them to control not only the competition but also a portion of the economy.
“Google, established in 1998, … and now controls more than 65 percent of the search engine market and generates billions of dollars of revenue.”(Campbell, 63)
“Google also has branched out into a number of internet offerings, including shopping (Froogle), mapping (Google Maps), e-mail (Gmail), blogging (Blogger), browsing (Chrome), books (Google Book Search), and video (Youtube).” (Campbell, 63)
5. Warm Fuzzies or Scientific Evidence?
One of the most interesting revelations for me was the use, targeting, and stimulating of the brain by media. Each part of the brain, or each brain, processes different kind of messages. The reptilian brain takes care of fighting and fleeing; the limbic brain processes emotions; and the neocortex is the rational brain. In a class other than media, I would not have learned about those brains or how they function in terms of receptiveness and being stimulated. Media in its different forms target all three parts of the brain. The technique warm fuzzies, which is seen in lovely pictures and soft music, is used to move the emotional brain, while scientific evidence, statistics and results of research, appeal to the rational brain. Perhaps, strength and appearing as aggressive and bold, such as body builders, is what affect or stimulate the lizard brain.
“The thing about musical is that you take a simple story, and tell it in a complicated way.” (Campbell, 249)
“Ad agencies and product companies often argue that the main purpose of advertising is to inform consumers about available products in a straightforward way. Most consumer ads, however, merely create a mood or tell stories about products without revealing much else.” (Campbell, 399)
6. Internet and Video Games: Violence, Isolation, or Addiction?
Video games as it is known and loved by many is not as pleasant as it seems. Some research and studies showed that children who are exposed to violent video games at an early age might develop some behavioral issues. Those issues could be violent acts or sometimes isolation from the outer world, which would be the result of continuous long-hours playing. The isolation is also seen in the internet because constant exposure to it makes the users addicts and isolates them from the world, and I have had this isolation issue at my teens, not early in my childhood. But in my case it was the internet not video games. So, I think it takes a toll on all age groups.
“Violent and misogynistic content has from time to time spurred calls for more regulation of electronic games. But, as games permeate more of culture and increasingly come in nonstandard formats and genres, they may also become harder to define, and therefore, regulate.” (Campbell 96)
"The more the children were addicted, the more prone they were to depression, social phobias, and increased anxiety, which led to poorer grades in school."(Campbell, 98)
7. Digital News is Replacing The Newspapers.
In our digital world, newspaper as many other media forms has to adapt to the change. In the past, it was the main source of information other than the television, and so it was dominant and desired by the public. Nowadays the case is different, since there is really not much demand or desire for printed newspaper, especially since it is available on the internet for free and no subscription is needed for reading. Digital news is taking over, and I must admit that it is very unfortunate to see the big and renowned newspapers such as the New York Times struggling with funds to cover the cost of their efforts for the work that they do to provide the news.
“Traditional printed newspapers are struggling as the page turn from a print world to a digital one, and they have lost both young readers and ad revenue to Internet news sources.” (Campbell, 277)
“In the digital age, newsrooms are integrating their digital and print operations, and asking their journalists to tweet breaking news that links back to newspapers’ Web sites. However, editors are still facing a challenge to get reporters and editors to fully embrace that news executives regard as a reporter’s online responsibilities.” (Campbell, 290)
8. What is Privacy in a Digital World?
Once a video, a picture, a story, or whatever kind of digital information for that matter is online, it is beyond anyone’s control to stop it. They move like viruses and spread between people so fast, and due to their fast movement they are tracked. As a result, there is no privacy, and whatever is shared on the internet is everybody’s and the information (digital code) no longer belongs to anyone. It belongs to the website that it’s posted on.
"Searches, of the internet permit law-enforcement agencies to gather huge amounts of data, including the communications of people who are not the targets of an investigation."(Campbell p.68)
“In the simplest terms, the right to privacy addresses a person’s right to be left alone, without his or her name, image, or daily activities becoming public property” (Campbell, 490)
9. Does The Public Really Need to Make Informed Decisions?
With the uncontrollability and quick spread of information, thanks to the internet, it was revealed how much the governments hide. Julian Assange and Wikileaks have contributed to the society in revealing the hidden truths. Sometimes revealing the truth might aid the public in provoking them to ask for amendment, and they may receive it; however, other times the truths can be harsh and difficult for the public to handle, in that case the secret or truths would better stay hidden. Julian Assange likes “crushing bastards,” and that is what I thought about him, an egotistical, eager to prove himself, individual. Although his contribution with Wikileaks is very negative, I think it has more pros than cons.
“Your obligation, as an independent news organization, is to verify the material, to supply context, to exercise responsible judgment about what to publish and what not to publish and to make sense of it.’ –Bill Keller, former executive editor, New York Times, 2011, writing about using material from WikiLeaks.” (Campbell, 491)
“...Wikileaks is able to report on what the powerful wish to keep secret because the logic of the internet permits it….Just as the internet has no terrestrial address or central office, neither does Wikileaks.” Jay Rosen, PressThink, 2010. (Campbell, 514)
10. The Remarkable Convergence
The biggest and most remarkable revelation for me was the convergence of the smartphone. Although, I knew that a smartphone could perform many tasks, at once, it was a bit different after talking about it in class. I have a smartphone with which I call, text, whatsapp, take pictures, record videos, record sounds, and listen to music, and those seven functions were the limits of my use of my smartphone. But seeing and hearing from my peers how they use it made me want to do most of the things that they talked about, and going through the process of learning how to do these things is a lot of fun.
"The ability to access many different forms of media in one place is also changing the ways we engage with media. In the past, we read newspaper in print, watched TV on our televisions, and played video games on a console. Today, we are able to do those things on a computer, tablet, or a smartphone, making it easy-and very tempting- to multitask" (Campbell p.13)
“Today, media consumption is mobile and flexible; we don’t have to miss out on media content just because we weren't home in time to catch a show, didn't find the book in the bookstore, or forgot to buy the newspaper yesterday. Increasingly, we demand access to our media when we want it, where we want it, and in multiple formats.” (Campbell, 59)
