new media

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The term new media in its most recent meaning stands for electronic devices such as computers , smartphones and tablets that provide users with access to the Internet and thus enable interactivity . As a fundamental component of the “ digital revolution ”, the new media are an important subject of the social debate about the future in general, as well as of media education in particular.

Infrastructure measures to create faster and more stable Internet connections across the board are on the European agenda as a politically urgent project, for example . On the other hand, questions arise in the course of the dissemination and intensive use of new media, which target, among other things, access age, usage times and personal development, which concern data sovereignty or informational self-determination and which are aimed at internet dependence or health risks.

Many areas of social life are heavily influenced by the emergence and possible uses of the new media, including economic production and gainful employment, leisure activities, science and contemporary art , especially as media art .

Use of terms

Media in the sense of mass media has existed in human history at least since the spread of book printing and newspaper printing . These were also new media in their time and so were all other subsequent inventions in the media sector, such as radio and television in their beginnings.

According to Jürgen Hüther, the term new media emerged as a fixed term in the 1970s, “as a generic term for all processes and technical means that, with the help of innovative or expanded technologies, create new forms of use that were previously not in use. and storage media such as cable u. Satellite television, video text, videography or video discs. "

The new media used today are characterized by the fact that they transmit data in digital form or access data in digital form , e.g. B. E-Mail , World Wide Web , DVD , Blu-ray , CD-ROM , etc. In a narrower use of the term new media, this refers to those services that run over the Internet. Only the digitization of information , sound , images , moving images , etc. and the rapid further development of compression processes made it possible to cope with the enormous amounts of data which, seen in this way, initiated the transition from the service society to the information society . Occasionally, the new media are also used synonymously with multimedia , since digitization enables the integration of all possible communication channels such as speech and text , video and audio , telecommunications , entertainment electronics and computer technology . This growing together is characteristic of the new information and media world.

Social repercussions

With the global spread of the new media, the opportunities for information and communication, which are unlimited in terms of space and time, are increasingly penetrating the business and working world on the one hand, but also everyday private life on the other. This results in a variety of opportunities and problems, both relating to the development of interpersonal relationships and questions about education and qualification for a present and future with these new media.

Trends

A study by communication scientists at the Technical University of Dresden shows that the use of new media instead of newspaper, radio and television journalism is increasingly providing the information base for future teachers . After that, only 20 percent of the prospective teachers surveyed read a printed newspaper several times a week. 40 percent hardly ever do that. According to the student teachers themselves, the first source of political information is social media. Martin Spiewak found it particularly remarkable that the respondents did not study sports or physics, but German ethics, history and politics. In a nutshell, this means: "Those who are supposed to explain the world to future generations get their information about this world to a large extent from what friends and acquaintances show them on their screens via Facebook and Co."

Possible opportunities

Some socio-political actors demand that young people be trained as early as possible for the use of the new media, which prepares them for “a self-determined life in a fully digitized world”. The course must be set in school for this. “It is frustrating that many parents, with astonishing carelessness, leave the children to their own devices with their smartphones and tablets and cannot give them digital guard rails, but it is a fact. This makes it all the more important for the school to work with willing parents, volunteers, experts, foundations and the private sector. ”The Calliope mini computer for use is an example of innovation intended to promote progress in dealing with new media in schools at elementary schools, with which the entry into programming should be conveyed, or the school cloud , which should open up more possibilities for students and teachers for individual learning and for working in heterogeneous groups. As Minister of State for Digitization, Dorothee Bär wants to ensure that programming is put on the timetable for the youngest. Since it is as important as reading and writing, it belongs in elementary schools. In addition, there must be digital high schools just as there are sports and music high schools.

Issues

An initial study of the use of new media by parents in connection with the effects it has on their children found that parents who spend a lot of time with digital media or in front of the television could induce behavioral problems in their children that were related to their own Resetting reacted frustrated or hyperactive, who complained, pouted or acted angry more often. According to the researchers, it is particularly important when eating together, when playing or when bringing the children to bed, to respond to the children's emotional needs without being distracted by a screen.

More and more often, the young people let the links on Facebook or WhatsApp and the algorithms of YouTube decide which news they received. Every day, according to Spiewak, the network in its current architecture reveals its political weaknesses: "The victory of speed over truthfulness, the instrumentalization of social media by state-controlled news forgers , seduction by populists , the triumph of swarm stupidity." Udo di Fabio is quoted with the statement: “Instead of journalistic research, the clicked together momentary knowledge occurs in states of excitement. Public opinion is becoming more volatile and seductive. ” Wolfgang Sander complains that in school one focuses too much on the instrumental skills, on the use of devices and programs. “But it shouldn't just be about how I can use digital media effectively in class. The school must also ask what digitization means for our lives and our coexistence. "

The access and dissemination of pornographic content via the Internet and smartphones among children and adolescents is becoming an increasingly serious problem. A survey conducted for the youth magazine Bravo and a study by the universities of Münster and Hohenheim showed that every second adolescent is at least 23 years old has already had contact with sexually explicit media content. The Bravo study also showed that around every tenth of the young people surveyed had already taken nude selfies or “pictures in erotic poses” of themselves by the age of 14. From a youth psychiatric point of view, there is a risk that early adolescents could develop the urge to try things out with their peers or younger people, in the worst case up to attempted or completed rape. There are reports of bullying victims of whom nude pictures were disseminated in class or at school, sometimes even after filming with their mobile phones while showering or using the toilet.

For the youth psychiatrist at the Charité , Sibylle Winter, the sexuality that is uncoupled from a love relationship in porn poses a threat to the mental health of adolescents. This could have a negative impact on the ability to bond emotionally well into adulthood. The chairwoman of the Innocence in Danger Julia von Weiler association calls for a smartphone ban for those under 14 to protect children and young people. The Federal Ministry of Family Affairs announced, among other things, that bans are only useful if they can be enforced; A blanket ban would also not do justice to the claim to enable children and young people to “fully participate in the digital world.” Education, involving providers and parents, is needed about which apps are suitable for children and which are not.

literature

Remarks

  1. ^ Jürgen Hüther: New Media. . Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  2. ↑ The study is too small to be representative; However, according to Spiewak, the findings match observations that can be made in many places. (Martin Spiewak: Tuition in Skepticism. Like, share, post. Now students and young teachers have to learn to distinguish facts from fakes. This can be decisive for democracy. In: Die Zeit . March 1, 2018, p. 35)
  3. ↑ Ruth Kiesinger: For clicking, swiping, knowing. Dealing with the new media is a future skill that rarely occurs in school. What has to happen for that to change. In: Der Tagesspiegel . March 4, 2018, p. 7.
  4. ↑ Digital specifications. In: Der Tagesspiegel . March 7, 2018, p. 4.
  5. ↑ “The little ones bake sand cakes and climb, the big ones look on their smartphones. In many playgrounds and at home, too, this has become part of everyday life. In the long run, the lack of active interaction can have unfavorable consequences for the parent-child relationship, experts warn. ”Article: Online parents are offline with their children. Constant web surfing disrupts family relationships. In: Der Tagesspiegel , June 21, 2018, p. 23.
  6. ↑ Quoted from Martin Spiewak: Tutoring in Skepticism. You can already like, share and post. Now students and young teachers must learn to distinguish fact from fakes. That can be crucial for democracy. In: The time . March 1, 2018, p. 36.
  7. ↑ Before everyone's eyes. Children learn about pornography as early as never before. Educators and politicians discuss media literacy and cell phone bans. What protects? In: Der Tagesspiegel , February 16, 2019, p. 2.
  8. ↑ Before everyone's eyes. Children learn about pornography as early as never before. Educators and politicians discuss media literacy and cell phone bans. What protects? In: Der Tagesspiegel , February 16, 2019, p. 2.