The capability of new information and communication technologies, such as the Internet, encompass a wide continuum, ranging from interactive information retrieval, to one-to-one, group, or mass communication modes. While television requires a passive audience, that simply watches the screen and is handed the information, the Internet allows users to reach in and communicate with the world that is literally at the touch of their fingertips.
The Internet is very unique. It is a multifaceted communication medium, that has numerous consequences on the political, economical, and social aspects of society. The Internet allows users to fulfill both cognitive and affective needs such as surveillance, information learning, entertainment, personal identity, social interactions, companionship, and a way to escape.
The article from the Journal of Adolescent Health entitled "New Media Technology and Youth: Trends in the Evolution of New Media," written by Frank Biocca states that computers are "a family of intelligent information technologies." This computer medium is evolving more rapidly than radio and television. It takes on new and various shapes, different configurations of input and output devices, and various screens. The content presented in constantly increasing, changing and evolving.
Biocca quotes a conservative estimate that says there are more than 8 million pages on the World Wide Web, and this number is constantly increasing. This number is doubling every six months and this quote was from 2000. He estimates that by the year 2020 more than 90% of the words, images, sounds, videos, and third-dimensional worlds produced with be located somewhere on the Internet. Most of this can be accessed for free, or for a very small fee.
Information is expanding and access to it is becoming easier. Networked information will continue to grow for the next 10-20 years. The number of access points to this information is also increasing in number, variety, and mobility.
Thousands of computer networks are electronically connected with backbone telecommunications hardware, such as telephone links, fiber optics, and satellites.
The article "Perceived Gratifications of Online Media Service Use Among Potential Users" by Carolyn A. Lin found in the journal of Telematics and Informatics says that online media content has the capacity and ability to supplement traditional media content because it supplies broader content choices and provides alternative delivery modes. Many news organizations often provide separate online services to supplement their traditional media operation. Online media content cannot replace the effectiveness of the quality of content presentation of other forms of media, nor can it achieve the visual quality of print media.
Lin also describes a recent national survey that indicates that 53% of online users sent e-mail, 41% communicated with colleagues, 30% sought news, 23% participated in discussion and chat groups, 19% accessed entertainment information, 14% gathered financial information, and 7% played games.
The Internet is growing at a tremendous rate and will continue to do so in the future. The article "How Much Information Is There In The World?" that is written by Michael Lesk, found online, estimates that the number of Internet users is in the tens of millions, and this will soon grow to be one billion.
Consumption of Information
The report by UC Berekeleys School of Information and Management Systems also focused on the consumption of media in US Households in 1992 and 2000. There was a significant increase in the amount of hours the US Households spent watching television, recording music, watching home videos, playing video games, and especially using the Internet. Television is the medium that had the most hours of consumption, although there was only a 4% increase in the actual number of hours that US Households spent watching. Radio had the second largest number of actual hours, followed by music and then newspapers. The Internet has the lowest number of total hours spent is actual use, although it had a 2,050% increase, which was the largest and most drastic increase.
The article found in the journal Technology in Society entitled "The Impact of the Internet of a Television-based Society," written by John Havick describes six properties of mass media. These include: the size of the audience, heterogeneity of the audience, anonymity of the audience, speed of transmission, transitory nature of the information, public availability of the message, and whether the communicator is an organization or an individual. Variations in the properties provide the characteristics that distinguish the impact of the medium.
The differences between the properties of television and the Internet explain the impact of the new medium. The audience of the Internet is extremely large. The speed of transmission is instant and is available to everyone who has access at their conveinance. Communicators on the Internet vary and can be the largest organization, or any individual with a certain message or idea. The properties of the Internet are different from any other medium and these differences make its impact tremendous.
The growth of the Internet can be linked to many factors. Financial factors are extremely important because the Internet requires equipment, such as personal computer, a modem, and a server connection. Skill is also required. Users must have the knowledge and ability to find and use the information that is available on the Internet. The user must be literate and able understand the information. Internet users are often more affluent and educated than non-users. People with a greater education and income are more likely to be attracted to and need the information on the Internet. Information on the Internet is also recalled more easily, because it is often stored on countless computers. Television is transitory, and users must be watching at a specific time to catch the information. The Internet offers a different type of surveillance and newsgathering. Individuals can easily be a reporter or sender of information. This makes various information available to more people because there is no gatekeeper to choose what information should be released or broadcast, as in television.
The Internet provides access to many resources, including many on-line databases. The Internet is a way to obtain vast amounts of information and also provides a cost-effective way for disseminating information. Interactive Web sites and agents provide marketers with information relating to customer preferences. Manufacturers of all types of product can conduct sales on-line. Business-to-business transactions and other economic activities can easily be carried out.
Communication is the biggest reason why people use the Internet. They found that about 610 billion emails are sent per year, while there are about 2.1 billion static Web pages. Electronic mail has become extremely popular, making interpersonal communication one of the main reasons that that people use the Internet. Email provides speed and flexibility of the telephone, with the conveinant written form of mail. Email allows users to communicate to all parts of the globe, rather than just seek information. This communication has positive social consequences in peoples everyday lives.
Production of Media Content
The report published by UC Berkeleys School of Information and Management Systems describes three important facts concerning the production of media content. The first is the "paucity of print." Printed materials make up an extremely small percentage of the total amount of information.
The second fact is the "democratization of data." Because of new technologies and forms of media, individuals can create and store vast amounts of information. This is a fairly new trend. Ordinary people now have access to large amounts of information and can create and disseminate information very easily. Democracy is truly enhanced when members of a society have the ability, knowledge, and resources to produce and distribute information as they please.
The third fact is the "dominance of digital." Digital information makes up the largest amount and is growing at the fastest rate.
A report published by the University of California Berkeleys School of Information Management and Systems measured the amount of information that is used and stored today. There are four ways to store information: on paper, film, optical, and magnetic. The biggest medium for storing information is magnetic storage. Digital information is growing at an extremely rapid rate. Printed documents make up the smallest amount. Documents that are printed make up only .003% of the total amount of information.
Printed information is stored in books, newspapers, periodicals, and office documents. Film includes photographs, cinema and movies, and X-rays. Optical storage includes music CDs, data CDs, and DVDs. Magnetic storage includes camcorders, PC disk drives, departmental servers, and enterprise servers. The biggest medium for storing information is magnetic storage. Digital information is growing at an extremely rapid rate and magnetic storage is quickly becoming the universal medium. Printed documents make up the smallest amount. Documents that are printed make up only .003% of the total amount of information.
Printed information is stored in books, newspapers, periodicals, and office documents. Printed documents make up the smallest amount. Documents that are printed make up only .003% of the total amount of information. The article "How Much Information Is There In The World?" that is written by Michael Lesk, says that the United States manufactures 38 million tons a year of the kind of paper that is used for writing and printing documents. The number of books published is close to 900,000 and there are almost 10,000 newspapers.
Printed versions of documents are superior to other forms in terms of high quality of printing, their ability to be transported easily, and the long tradition of printed versions that are used in everyday life.
Film includes photographs, cinema and movies, and X-rays. Optical storage includes music CDs, data CDs, and DVDs. Lesk says that there are almost 52 billion photographs taken each year in the world.
The biggest medium for storing information is magnetic storage, which includes camcorders, PC disk drives, departmental servers, and enterprise servers. Electronic formats are based on data being updated, modified, or manipulated easily. This medium also allows users to search through vast amounts of information very quickly. So far, electronic journals have not threatened printed journals. Electronic newspapers cannot easily compete with other sources of information because people are less willing to pay money for them. The coverage in electronic newspapers is also thought to be less than that of printed newspapers. Also, the same information can be obtained from radio and television quite easily.
Household Media Use
Todays average household is saturated with media. Most households have most of the media venues, with the exception of computer and video game systems and youth often have many types of their own personal media. Our culture is immersed is media, and the use of media continues to grow at an extremely rapid rate. Age, gender, and race or ethnicity, and socioeconomic level are factors that often affect the amount of media exposure.
The article "Internet to Stimulate Traditional Media Use through 2003," by Hoke Communications, found in the journal of Direct Marketing, describes a recent report on trends in media consumption. The report found that Americans spend close to 10 hours a day consuming various forms of media. The Internet is expected to stimulate media use in a range of different categories because it provides access to books, recorded music, and television. The total amount that the US spent on media in 1998 was $461.8 billion, and is expected to reach $663.3 billion by 2003. Americans will spend more this year on media that on food, as communications moves past food to become the sixth largest industry in the US. Communications is the second fastest growing industry after telecommunications.
The statistical data found in the article "Yearly Media Use by U.S. Households," by Faulkner & Gray Inc., measured the number of hours that US Households spent using different types of media in 1992 and 2000. Television increased 4% and was the most often used media. Radio use decreased by 8%, while recorded music increased 15%. Newspapers are also on the decline, decreasing 10%. Book use decreased 4% and magazines decreased 6%. The media that changed the most were home videos, video games, and the Internet. Home video use increased by 30% and video games increased by 126%. Although Internet use took up the least number of hours, it increased by 2050% from 1992 to 2000. This proves the astonishing and very rapid growth of the Internet in our society.
The article "Media and Youth: Access, Exposure, and Privatization," written by Donald F. Robert and found in the Journal of Adolescent Health discusses a study of adolescents. The study found that American youth devote more time to media than to any other activity, as much as one-third of each day. The availability of media venues in households was also studied. Of the houses represented, more than 97% have televisions, VCRs, and audio systems, 70% have video game players, and more than two-thirds have personal computers. This data shows that the typical adolescents household has three television sets, three tape players, three radios two VCRs, two CD players, one video game player, and one computer.
The study also found that many children have multiple media in their own rooms, which have turned in "mini-media centers." In this sample report, tow-thirds of the adolescents reported having a television in bedroom, more than one-third have their own VCR, and 15% have premium cable channels. Almost 96% had some, if not many, audio systems. Video game systems were found in 45% of their rooms, and 21% have a computer. This data shows that the typical adolescent has access to many different types of media.
Television is the dominant medium. The article "A Normative Study of Family Media Habits" by Douglas A. Gentile and David A. Walsh, found in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, presented a study of family media habits and the effects that these habits have on children. The study estimates that the average American child between 2 and 18 spends 5 hours and 48 minutes a day with electronic media and 44 minutes a day with print media. Television dominates media use among children. The study found that 58% of the families that were surveyed leave the television on during dinner. This affects family time, because instead of communicating with one another, they are watching and listening to the television.
Print media is slowly becoming less and less popular, especially among children. Children seem to be more interested in the electronic media, such as television and the Internet. This is discouraging because print media and the amount of time spent reading contributes to improving vocabulary, general knowledge, spelling, and verbal ability.
In the article "Dear Data Dog: Whatever Happened to the Automated House,"found in the journal of American Demographics, the Strategist Group predicts that the number of US Households with Internet access will double from 49 million today to more than 90 million by 2004. They also predict that by 2005, the number of broadband, cable modem and DSL, residential Internet connections will outnumber dial-up access. This broadband capability increases the speed and capability of the system and allows users to link computers, televisions, music systems, printers, scanners, and many other digital devices. Households are becoming automated, allowing users to use, create, obtain, and share a wide variety of information.
Internet use is drastically increasing among todays young people. Many young adults use the Internet for a variety of different reasons. Communication is one of the biggest reasons why people are using the Internet. The most popular activities are e-mail and instant messaging. There is also a rising interest in downloading music and videoconferencing. The article "Online Use Study Shows Future," written by John C. Dvorak, found in Boardwatch Magazine, says that many young adults prefer online activities to watching the television or talking on the phone. There is a growing interest in these online technologies.
Young adults have been raised and educated with computers. They have been exposed to the Internet for most of their lives. These young adults are sharing their knowledge and skills in using the Internet and new technologies with their parents, creating a new form of quality family time. Dvorak states that online use grows as people get older and have a greater need for information and communication technologies.
Using the Internet has many benefits. Online use strengthens school and social skills. High levels of Internet use have been found to lower communication because it decreases the amount of time an individual spends with other humans.
Worldwide Production of Data
The report by UC Berkeleys School of Information and Management Systems proves that there is an enormous amount of information produced and used today. The worlds production of information amounts to between 1 and 2 exabytes of information, which is about 250 megabytes for every person on earth. The US produces 35% of all print materials, 40% of the images and over 50%of the digitally stored content that is produced in the world each year.
The article found in the journal of Technology In Society entitled "Globalization and Technology: How will they change society" by K. Chareonwongsak emphasizes that mass media is becoming more and more important in the world. Globalization will enable digital technology to shape societies around the world. Data and images that are constantly being transmitted will bring changes in various social and cultural structures.
The global culture that is found in powerful economic countries will influence traditional cultures because these countries dominate the mass media. Dominant countries have an economic advantage over poorer countries and can therefore produce and disseminate much larger amount and scope of information. Prosperous economies will drive technology forward through capitalism. People become exposed to information about economic opportunities and demand access to higher and more advanced standard of living.
Globalization also results in greater individualism as it diffuses technology at the personal level. Individuals can produce and disseminate information. They can voice their ideas and spread their opinions without great economic resources. New technologies allow users to order movies, shows, news, books, documentaries, and other forms of information and entertainment as they wish. Manufacturers can cater specifically the needs of their customers. Businesses can listen and respond to customers immediately.
The Moores Law asserts that "computer power doubles every 18 to 24 months." The high-tech communication and rapid transit systems in the world have created a global village. This has caused an enormous diffusion of knowledge. The exchange of information and knowledge continues to increase, leading to a quicker accumulation and exchange of knowledge. The amount of information and knowledge continues to increase and the way that people use and exchange this information is rapidly changing.
