Beat Journal 2

 This week I have generally been reading a lot of stories online that have reinforced just how often the average person uses different media. It’s amazing to think about how technology has changed over the years and how this has impacted the way we can access information. The question is however, whether all of these technological changes have been for the better. I’m not so sure that they have.

As we spend our lives rushing from place to place, it is very convenient to be able to check our e-mails on our phones and listen to our I-pods while we walk to work, but I feel that by multi-tasking we are losing touch with the real world. The French believe that eating is something that should be enjoyed by everyone, that we should sit at the table and eat slowly. This is how I feel about media consumption. Although it may sound ridiculous, I feel that we should take the time to read through our e-mails and answer them accordingly. It seems that we are all so impatient and can’t wait to move on to the next task at hand. Similarly, watching or reading the news should be something that everyone does on a daily basis. The more you read and are aware of the world, around you, the more interesting you will be as a person. It is evident that new technology is allowing us all to get lost in our own lives, so much so that we are becoming detached from the world around us.

A great deal of studies have been conducted to determine how younger generations are going to access the news in the future if they are not already doing so. It is believed that adolescents and young adults generally prefer to use the Internet as a way of communicating and interacting with others and thus they enjoy expressing their opinions and being active users. The website Digg.com is popular amongst younger people and encourages users to comment about stories they have read as a way of generating a discussion with other users. Some researchers have indicated that this type of interaction and use of online media is the way of the future for younger generations as it is the only way they can attract and encourage people to generate an interest in current affairs and the world around them. I can’t imagine how traditional journalists and newspaper junkies would react if the future of news gathering and reporting was solely based online, but if it means that people will learn about current affairs and the outside world, then I think it’s something we had all better get used to.

Young Americans are embracing new media but are failing to develop an appetite for news

This article tended to focus on the apparent lack of interest of college students and younger generations towards the news. Despite the fact that we use different media on a daily basis, studies have revealed that people are not generally using the media to receive news. This article even describes that online news is not even popular with adolescents and young adults and many people are curious as to why people just don’t seem to care about the world around them.

In my opinion, in contemporary society we all do exactly what we want, when we want to. For instance, many households have a couple of TV’s and so children are more likely to watch what they want (cartoons, movies) in another room, while their parents may be watching CNN or the local news. This article describes that cable television may be the reason for people’s lack of interest in the news as we all have the option to watch exactly what we want, to entertain ourselves at the end of a busy and perhaps stressful day. Thus, as the days and weeks go by, it is very easy to become completely detached from the real world and have absolutely no idea about current affairs. The article describes that reading the newspaper and watching the news is often formed by habit and because younger generations have not necessarily been exposed to this habit, they need to train themselves to do so.

The article also suggests that perhaps younger generations will express more of an interest in the news if they are given the opportunity to have a say and express their opinion. Users online are described to think of themselves as active, rather than passive users. They are therefore more likely to engage in news content if they are able to create, share and discuss it. Blogging is an example of this. We have already seen that the social networking sites, Facebook and Myspace are popular and allow users to be in control of their interactions and experience, so perhaps we are more likely to access the news in an interactive format. But, as this article concludes, I think it all comes down to the fact that we are self-absorbed and spend far too much time in our own worlds, doing what we want. It’s time for all of us to embrace the world we live in and express an interest in current affairs and what’s going on around us.

 

 

http://www.massinc.org/index.php?id=652&pub_id=2188&bypass=1

The average person spends more time using media than anything else

I found this article particularly interesting because it wasn’t just referring to college students but people in general and it was fascinating to read that the average person uses multiple media outlets on a daily basis. The study revealed that 30 percent of the day was spent with media as the sole activity versus 20.8 for work activity, while an additional 39 percent of the day was spent with media and some other activity. This caused me to think about how I spend my days and the different media that I use. I worked out that I use e-mail, my I-pod, watch television, speak on my phone, listen to the radio and surf the Internet at least twice a day. It surprised me that I have time to do use all of these media and attend classes and complete homework but I realized that I too am a multi-tasker. I often check my e-mails, while I’m on the phone and the TV is often turned on lightly in the background. It’s amazing to think that we can all concentrate with so many things going on at once but I guess I find it comforting when I’m working on an assignment to glance at the TV every now and then and it seems that I’m not the only one.

http://www.bsu.edu/news/article/0,1898,7273-962-36658,00.html

Reader Response 3- Stress Pains Many in College

Whilst this reading was somewhat bleak and depressing, it is important that surveys on college students are undertaken in order to gauge how students are coping with their day to day lives. This article revealed that some students are in fact struggling with the pressures they face from their classes, their friends and families as well as even from planning spring break. What is the world coming to if people are anxious and stressed about their vacation?

Perhaps a balance is the key to feeling good about yourself as it provides you with time to “chill out” and enjoy life, whether playing sport or spending time with friends, so that you feel revitalized and refreshed when it’s time to study.   No one can be expected to study all day, every day and this is what a number of surveys have revealed.  For instance, four in ten students have indicated that they endure stress often, while one in five say they feel it most of the time. College is meant to be fun and stimulating, not unbearable and overwhelming. Students are placing far too much pressure on themselves to succeed and finish on top, that it is completely ruining their lives and causing them to contemplate suicide as a way of simply escaping from all of it. This article reports that one in six students said they have friends who had discussed committing suicide in the past year, while one in ten said they have seriously considered it themselves.

If this is the case, it is time for students to take a good hard look at themselves and to question whether all of this stress and anxiety is really worth it. After all, you only live once and there is life after college, which will be filled with ups and downs. It is important to be able to know how to deal with the downs in order to make the most of what life has to offer. Students should be aware that they are not alone and that there are people they can talk to about the way they are feeling. Don’t be afraid to seek help. If you want my opinion, I believe that a healthy and balanced lifestyle is the key to success and happiness.

 

 

http://www.halfofus.com

Reader Response 2- Chelsea Clinton Speaks at OSU

It was really interesting to be able hear Chelsea Clinton speak about the upcoming election as well as advocate her mother, Hillary Clinton and indicate how she aims to make a difference as the potential first female president of America. I thought that it was appropriate that Chelsea spoke to a large group of college students because she is only 28 yrs old and she was therefore able to speak to students about how her mother plans to improve the situation for students through the implementation of Pell grants. She was also able to express how she can relate to college students and that she is aware of students’ struggle to pay off loans after they have graduated, as she has friends who are in similar situations.

It was also interesting to hear a number of different reasons why people chose to listen to Chelsea speak as well as how they were feeling about the upcoming election. Having the right to vote and to have your say in the future of the country is a right that allows you to make a difference. Whether or not you choose to vote for Hillary Clinton, it is important to vote for what you believe in and as college students, the future is in our hands.

 

 

http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2008/04/13/news/top_story/1aaaloc01_clinton.txt

Reader Response 1- The State of the News Media

 This article raises some interesting points about the future of journalism and how it changes on a yearly basis. Technology is recognized as a major influence over the role of a journalist in the modern world. It is also evident that we as consumers have the ability and the power to interact with journalists and to respond to their stories. Individuals now have more responsibility and command over how they choose to consume information. This article discusses the fact that we now have access to media and new information in a variety of platforms, which is thus changing the very nature of the traditional ways in which people receive the news. The move to online newspapers illustrates just one of the many ways the media industry has changed in order to suit the needs and demands of consumers to have unlimited access to news.

The article also suggests that the media industry is responding to such needs in order to protect the integrity and livelihood of the media sector, which seems to be losing popularity and perhaps, credibility. Apparently the number of people who go online for news is deteriorating and so in response to this, newspapers and Websites are banding together and dissolving the competition between these two media platforms, as a way of achieving their goals.

This article also indicates that many news businesses are attempting to redefine their appeal and their purpose by looking for “brand” or “franchise” areas of coverage to build an audience around. Thus the media are becoming more localised in an effort to appeal to consumers more directly by focusing more specifically on the news they cover. Even the author and chairman of the New York Times Company Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. is pessimistic about the future of one of the largest news company’s in the country. This article concludes by reinforcing that journalists now have to evaluate their roles and responsibilities as reporters in order to suit the technological changes and to serve the needs of consumers. As new media students, the influence of technology over the ways we can report the news as well as receive it, is something we should be aware of if we are to make a valid contribution to the media industry in the future.

 

 

http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.org/2007/narrative_overview_intro.asp?media=1

Beat Journal 1- Distant Communication

Although I belong to Generation Y, the way we communicate nowadays seems to be something that I am still getting used to. Gone are the days of personal and intimate communication between individuals, as we now often receive information and communicate through the Internet, via e-mail, texting or by talking to a computerized system. Rather than the traditional sending of invitations for birthdays or events, we are now reverting to the convenience of Facebook, the popular social networking site. Similarly, instead of meeting our lecturers and speaking face to face, we are more inclined to distance the level of communication and ask questions via e-mail with the hope that in a class of 100 students, we will remain anonymous.

What is the reason for all of this? Perhaps it is because we have all grown so impatient and demand information in a variety of ways twenty- four hours a day, seven days a week. Even television stations have catered to the need for the constant availability of content and information. A program like CNN manages to multi- task by reporting breaking news stories, keeping us updated on various happenings around the world, as well as telling us the weather forecast simultaneously. For instance, while we are shown graphic footage of a natural disaster in Asia, across the bottom of the screen are updates of the upcoming election as well as sport and weather reports. Thus, by watching CNN for just ten minutes it is possible to find out the latest information and updates on current affairs. TV however is just one of the many ways that we can access this information as we also have our cell phones, the Internet, the radio as well as extensive daily coverage in newspapers.

Whilst electronic ways of communicating are somewhat convenient as a result of the busy lives we lead, it could be argued that we are losing touch with the real world, which can be damaging to our level of social skills. Talking to a computer every time we want to book a plane or bus ticket or check movie schedules may be efficient and favourable for some, but we must consider how this will effect the communication skills of the next generation. How will they cope in “offline” situations with fellow students and professors? The routine of “communicating” via the Internet may be problematic for the next generation in the long-term if they are required to apply for a job interview or speak to customers. Perhaps I am too pessimistic about the influence of technology, but I feel that the rapid and ever-changing ways that we communicate in the modern world need to be addressed, if we are to progress and learn from each other in the future.