The Media, Internet & Our Current Society

After reading this week's assignments- I found what struck me the most was the significance of time in our society. Most of the articles were from the early 2000's with the most recent being from 2011 and within that relative short period of time -- the impact of the internet on society has truly exploded and helped to revolutionize certain parts of the world. 

                                    

In Papacharissi’article, it was mentioned that in 2001 only 6% of the world had access to the internet and those who would benefit the most from it didn’t have access to it. My how times have changed! According to a recent report, Aljazeera reports that now 1/3 of the world’s population have internet access (http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/09/2012923232111323871.html). Although there are still gaps in certain countries, others have impressively pushed for their citizens to have access to the internet. For example, nearly 100% (97.2%) of homes in South Korea have internet access but only 1% have that access in Niger (Aljazeera, 2012). 

In that same article by Papacharissi- it was mentioned that “new technologies… cannot single-handedly transform a political and economic structure that has thrived for centuries.” Yet once again, as time has passed since the publication of this article- time has proved otherwise. Look at the power of social media and the Arab Spring, both Twitter and Facebook played a huge role in helping to take down the regimes of the varying nations. Although this scholar made valid arguments, all of the different readings helped to show how the impact of the internet & media is constantly changing and evolving. At the time when the majority of these articles were written- the very of social media didn’t even exist. It's challenging to think of a Pre-Facebook world, but nonetheless, the evolution of the internet over the past 10 year has been remarkable. 
                     
The media has take this expansion of the internet and ultimately increased the public sphere. Although every media outlet has their own agenda (at least I think so) they all are able to use the internet to not only publish their stories and articles but have it as a venue for people to voice their opinions. Many news sites are interactive and consistently updated to provide the most current news stories. All media related websites give individuals an opportunity to offer their opinion with little to no hurdles. Most sites ask individuals to do a quick and painless registration with their website, which enables people to easily comment and post on stories relating to their local schools and at the same time address global crises. The media may not always be fair and balanced- but the internet allows individuals to have the chance to learn about current events in a way that wasn't possible before.