Media Technology

There are many different forms of communication technology used across the world today. As technology advances, methods of communications will too. Communication channels disseminate information such as news, entertainment, data, messages and educational information across mediums such as print, television, telephone and most popular today social media. Technology-mediated communications allow for information and messages to be shared quickly and efficiently enabling interaction and activities from anywhere in the world (Kreps, 2011).

Print Media

Print media includes books, newspapers, magazines, journals and community newsletters. Newspapers are one of the oldest forms of print media. The first daily newspaper published in America was called Daily Courant (Bellis, n.d) and began in 1702.

In today’s modern world many of us are glued to our mobile devices but unlike in America, there are still areas of the world that still rely on print media. India has experienced a drastic growth in their newspaper industry. There is a circulation of more than 82,000 newspapers combined currently contributing to India’s total circulation of 110 million daily (Dawson, 2016). This is because around 80% of their population is still lacking basic internet access. Although print media has declined over the decades, newspapers such as the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times often times are where people hear about news first. Most of the daily newspapers readers tend to be politically active. The most popular circulating magazine is AARP The Magazine which caters to those age 50 and above while many of the other popular magazines are catered to woman who enjoy reading magazines other top circulated magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan to name a few (Lulofs, 2014).

Television

Television is commonly known as family friendly media entertainment. Many of us can think back to our childhood and recall fond memories sitting in front our televisions watching family sitcoms or Saturday morning cartoons.

Today, television has evolved greatly and we have LED, digital, smart and 3D televisions in all sizes. Televisions are used to watch popular nighttime shows such as Empire, The Walking Dead, Scandal, and Grey’s Anatomy. Television is also one of the most widespread media influences over children. Television can offer many positive benefits to children such as: teaching kids important values and life lessons, enabling them to share cultural experiences with others, promote reading (children may want to get books based on their favorite shows or characters), and can help develop critical thinking about society and the world. Due to the increase in violence and sexual content on television, it is now more important than ever to institute guided viewing procedures to ensure that young children are not exposed to inappropriate programming which can potentially have a negative emotional and/or behavioral impact on them.

Telephone

The first telephone call was made by its inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, in 1876 (America’s Library of Congress, n.d.). Bell’s letter to his father in 1876 spoke of an imagined future when friends could converse without leaving home and imagining how different life would be; in today’s modern day, we have come a long way since then. Smartphones are highly used today and many of us would feel lost if we forgot our phones home. Our smartphones serve far more purposes than Bell could possibly have ever imagined. We use our phones to make phone calls, search the internet for information, read books, watch movies and videos, check and send emails, send text messages, take pictures and videos, track our fitness, hear music, play games, maintain our calendars, check the weather, socialize online…and the list can go on. Our smartphones have become such a luxury and convenience to us on a day to day basis. I have seen children as young as the age of three who know how to operate a smartphone.

Social Media

Social media is the newest form of media technology which connects people through their common interests, relationships, skills or hobbies. “Social media is the collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration. Websites and applications dedicated” (Rouse, 2015). People connect and interact daily through sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Tumblr, Vine, YouTube, and more.

Social media allows networking and connecting with old friends or classmates you may have lost contact with, helps keep in touch with long distance family members and connects you with business colleagues as well. Small businesses use social networking to market themselves and promote their work, while artists and musicians use it to create exposure and draw in followers. Sites like Pinterest allow you to follow pages that are of interest to you and build pin boards that hold a collection of pins images, videos or blogs of information you’re interested and allows you to also follow or browse pins made by other users as well. Pinterest is commonly used for planning events, compiling recipes, and researching fashion and lifestyles. Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter are all microblogging platforms that allow you to post short messages, images or short blogs.

While social networking is entertaining, you should always be sure to keep your personal information private and stay abreast on the security settings and options within each of the platforms'. Hackers are known for taking over social media profiles and posting obscene, derogatory and sexually explicit content and sharing this with all of the victim's followers. Victims who have had their accounts hacked will tell you first hand that being hacked can be quite embarrassing.

Hackers seek to slander your reputation and also use Phishing to try to obtain passwords and sensitive information. Users should make privacy and security a priority on both their personal and business social networking sites in order to protect their online presence and digital footprints.

References
America’s Library of Congress. (n.d.) The First Telephone Call, March 10, 1876. Retrieved from http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/recon/jb_recon_telephone_2.html

Bellis, M. (n.d.) Timeline of Printing Technology. Retrieved from http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/printing_4.htm

Dawson, F. (2016, 31 January). Print Media Isn't Dead, It's Just Moved. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/

Kreps, G.L. (2011). Communication in Organizations. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Lulofs, N. (2014) Top 25 U.S. Consumer Magazines for December 2013. Retrieved from http://auditedmedia.com/news/blog/2014/february/us-snapshot.aspx

Media Smarts. (n.d.) The Good Things about Television. Retrieved from http://mediasmarts.ca/television/good-things-about-television

The Media. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.sparknotes.com/us-government-and-politics/american-government/the-media/section1.rhtml

Rouse, M. (2015, May). Social Media. Retrieved from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/social-media