The Rise of New Media and Technology Aids in Communication (Lesson 4)

The Rise of New Media and Technology Aids in Communication

• Social media has changed the way we interact in various aspects of life, such as social connections, business, and politics.
• The first major social media platform, MySpace, reached a million active users in 2004, and since then, other popular platforms have emerged, including Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.
• Social media platforms that survive do so because of their continuous evolution and response to the needs and interests of its users.
• The exponential rise in the use of social media is partly attributed to the emergence of technologies that enable modern communication, such as computers, laptops, and smartphones.

Interesting Statistics on Social Media Use (July 2020)

• The average daily time spent on social media increased to around 2 hours and 31 minutes.
• The top 5 most popular social networks worldwide, ranked by number of active users, are:
  • Facebook (2.6 billion)
  • YouTube (2.0 billion)
  • WhatsApp (2.0 billion)
  • Facebook Messenger (1.3 billion)
  • Weixin/WeChat (1.2 billion)
• The top 5 countries with the most number of Facebook users are:
  • India (290 million)
  • United States (190 million)
  • Indonesia (140 million)
  • Brazil (130 million)
  • Mexico (89 million)

Reasons for Using Social Media Platforms

• The main reasons people use social media are to stay connected with friends and family (about 40%) and to keep up with news and current events (around 35%).
• Other top reasons for using social media include:
  • Filling up spare time
  • General networking with other people
  • Looking for entertaining content
  • Sharing photos or videos
  • Sharing one's opinion
  • Meeting new people
  • Researching or finding out products to buy

Responsible Use of Social Media

• Social media has grown in popularity, with hundreds of options for sharing thoughts, photos, and videos and for interacting with friends and family.
• There are guidelines and recommendations for using social media responsibly, such as:
  • Treating each person with dignity and respect
  • Not using social media to harass, demean, or bully others
  • Being mindful of privacy settings and posterity

English Language and the New Media

• New media refer to highly interactive digital technology, including blogs, social media, online newspapers, virtual reality, and computer games.
• Language in new media is sometimes referred to as Computer-mediated communication (CMC) or other terms such as Netspeak, Computer-mediated discourse, Digital discourse, and Electronic discourse.
• The Internet is the largest area of language development we have seen in our lifetimes, and it is expanding rapidly.

Characteristics of Language in New Media

• Language in new media can be described as Vernacular, Interpersonal, Spontaneous, and Dialogical.
• Examples of Vernacular language used in new media include acronyms, initialisms, emoticons/emojis, and expressive punctuations.

This lesson is about understanding social media and new media, evaluating language use in these platforms, and developing an appreciation for proper language use.