What is New Media?

New media is an online way to exchange information. It is a relatively new method of collaboration which allows remote communication using the internet. What makes it “new” is the fact that it is on demand and makes for two-way communication. With previous, or “traditional” media such as the radio, books, television, and others, users are unable to interact with the media. It is a one-way conveyance from the publisher to the audience per say. New media consists of new platforms, for instance, social networking, smartphones, emails and live videos. These examples allow for that two-way communication as people can send messages online to peers, family and friends. There is also an option to comment on live videos and have conversations with other users at the same time. These types of media can be consumed in multiple different ways including social networking on a cell phone, games on a tablet or computer, and whoever is reading this is most likely using a laptop. These are all ways that media can be fragmented or used differently. Though while on the web, there is a good chance that information is false, or that the source may not be credible, but luckily there are some ways to spot that. If something doesn’t make sense or does not seem real, there is a great chance that is false information. The user may also look into who uploaded the post and when to see if the author is reliable. There are other ways to verify if your information is reliable or not, but one more thing that is important is to, “double check the information on a few different web pages” (Bedley 2017). That way the information is more likely credible. Even with fake news, media isn’t a bad thing, everyone must simply be aware of how they consume it.

Link to photo: https://familytravel.org/take-over-our-fta-social-media-in-2019/