Information Sharing in New Media

New Media technology has given birth to a virtual world, one which masses are becoming heavily dependant of. It is hard to exist as a human being without having some form of digital footprint in cyberspace. The definition of ‘human being’ is changing, as our understanding of identity and society is mediated by cyberspace. Debra Shaw depicts this phenomenon with the phrase: “we may have ‘made’ these machines but now, in a very real sense, they make us.” (Shaw, 2008: 88)

Our relationship to information technology is radically changing, due to the fact that we are constantly connected to it. A subscriber to any particular content can be instantly notified of updates or new posts via SMS or emails. This allows our online pursuits to flow into our physical reality, blurring the distinctions of things like social media as being a recreational activity to being something we partake in constantly. Shaw elaborates here by stating that: “we are, in effect, constantly ‘plugged in’ to the technology through which this information is disseminated” (Shaw, 2008: 86)

We have established that New Media provides a platform for digital identities to develop. Many sites and applications are correlated so users can interact with them using one governing account. Internet users now share information of a vast variety, from what movie they are watching, to updates on their location, hosting representations of a user’s personal identity. Shaw points out that: “we either see technology as a threat to the coherence of the body or celebrate it as allowing us to escape from the ‘meat’.” (Shaw, 2008: 91) Here, Shaw refers to the idea that users are becoming digitized, because how we understand the world around us is owed to New Media technology.  

Bibliography:

Shaw, D (2008) ‘Technoculture’ New York - Oxford International Publishers

Pages 86, 88, 91