New Media Has Problems!!

With the worldwide phenomenon that has been coined 'New Media,' there is the expected result of positive as well as negative consequences to such a worldwide movement. Here, we have listed some of the major problems that are presented by the new media and the Internet. One of the specific problems which immediately began to take flight was an issue now known as the Digital Divide.

Digital Divide
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A leading IT Encyclopedia defined Digital Divide as “...the fact that the world can be divided into people who do and people who don't have access to - and the capability to use - modern information technology, such as the telephone, television, or the Internet. The digital divide exists between those in cities and those in rural areas.” An interesting aspect to this statement of Digital Divide is that is applicable to those both within rural and urban population centers.(Whatis, 1999) The Digital Divide has come to categorize people into one of two main groups: the information rich and the information poor.

This poses problems for the millions of people faced by problems such as illiteracy, lack of technological access and much more. Within the Digital Divide there is even further breakdown into three categorical aspects of problems surrounding global access to technology. Pippa Norris, a political scientist who researches the politics to communication issues is responsible for theorizing these points.
The first aspect is the 'Global Divide' which encompasses the quantity of internet access that is available to developing countries as supposed to industrialized ones. The second, Social Divide, depicts the gap between those of the information rich or poor gap. Lastly, the Democratic Divide addresses the difference between those who choose to access technological resources for their personal resource. (Lynch, 2002)
The main idea behind the Digital Divide is the popularized theory called the “Knowledge Gap Hypothesis” which was instituted by Philip J. Tichenor. This proposes that the gap in terms of the information rich and poor only tends to grow as soon as new and more technologically advanced mediums are introduced into society.

QUESTION: HOW DO YOU THINK DIGITAL DIVIDE APPLIES TO THOSE WITHIN URBAN POPULATIONS SURROUNDED BY MASS MEDIA AND INTERNET ALL AROUND THEM?

QUESTION: WHAT SOLUTIONS DO YOU THINK COULD BE PROPOSED IN ORDER TO BRIDGE THE GAP OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE? IF SUCH STEPS WERE TAKEN, WHO DO YOU FEEL WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DOING SO?

Black, Jane. “Information Rich, Information Poor.” BBC NEWS. October 14, 1999.
Online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/10/99/information_rich_info rmation_poor/467899.stm

This in depth article focuses on a study conducted in four countries surrounding the effects of Digital Divide among the citizens of the nation. The case study focusing on Morocco provides the reader with a story of a woman who defied the traditional routine for men and women. Thanks to the internet she was able to interact on a global basis selling her merchandise. An interesting read in the document was finding that within the United States there still exists a vast majority of those in which would be deemed the 'information poor'. The article is an eye opener as a means of a global outlook on the embracing of technology rather than focusing solely within our continent.

Pinkett, Randal D. “Redefining the Digital Divide.” The Digital Divide. Vol 1 No 2, Spring 2001. Online at: http://tcla.gseis.ucla.edu/divide/politics/pinkett.html

This article attempts to update what may now be the outdated definition to the terminology of the Digital Divide. Pinkett speaks of how owning a computer within the home is not enough in order to advance one's ability within the information rich society. He made it evident that the internet, an email address and the ability to provide one's own information on the internet. This article was interesting as it truly defined what exactly defined what is an 'information rich' individual rather than relying on hearsay. The closing of the article speaks of three models which address solutions to closing the digital divide. These three models include community networks (providing technological access at a low fare for consumers), Consumer Computing Centers (public access rooms for those who cannot afford their own computers), and lastly, Community Content (dealing with the availability of information to specific demographic groups). The article in summation was an interesting read on the Digital Divide and shed some new light on the evolving matter.

Negative Social Impacts on Children
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One of the much talked about debates regarding the Internet, is the social impact it is having on children. As the Internet grows in popularity around the world, we are seeing children spend more time online. It is evident when we look down our neighborhood streets, one can notice there are less kids playing outside than there were perhaps five to ten years ago. Where have all these kids gone? Well, they have dispersed to the online world, isolating them in a sense from reality. Children are engaging in fewer social events, less time interacting in person, and more time in online (O'Toole, 2000). This electronic socializing is coming at the expense of real world interaction. It is not totally the children's fault however, with the endless amount of resources available there is always a new person to meet, or new blog to read. Before they can realize it, they have built a wall around themselves separating them from the real world.

This social isolation can lead to other problems. For one, health concerns are being raised. Children are not getting the required physical activity they should be, this can lead to obesity. Health concerns are being raised by many critics of the media, urging parents to get their kids involved in physical activities and not to let them spend all day on MSN, or ICQ (Neiman, 1999). Another growing concern is children's ability to communicate properly and effectively. The more they are exposed to terms such as “LOL” “kewl” and “ttyl”, the more they think it is the proper way to communicate (Sohn, 2005). As chat rooms and instant messaging grow in popularity, the distinction between what in is online terminology and proper grammar is diminishing. This is turning the next generation into poor communicators and causing them difficultly to perform even the simplest of social tasks (i.e. face to face communication).

Due to the addicting nature of the Internet, it is hard for kids to draw themselves away from it. It is also difficult for parents to monitor their children as computers are usually placed in bedrooms and study rooms. So for parents to know when their children are studying versus when they are chatting is a complicated task itself. As a result children are staying up at night later than ever, chatting and playing games (Shriner, 2000). This is causing them to develop poor sleeping habits which can cause them to be less attentive in school. This presents a greater problem because the Net not only takes children away from the real world (in terms of isolating them), but it is depriving them of learning opportunities even when they present in the 'real world'

Even though the Internet is a great resource, and children are being encouraged to use, it is coming at cost. The vast amount of information and entertainment that is available can be addicted for children, and this is where the problems begin. Greater emphasis needs to be stressed by educators about the hazards of the Internet, otherwise future generations will be turn out to be a group of isolated, obese children with poor communication skills.

Inappropriate Content
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It is fair to assume there is a vast increase in the number of adolescents logging on to the Internet every day. Although the Internet as a new form of media is a great tool for the collection of useful information used constantly by the given demographic; there are also dangers involved with browsing the World Wide Web. These dangers can very from learning how to create a bomb, to the very common exposure to pornography. Study's show that 25 percent of kids 10 to 17 years of age received unwanted pornographic material in the year 2000 (Ransohoff, 2005).

The Internet allows users to be completely anonymous when on various websites, thus, it is very easy for a 16-year-old boy to alter their date of birth and access pornographic material illegally. Also Sometimes even small typos in Web addresses or what you enter into a search engine can also lead you to inappropriate sites or material. The problem lies in the fact there's very little to no regulation on the content being displayed on the web.

In addition, in many situations someone who claims to be a 16-year-old boy may in fact be a 50-year-old man pretending to be a teen for inappropriate reasons, such as to lure teens into unsafe situations. As a result, agreeing to meet in person with someone you met over the Internet is extremely dangerous, as this can result in sexual assault or even murder. This is often found in many chat rooms, and can be particularly dangerous. Even when chat rooms are specifically aimed for adolescence, participants are not necessarily all teens. Someone you meet in the chat room may actually be an adult "predator" who has made up a false alias to hide their age.

Another common problem on the Internet is finding Web sites with credible information. One must recall that the information being accessed is in many cases ones personal opinion, thus the spread of “propaganda” and other biased/inappropriate information is very common throughout the net. When accessing a website one should look for the author as well as a creditable organization and a recent date.

A major problem lies in the fact that people under the age of 18 also referred to as minors have a very broad span developmental range. What one person may find developmentally inappropriate for another might find it fairly appropriate. An example of this would be the study for the human reproduction system. Developmental considerations are thus critical when determining how the Internet may be associated with both the risks and the opportunities among adolescents. Further the controls on exposure to certain types of material that operate at school for example maybe completely opposite to ones home that has unrestricted access to this superhighway of information.

It leaves one to question whether the Internet was the greatest invention within the last 50 years or weather it is just a nuisance causing damage to the innocent. Schools are taking precaution to the fact that there is questionable information readily available over the Internet by blocking out all inappropriate websites. It is up to the guardians of the children to maintain this solidarity at home by monitoring what this new form of media has to very there children.

Protection of Intellectual Property
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“The Internet, ... is seen by many as a double-edged sword. While it provides an unlimited opportunity to create and distribute one's own creative works, it also provides the opportunity to copy and distribute the works of others without permission.” (Olson, 197)

Digital technology has brought new challenges in protecting intellectual property. To fully understand this we need to establish what copyright is. Copyright is a property right given to producers of any creative expression. Copyrights cannot protest ideas or facts but they can protect music, movies, photography, software, sound recordings, drama, and works of literature. Copyright gives the producer of the work exclusive rights to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies and perform or display the work.

Although the same laws that exist in the physical world apply to digital works, protecting of intellectual property in the digital world has proven to be more difficult. This can be attributed to two factors. First, it is easier to infringe copyright laws in new media. With the fast spread of new digital technologies it is very easy and cheap to produce perfect copies of digital works. Second, it is very hard to enforce the copyright laws in the cyberspace because it is virtually impossible to identify the infringers. So this has 'caused many copyright owners fight back using their own technologies such as encryption and other security measures to lock up their intellectual property and control its use. They have also lobbied for new copyright legislation to add legal force to these controls. This has led to new laws to be passed that protect intellectual property in the digital world.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act passed in 1998 is one such law. DMCA makes it a crime to gain unauthorized access to a copyrighted work by circumventing anti-piracy protections built into the work. Based on this law it is also illegal to manufacture, provide or traffic a technology, product or service that can be used to circumvent copy protection measures taken by the author(s) of the work. However, laws like these are not without criticism. Critics believe that rather than build upon the copyright laws that already exist, these laws give the owners of the copyright too much control over digital works and undermine important principles such as fair use. Fair use doctrine “allows works to be used without permission for purposes of scholarship, teaching, news reporting, or comment and criticism, including parody.” (Olson, 196)

The critics might be right since in most cases that have appeared in front of the court after the passing of such laws have favored the copyright owners, even in cases where the supposed infringing was done in accordance with the fair use doctrine. An example of this can be the case of Jon Johansen, who developed a program that circumvented the anti-copying measures on DVDs for the purpose of making them compatible with his computer's Linux operating system. His software also allowed users to copy portions of a movie for comment and criticism or for educational or research purposes. Even though he received a prestigious national prize for this invention, he was indicted for criminal trespass.

Contributors: Krystin Lee, Mandeep Manak, Anug Chaudhry & Ali Fard

Bibliography

Lynch, Beverly P. “The Digital Divide or the Digital Connection: A U.S. Perspective.” First Monday. September 19, 2002. Online at: http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_10/lynch/

“Digital Divide. Whatis?.Com. (1999). Online at: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci214062,00.html

O'Toole: http://www.stanford.edu/group/siqss/Press_Release/press_release.html

Neiman: http://www.dltk-kids.com/articles/childhood_obesity.htm

Sohn: http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20050330/Feature1.asp

Shriner: http://ohioline.osu.edu/flm02/FS12.html

http://www.pamf.org/teen/life/risktaking/internet.html

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/ntiageneral/cipa2003/CIPAreport_08142003.htm

http://www7.nationalacademies.org/itas/Project_Description.html

Olson, Kathleen K. "Web Studies." Copyright In Cyberspace: Protecting Intellectual Property Online. Comp. David Gauntlett and Ross Horsley. London: Arnold, 2004. 195-203.