Full Description
This comprehensive overview of digital media technologies and their impact on society is a user-friendly introduction for students trying to understand how technology is shaping the world around them. The Digital Age is already upon us and society is feeling its impact. Media and Society in the Digital Age explores both the positive and negative implications of living in a rapidly changing communications environment. This text not only helps lay the foundation for understanding the emerging and constantly changing digital media environment, it also provides readers with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their future academic, personal, and professional lives.
Contents
Every chapter includes "Questions for Discussion" and "Comprehension."Preface. Change and Uncertainty.Time's "Person of the Year."An Event and a Nonevent.The Digital Age Is Here.The Real Digital Age: Dot-Com Maturity.Endnotes.1. An Overview of Digital Media. Factors Leading to a Digital Media Environment.2. Networks and Infrastructures. Early Communication and Information Networks.Electricity and the Rise of Modern Telecommunications.Telecommunication Networks Today.3. Changes Affecting Traditional Mass Media. Digitizing the Traditional Mass Media.Traditional Mass Media and Digital Media.Ethics and Standards.From Books to eBooks.Newspapers and Magazines.Radio and Television.4. Knowing the Lingo. The Net Lingo.The Basics.Hardware and Software.Networking and Digital Media.We're Watching You.5. Digital Media in Our Lives. Quiet Revolutions.Digital Media as the Norm?The Digital "Groundwork."Convergence.6. Digital Media and the Economy. The Digital Economy.A More "Equal Playing Field?"Institutions, Commerce, and Technology.The Importance of Networks.7. Government Policies and Regulations. Rules and Regulations.History of Federal Regulations.Digital Media and Regulation.Free Speech versus Copyright Infringement.International Regulations.8. News Media and Society. Role of the News Media.Civil Society and Digital Media.Digital Empowerment.9. Research and Inquiry. Mass Communication Research in General.Effects Research and Digital Media.Digital Media Research.10. The Critical View. Fear and Fiction.Social Criticism: Penetrating the Surface.Criticism.Framework for Critical Inquiry.11. The Future. Rethinking the Digital Future.Lessons and Insights.The Current Situation.Regrouping but Not Departing.Conclusion.Bibliography. Index.
