Week 2 - Topic 1 - "newness of media"

Is technology keeping up with the demands of society, or does society have to keep up with the developments of technology?

People have argued that capitalist societies are what has produced new media, but nowadays is this necessarily the case? Now technology is shaping society to some extent because its constant developments now need us having to upgrade to keep up with technology. Although it hasn’t happened yet, people are turning to digital within the next few years and they haven’t got a choice in this, therefore is this an example of us having to keep up with technology. As a whole society we have not chosen for this to happen, the developments of technology are enabling us to use media for the better by going to digital.

Obviously this is just one example, and it is still the case that our society does have a constant demand for new media, (our demand for new media could be an example of why it is still called new media, because we need the reassurance that it’s still new and exciting?) but it still shows that technology is advancing at a faster pace. XXXXX

I’m not sure, but the fact it has to be new could link in with the next point of “ideology of progress.” As a society I think progress within new media is a requirement, people want or “have” to have the latest technology. Civilisation has to keep up with the latest trends, that’s part of the new media culture in my opinion. If technology stopped progressing, what would happen to the ideology of progression??