The advent of the new media has ensured that there is a whole new wave of media content available for consumption by users. What is interesting to note is that this content is not always generated at the hands of professional media persons, but can also come from regular citizens looking to upload ‘news updates’ and the like.
In this day and age when computers, cameras and mobile phones have become handy gadgets; it is no surprise that people are finding it extremely easy to upload all kinds of content on the Internet – at the mere click of a button. Everything from election videos to drunken party pictures can end up on the Internet at various websites.
The popularity of social networking sites such as ‘Face book’ and ‘My space’ have made it relatively easy for content to be passed around the world, whether it is of relevance or not being immaterial. Further, discussion boards are being used to send messages and post comments about this content.
Discussion boards about various issues have become commonplace today
We are now living in an era where the world has become so close that everyone knows about everyone else, more importantly they want to know. No matter how trivial the matter, people are happy to devote time and energy to reading, watching and listening to updates about it. We are truly living in a ‘global village’, where nothing can be hidden from anyone.
Although all of us are affected by this new phenomenon, the softest targets are celebrities and public figures. Nothing they say or do can ever be private, with dozens of cameras and recorders willing to record their actions and words for the world to enjoy.
Wasted Prince = Wasted News Space
A classic example would be the British royals. Prince William and Prince Harry have been in the spotlight quite regularly in current times, mostly for the wrong reasons. Recently, Prince Harry was photographed pushing a photographer and later trying to maintain his balance, while allegedly in a drunken stupor. The incident was splashed across the Internet, with a discussion board on a website carrying a series of pictures, with supporting text, highlighting the activities of the prince. The headline read, “Prince Harry royally drunk”. The caption that followed stated, “Oh those British Royals… such an interesting lot, eh? Just weeks short of his deployment to Iraq, Prince Harry had to get his swerve on and chase a little tail.”
One of the pictures that was splashed across the Internet, and then endlessly discussed by one and allA discussion ensued, with viewers commenting on the state of the prince, his regular place in the news and so on. But surprisingly there were some people who spoke of how trivial the matter was and how this could happen to anyone at all. Yet, these were the very people who accessed this website, saw the pictures and actually felt the need to leave a comment.
This just goes to show that there is actually an audience for this kind of content and they are therefore being catered to. The demand for this ‘news’ just goes to show that we are headed towards a state where news will consist of only sensational content like this one. Yellow journalism is already taking over the main, more serious news; but with the inclusion of user-generated content and citizen journalism, there might be no place for the real issues to feature as news.
This is indeed a sad state of affairs. After all, the mass media has a definite role of informing the public and shaping public opinion. That is being completely undermined by the wide availability and fast consumption of petty ‘news’ and unimportant content that is cluttering the mass media today.
It is high time that the digital movement was channelized to facilitate the good of society. If used in a way to assist the traditional media in promoting content that is of actual use to the public and serves them well, the new media could change the face of communication for the better.
But ultimately it is demand that will shape the course of the media content in the future. Hence, it is for us to decide whether we are willing to initiate a change now or lose out to the glamour of technology forever.
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