Week Two: The Rise of Digital Media: Good or Bad?

Mary (Drew Barrymore) from 'He's Just Not That Into You' (2009) sums up our digital world of communication today...
            "I had this guy leave me a voicemail at work, so I called him at home, and then he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. The whole thing just got out of control & I miss the days when you had one answering machine, and that one answering machine has that one cassette tape, and that one cassette tape either had a message from that guy or it didn't". (See it here). Seeing this film and hearing this quote inspired my blog post for this week...


      The world of digital communication has come a long way since the sending of the first email in 1971 - the first mobile phone call was made, the first Home Entertainment introduced by Nintendo, the creation of the internet and also social networking. For those of us who are under 20, I don't think we realise how accepting we are if the new technologies that enhance our world of digital communication and socialising, not just with our friends but brands and 'lovemarks' (Saatchi & Saatchi). They just 'appear' and become integrated into our everyday lives as if they have always been there, even though they are dramatically changing things for us. But, are all these new ways of digitally communicating really making communication simpler or harder for us? Draw Barrymore thinks it isn't. 

         On one hand, the many alternative forms of communication has provided us with convenience, new industries, increased interactivity, various ways of learning and many ways to socialise. There is now no excuse for lack of contact with others. BUT there are many arguments against the digital age. One being that it has changed the way we interact with each other, our relationships being less intimate. Friedman (2011) believes we are "gradually being drawn away from contact with things of the world" and even though digital has brought us wonders it also means we have lost things and are still losing things right now (article here). Two senior Microsoft researchers have proposed that biological memory will be augmented and replaced by e-memory, being called Total Recall (Harvey,2010). Gordon Bell thinks that "it will change what it means to be human" with everyone recording their lives digitally due to the new digital revolution leaving no need for real memories. (Read the article here). 


         However, it has always been thought that "It is not the strongest of species that survives , nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one most adaptable to change" - Charles Darwin - which suggests we should embrace and adapt to this digital age.


        Feel free to comment and let me know what you think...me? I'm undecided but I do know that the digital revolution is hugely powerful and has a lot more influence over our lives than we initially think which is slightly scary.