Claire Bernat

English 10 New Media

8 February 2021

Mr. Barazzuol

 The impact of new media

Media is something we are constantly surrounded by, we always have music in our earphones or the television playing in the background however these days we tend to use New Media much more than traditional media. New media is on-demand and interactive unlike old media, one can use new media whenever wherever and they can decide what they want to watch or listen to. Our use of media is fragmented, one can go from watching TV to looking up a recipe on their phone. Because there are so many different devices that can do different things almost everything is accessible at people’s fingertips. However, with all this media available for everyone it can become increasingly dangerous. These days anyone can post online, no fact check of the material they are posting is needed. If they have the intent to spread fake information that can hurt someone it is incredibly easy to do it. This is why everyone needs to learn to use media in a healthier way. According to Clay Shirky an NYU professor, “We tend to, in lots of studies, eat more and less well when we’re exposed to larger amounts of food, and larger portions, and larger varieties.” referring to new media this means that because people have access to all this media we tend to use it for longer, unhealthy amounts. I think a way to be healthier on the internet one should start setting timers for themselves to prevent the endless scrolling they can do. Another way people can be healthier on the internet is by fact-checking the articles they are reading. It never hurts to double-check an article before sharing it. When selecting what news articles to read make sure to stick to credible news sources and use common sense if it doesn’t sound right it’s probably not real. It is almost impossible to go a day without interacting with some kind of media and this really shows that our life has really impacted the way people live their lives and well it can be a great thing that helps us learn and grow it can also be a way for people to spread misinformation and spread fear.