Old media VS new media
You can’t teach an old
dog new tricks… but you can tweet about it
Old media has a few aliases. Legacy media, traditional
media, and heritage media – all of them refer to the mass communication
techniques that have existed since the first newspaper, which was published in
59 B.C. in Rome
(the first printed newspaper was
published in 1605, but B.C. sounds more impressive so let’s go with that). This
industry comprises television, radio, film and music (studio), newspapers,
magazines and books.
Then we move onto a sort of transitional phase, of Web 1.0 –
the Information Web. Basically, Web 1.0 is old media but just on the computer,
as media in the form of ‘brochure-ware’ is repurposed for the web. The focus
for the Information Web is on companies, as it is very advertising friendly.
New media is most frequently used today. Web 2.0 is the
Social Web and is brimming with new media. Facebook, Skype, Twitter are all
part of a group of digital technologies that are easily manipulated, networkable,
and interactive. Digital interactivity is
the key here and the focus is shifted to social groups and ‘prod-users’ (Alex
Bruns, 2005). Web 3.0 is, in a sense, the ‘new new’ media, but I will be
examining basic old media and new media for the purpose of my analysis.
The link below leads to my personal Media Use Diary over a
10-day period, divided into old and new media, and then various specific
outlets within those. Some basic assumptions when reading the entries are as
follows:
- The term use defines an instance in where I am actively involved in a media
form, as opposed to exposure. During
the course of each day it can be assumed I was exposed to various different
media forms (e.g. radio, television, text, etc. through background music,
advertising etc.) and these have not been accounted for.
- Each 'day' refers to the period
between when I wake up and when I go to sleep, and is not based on a 24-hour
period. For example, one 'day' may span between 10a.m. in the morning and 1.00
a.m. that night depending on when I am active.
- I have often accessed multiple forms
of media simultaneously, for example listening to music or watching television
whilst using the internet. In these cases, the time spent has been used for
each individual category. That is, if I spent one hour on Facebook while
listening to music, one hour would be allocated to both the 'Facebook' and
'iPod' column.
- I have not distinguished between
time spent using media for leisure or for academic use except when mentioned in
annotations. It can be assumed, however, that use of newspapers, Blogger and
specific websites listed are for studying purposes.
- Annotations in TV entries depict the
genre of program watched for analytical reasons, as do locations in iPod and
radio entries.
- A greyed-out entry signifies no use
for that day.
My media use diary can be found by clicking HERE.
Something has
happened!
Taking a peek at what we’ve actually been doing all this
time
To effectively decipher what my media use and that of my
peers indicates, I will explain what the
graphs show, why these results have
occurred, and any personal patterns that
are evident.
NEW MEDIA
What?
The shiny blue gradient says it all – I spent over three
quarters of my time accessing media on new media (online and electronic). This
amount is actually less than I predicted it would be, as my use of newspapers,
books, radio and television is more of an occasional practice than a strict
pattern like my internet use. I use Facebook and Tumblr virtually every day, as
can be seen in my media diary. My use of magazines and newspapers especially,
however, is scattered in the table, although the ‘Dazed & Confused’ column
shows a slight pattern – the length of time between my purchase of the
publication, and completion of reading. New media is ongoing and infinite, as I
can hop onto Facebook every single night and be guaranteed of hilarious(ish)
updates from friends, news from pages I’ve ‘liked’ and even just communication.
Why?
Personally, I don’t possess much interest in news or current
affairs, and so my reasons for picking up a newspaper are limited unless I
happen to feel like seeing what’s happening. If I desire news, I am more likely
to obtain it from Facebook or a quick Google search, or simply asking my family
and friends.
Additionally, I’ve have a solid habit of accessing Facebook
and Tumblr, and other new media forms on a frequent basis. As well as taking up
time that could be used on old media, I favour new media for both informative
and entertainment purposes. All these reasons result in a nice chunk of blue
wedge that makes me very hip, trendy, and up-to-the-minute, if not slightly
uneducated.
Patterns:
In my media use diary, it’s pretty clear how I favour new
media. My use of old media is scattered and unpredictable, and usually just
depends on what I feel like at the time. Conversely, my use of new media is
daily and often constant, and I spend, on average, over six hours per day
indulging in it.
What?
Finally, my excessive online use reveals itself. While most
of my peers spend 2-4 hours online per day, I am part of less than 5% of us who
sit on the blagoblag for five to six hours (as indicated by the red text), at an average of 5.1 hours per day. If only
I resisted the urge to check my newsfeed, I could have dropped down to the
lovely purple wedge and been a little less ashamed. Considering over 77% of my
media use is new media and of that mostly online, it’s a little comforting…
maybe everyone else is simply drooling over the ham radio for 5 hours a day.
Why?
The reason everyone is accessing the internet for at least
one a day is as simple as the Web 2.0 phenomenon. If we don’t log on for at
least a short amount of time, we feel disconnected and cut off from our social
groups and in essence the world. While some people don’t even have Facebook and
are using the internet solely for studying, it’s still a vital part of our
everyday lives and a mere 3.2% of JOUR1111 students go without at least an hour
per day. 3.6% require (or desire) over six hours, and the observation that more
people are extreme internet users than limited internet uses reinforces my
notion that we all love to connect online.
Patterns:
While the only pattern we can assume from the survey results
is that most of the students connect for a few hours, my media diary reveals
more detailed patterns of my own. It can be noted that nearly every day I
access Facebook, Tumblr and some mode of personal finance. In the course of a
note, you can deduct that I check my Facebook, do a bit of tumbling and check
and work on my money. About every second day I use Blogger for uni, and this
simply comes down to the fact that I don’t have something valuable to blog
about every day.
What?
Of all those who completed the survey, it’s as obvious as a
fish slapping your face that Facebook’s a hit. General surfing and browsing,
emailing and study also ranked up, and I’m a bit taken aback that only 10% of
JOUR1111 students are avid tweeters.
Why?
While previously I assumed that some people must be studying
for hours a day to result in such high levels of internet use survey-wide, I am
corrected. Nearly 92% of JOUR1111 students spend most of their time on
Facebook, which is handy because we can all have a chat online about how we
should be studying. General surfing and browsing is a popular pastime of
prod-users, and the significant emailing figure can again be attributed to Web
2.0’s introduction of frequent online communication. As a lot of study is only
possible, and sometimes just easier, online, this explains why almost half of
those surveyed recurrently use the internet for studying purposes.
Patterns:
Although the sites I access vary slightly from day to day, I
roughly use the same sites every day and for around the same lengths of time.
This comes down to my habitual relationship with journalism and communication
media, which will be fully explained later.
What?
For once, I’m part of the in-crowd,
as I too consider Facebook as my second home like the other 91.9% of my peers.
I’m not a huge downloader at all, as reflected in the empty columns for
streaming and downloading activities. Only 5.6% of those surveyed played LAN
games, so again I’m in the majority with those that don’t (I prefer my gaming
handheld and 90s’esque, hello Simpsons Road Rage on GBA). I bank a little, shop
a little, and study a little, and these activities aren’t hugely frequent among
my peers either. Although I’m only online for study purposes 5.5% of the time,
I’m only studying part-time too, so don’t you judge me.
Why?
Firstly, my nonexistent downloading
and streaming results can be attributed to my personal preference. I simply
prefer to watch DVDs that I own or listen to music already on my iPod (I’m lazy
and also have an incredibly shoddy internet connection at home).
I don’t really feel inclined to
create a Skype, as, not surprisingly, I just turn to Facebook or sometimes
phone calls to connect with friends near and far. My peers use email about half
as much as they’re on Facebook, while I use it significantly less as clearly
evident on the above graph. This is because I can frequently check all of my
accounts on my phone or while I’m at home, and I do, because of my craving to
be constantly connected to everything and everyone. Similarly, I don’t ever
have a general browse of the internet, because I know exactly what I want to do
when I log in – obviously Facebook, perusing blogs, and just maybe a bit of
study.
Patterns:
The above graph illustrates the
typical online use for me on any given day. Although taken from averages, by
referring to my media use diary you can see that I always spend a great deal of
time on Facebook, quite a bit on Tumblr, a bit on Blogger for study, and
Twitter in short bursts.
What?
The results from the peer media
survey showed that the great majority of students didn't have a single Twitter
when answering the survey. I lay in the 1.8% minority (as indicated by the red
text) that had 2 Twitter accounts, although this isn't to say I spent more time
than them using the outlet. By viewing my personal media use diary, it can be
seen that I only accessed Twitter twice over the 10-day period, and the most
time I spent in one day tweeting was 15 minutes, which is a very insignificant
amount of my time spent online.
Why?
I have a personal Twitter as well as
my university Twitter. As there is a notable chunk for the 1 account sector, it
may be assumed that respondents were referring to a single personal Twitter and
excluding their new uni Twitter (for personal reasons or because they hadn’t
yet created it). In opposition, they may have only had their uni Twitter and
recorded this as owning 1; or (again, if they were yet to create it), they
would have selected the 0 option.
Patterns:
To examine Twitter patterns, I will
be referring to my own use of Twitter. I only logged on to the site twice in
the 10-day period, for 15 minutes and again for 8. I rarely use Twitter, and
when I do I don’t find it necessary to spend more than a few minutes on it.
This reflects both in the graph of my personal online use and also in that of
my peers, suggesting we are all a bit hesitant or easily bored by the platform,
or simply don’t need to use it heaps.
What?
Again, I lay in a minority. How
individual of me. Most people didn’t have any blogs, 28.9% had one, and I was
part of the 9.7% that had two. From my personal media use diary, it can be
observed that on average I spend 98.3 minutes online per day on my blogs, and
82.7% of this is my personal Tumblr and only 17.3% on my JOUR1111 blog.
Why?
The same question can be posed as
with the Twitter scenario; when answering the survey, did people take into
consideration both personal and university blogs, and had they even created the
latter? As a substantial 58.6% stated they had no blogs, it can be assumed they
were yet to create their JOUR1111 blog. This raises questions about the 1
wedge, though –were the people who said they owned one blog referring to a
personal or academic blog? From this chart alone, it is impossible to tell.
Patterns:
I frequently used both of my blogs
in a very obvious pattern. I use my Tumblr every single day for 81.3 minutes on
average, and my JOUR1111 Blogger for around 17, although I have days off from
this blog.
What?
As expected, 89.1% of respondents
choose to listen to music through an iPod or similar ‘smart’ device, as do I. A
close 74.1% use their computer, and just 42.8% actually use the radio. 27.5%
still use CDs which surprises me, and interestingly 6.3% use some other brand
of mp3 player.
Why?
Everyone loves Apple. That’s it. The
convenience and accessibility of an iPod, iPhone or similar smart phone is
quicker, easier and often more fun for users of music media. Both the iPod and
Radio wedges may be part of the in-car music access as depicted later on.
Online streaming and the ever-popular iTunes can be credited for three quarters
of us using our computer to listen to music, and as part of the CD-to-iTunes
journey, this sector can be linked with the grey CD sector.
Patterns:
It’s not tricky to tell how and why
I like my music by taking a squiz at my media use diary. I listen to my iPod
most days and for a decent amount of time, most often whilst commuting. Like
the car radio, I use my iPod as a time-filler to entertain myself while
travelling, rather than just as a leisure pursuit in my spare time.
OLD MEDIA
What?
Take that excessive
media use, I’m finally in a majority that isn’t
up the top of the scale. 29.9% of JOUR1111 students are like me, watching
around 1-2 hours of TV per day, and generally I favour comedy programming over
others, sometimes tuning in to reality shows. 26.9% follow closely behind,
watching less than one hour per day.
Why?
It’s interesting to note that most
people either watch no TV at all, or at least an hour. It is likely that once
they start watching, they watch an entire episode or two that they have
specifically planned to watch, rather than just sit down and channel surfing
for the night. This is true in my case, as a few patterns are evident in my
diary. I watch the same comedy programs for a few nights on GEM, and the same
reality program for the next few nights on Channel Ten. Mostly I go to 7 for
news, which is my primary news source for when I rarely want it.
Pattern:
There is not a broad pattern to my
television viewing, but some patterns occur over time spans of a few days. On
Sunday the 18th, I balanced some documentary viewing with the same
length of comedy, while I watched GEM for two consecutive days later in the week
and TEN for two days also. Another pattern of my television use is that I
generally prefer to watch comedies, and occasionally news; the atypical 40
minute figure for Saturday the 24th was the QLD election coverage.
What?
Like 82.9% of respondents, I listen
to radio primarily in the car and this can be seen in my media use diary. Interestingly,
while the majority of students only access this form of broadcast journalism
while travelling, the other means of listening are in roughly the same
proportions. 8.3% use their phone, 12.5%
stream online from home and 12% favour a digital radio, while 10.2% use god
knows what (do they sit inside the radio’s studio? Like seriously, how else do
you listen to radio besides a car, phone or an actual radio?! Who has
non-digital radios anymore anyway… cavemen).
Why?
Radio, although sustainable, is not
a hugely popular form of media. This explains why most of us tend to just turn
on the ol’ radio waves while we’re sitting bored in the car, as opposed to
curling up at home tuning in for the nightly serials.
Pattern:
I admit it; I’m your common
car-listener. It takes me about 25 minutes to be driven to work, and twice I
opted for Nova 106.9. Another day on a short 5-minute drive up to the shops, I
listened to B105. I don’t have radio favourites, it simply depends on which
one’s playing good music and isn’t broadcasting Frank Walker from National
Tiiiiiles.
Cue: ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ theme song
Our terribly dramatic relationships with JAC
It’s all about me:
My relationship with media is a
strong and consistent one. There is not a single day that I’m not dependent on
some form of media for at least a few hours, whether it’s bludging at home on
Facey until 2 a.m. or quickly updating my JOUR1111 blog before getting the
scoop on the election. While I am definitely dependent on journalism and
communication outlets, they are just as dependent on me; a symbiotic
relationship is shaped due to both my consumption and creation of media.
Watching television, listening to
radio and reading the newspaper – all old
media forms – are limited to being consumers, in most cases (excluding
talkback radio and editorials, etc.). But I only access old media 22.5% of the
time; the rest of my media use is spent adding comments on Facebook, updating
my Twitter with hilarious anecdotes, reblogging all of my favourite images on
Tumblr and writing content for this blog that’s not quite side-splitting.
It is difficult to determine the
exact ratio between my media consumption and creation, unless I was to log
everything I read versus everything I created which is a tad too obsessive,
even for me. On the whole, I believe that although I consume a great deal of
new media and some old media, I generate enough journalism and communication
matter to replenish what I’ve devoured.
And the other 99%?
Although the rest of my peers
possess a similar relation to JACS as I do, all of the graphs above, although
initially shameful for me, illustrate that there is a slight trend to consume
more than create. Most of the students surveyed didn’t have a blog, or a
Twitter, so their only new media production outlet was Facebook which acts both
as a media provider and accepter.
The general pattern is growing
though – that old media, while informative, is tedious and not as interactive
as people want. People are more inclined to use new media, even if just for
journalism consumption, as there is the option to network and contribute should
they fancy to. To receive the quality and speed of media that they want, my
peers and society in general yearn to have their say and let the wide world
know.
Maybe I’m just ahead of the times
(being incredibly hip and jiggy with it as usual). I almost have a daily conversation
with media – I add my input to the online conversation that is journalism, and
it responds by providing me with output to work with and enjoy. The more others
join in, the more there is to share, and the online empire grows as Web 3.0
sneaks in and the focus slowly transfers to individuals.
