Impacts of Digital Media to the Society Research

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Impacts of Digital Media to the Society
Introduction
Currently, the most popular thing among the masses is the internet, which is followed closely by smart phones. Emergence of the internet has affected almost every aspect of life, ranging from media, trade, transport, communication, relationships, occupations, and education. People are now spending most of their time online virtually everyday especially young persons. Despite the fact that internet has got numerous positive effects in people’s day to day lives, there are also negative impacts of internet. This paper will be looking into how the internet has affected the media industry both positively and negatively. When it comes to the debate about digital media people are having different views concerning its effects on the society. There some people that are of the argument that digital media has led to the eroding of societal norms and therefore should be discouraged. They are of the opinion that digital media lacks necessary measures for regulating contents that are being aired posted on it. Those who are in support of the digital media argue that it provides real time news and one can access news from whichever place they are, so long as they have a gadget that can access internet (Dimitrova et al., 38) .
This essay examines different views that people have concerning digital media and its impacts on the society.
Overview of Digital Media
According to Dimitrova et al., digital media is defined as any digitized contents such as graphics, audio, texts, and video that can be transmitted or accessed via the internet or computer software or networks (par. 2). The popularity of digital media has constantly been growing because they are easy to access and easier to use and are very engaging and entertaining at the same time. It is a combination of both technology and content, and its creation needs a team of different skills like technological skills, analytical skills, and artistic skills. All of these skills are needed to create digital media. Most of the digital media products can be accessed via social media, e-Commerce, animations, augmented reality, websites and mobile applications and television. Since the discovery of digital media, there have been so many improvements that have made in the media industry. The internet has made it easier to get almost everything that people need in their day to day lives (Wei and Douglas 226).
Impacts of Digital Media
According to WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, a research that was conducted on 5,000 people concerning their view or stand on the digital media, it was discovered that half of the people that responded concurred that their overall lives both socially and professionally had improved significantly as a result of digital media (Par.4). In addition to that it is important to note that only one person out of the seven respondents had contrary opinion or disagreed with the digital media. From that research alone, it can be deduced that the majority of people in the society has in one way or another benefited from the use of digital media. This does not mean that digital media has not affected people in a negative way, though they are not many and their views should not be ignored. Therefore, it is important to note that digital or internet media has got positive and negative effects on the society.
Positive Impacts of Digital Media
Out of the people who have experienced the positive effects of digital media are those individuals within work places or professionals. But this is not to say that people from other walks of life in the society have not experienced positive impacts of digital media. In today’s world, there are several internet-based sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace have made it easier for people of different ages to share and receive information in real time so long as their gadgets can access internet. Information can be received from friends, relatives, groups and/ or bloggers. One good thing that is unique about digital media is that people can revisit those videos that had interested them as many times as possible. This has been made possible with the advent of You Tube, where historic moments have been made available and can be accessed anytime and anywhere. Other than accessing information in a much easier way, the majority of people that have participated in various surveys that have been conducted concerning the effects of digital media in their lives, responded that digital media has improved their ability to learn as well as developing professionally. This includes their ability to perform their duties perfectly, create relationships and collaborate with their colleagues at their various workplaces (Wei and Douglas 226).