Today, the term global village which was coined by McLuhan is mostly used as a metaphor to describe the Internet and World Wide Web. According to McLuhan modern communication technologies such as radio and television globalize communication by allowing users from all levels of society around the world to easily connect with each other and exchange ideas instantaneously. We are to a large extent dependent on regular contact with the new media for information, entertainment ,ideas ,opinions and many other things all of which are connected to our attempt to make sense of who and what we are. The growth in the technology sector is so high that it has made us addicted to it and does not let us function without its presence in our lives. As “McLuhan said that technologies are the extensions of the human body” hence the recent new media technology to be discussed here would be the Internet.

Most people, when asked to describe new media, refer almost instantly to the Internet (Lohr, 2003). Internet has made the world a very small and close place to live in where one can be updated with all the major happenings around the world in fraction of seconds. Internet provides us with lot of information on one particular topic and also saves time. No matter what the age or the circumstance would be it is very necessary for people to communicate with each other. Communication is a prerequisite for each activity. However, when considering newer automated communication systems, the factor of access to new media becomes very important. Recent work demonstrates that today’s generation of older adults lag far behind their younger counterparts, particularly with respect to the adoption of computer technology and the Internet. So the internet is considered to be the fastest and the easiest mode of communication from which one can email, make new friends all across the globe, download ,share views, pictures ,blogs, ideas and much more. The plethora of media channels - email, newspapers, magazines, books, Web logs, chat rooms, voice calling , video conferencing – are available with a computer, microphone, a Web camera, and a connection with the internet. One barrier access to price of technology (National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 1998) is no longer a significant factor for most Americans. Even the prices of the computers have been plummeting in these recent years. In 2003, low-end computer systems cost less than U.S$500, which is equivalent to a week’s wages of an American worker. With the increasing availability of broadband access (compared to dial-up telephone line access), quick and efficient connections to the Internet are within reach of most Americans either at work, at home, or through public libraries. Probably the most frequently used one-way communication form of new- media is the Web page. In addition this technology have made it possible to ‘capture’ messages in a very physical form (photographs, film, tape recordings) which in turn has led to historical permanence or records and the sense of history is thus affected. Certain features on the internet such as the video conferencing are very much helpful for those who cannot afford studying abroad or have certain other commitments and at the same time can pursue their education without any major barriers. Distance learning has made lives much easier and even many universities have opted for this as they have good amount of students approaching them with a positive feedback. Video conferencing also helps at executive levels for presentations and seminars with a broader view to the situation and also get a good feedback to the whole project.

Computer users can just connect to the Internet, open a specialized piece of software called browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla, Safari) and can easily access Websites and their corresponding billions of pages containing information on virtually any topic of human knowledge. Generally all the information provided is a free source except a few but at the end it makes our work easier and faster. There are huge numbers of search engines which specialise in indexing provide a huge amount of information on each and every topic and hence make’s the task of searching easier. Internet today is very useful in every aspect but as we say that there are two sides of every coin, internet also has its own abuses. Then come in the picture are the social networking sites which help people get connected with their old mates and also make new relations worldwide. This can be dangerous as we don’t know what the person in reality is and there are chances of us slipping into wrong directions and putting our lives at risks. Online social networks and second life extend our sense of community but however they also diminish relationships based on face to face or say oral communications. The main emotional attachment is lost while one is getting involved through a medium of internet. With the heavy usage of internet the use of libraries has been decreased as everything is now available at a button press. The other forms of media such as the radio and newspapers are not very important as all of it is now there on the internet and each of us are addicted to it by some way or the other. E.g. a young student now prefers to sit on the internet and search for his particular subject rather going to the library as he can perform many more tasks while browsing for his subject matter. The number of websites made each day has increased to such an extent that even searching for a place is no more a difficulty with the use of Google maps and Google Earth.

The internet has indeed made a the world a small place to live with every aspect so close and clear to the human eye and reachable without any extra pain. The internet also provides with many more such websites which would not be suitable for the youth and might lead them to wrong directions at a very young age. With the internet coming into use the time given to other activities has become less and more and more people are getting addicted to this. This has majorly affected the media market. The amount of people watching television and performing other activities has declined due to the internet. Today new media seems to be a synonym for the Internet, but this interpretation in practice has many complications. Research that oversimplifies the Internet as a homogenous, constant medium thus seriously misses important opportunities to explain the very phenomena it seeks to explain, namely new media affects (Bimber, 2000; McQuail, 2006; Sassenberg, 2002; Walther, Gay and Hancock, 2005). Much of the new media debate is rooted in the idea that the new media will radically alter human dynamics, either by introducing largely new problems or by eliminating existing concerns. The availability of the internet for example, has forecast for some of a decline in the individual connectedness which completes with an image of lonely and isolated people typing away at computer terminals. For example in 1998 Kraut et al, asked whether the internet might be a “social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being” (p.1017). On a different plane, it is common on college campuses to see students not listening to their lectures or talking to other people but have iPod plugged in their ears (Rayner, 2006). Thus this new technology can affect the large masses and the other media in many ways if not used in the right direction and in particular limits.

These above ideas discussed so far regarding the internet tell us how it has taken over the human mind and also is affecting other innovative products in the media market. The data from this study reflects that internet has ill effects as well as good effects on the mankind and the media market. These are more likely to be the pro’s and con’s of the recent new media technology . Lastly to sum up the we all know that the Internet is a very useful innovation by man but all of it is dependent on the mass as to how they overcome the bare facts of it and certainly get the best out of it.

References:

Bimber, B. (2000). The study of information technology and civic engagement. Political Communication,
17, 329-333.

Kraut, R., Lundmark, V., Patterson, M., Kiesler, S., Mukopadhyay, T., & Scherlis, W. (1998). Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being?
American Psychologist, 53, 1017-1031.

Lohr, S. (2003,May 11). “Newmedia”: Ready for the dustbin of history? New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. New York: McGraw-Hill.

McQuail, D. (2006). Editorial introduction. European Journal of Communication, 21, 291-293.

National Telecommunications and Information Administration. (1998). Falling through the NET II:
New data on the digital divide. Retrieved May 5, 1999 from http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/ net2/falling.html Rayner, P. (2006). A need for postmodern fluidity? Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23,
345-349.

Sassenberg, K. (2002). Common bond and common identity groups on the Internet: Attachment and normative behavior in on-topic and off-topic chats. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice,
6, 27-37.

Walther, J. B., Gay, G., & Hancock, J. T. (2005). How do communication and technology researchers study the Internet? Journal of Communication, 55, 632-657.