Disconnect Movie

In the movie “Disconnect” that we have watched in class, we found out that we should not reveal too much of ourselves to strangers, as they might be the bad guys. For example when Jason and Frye are targeting Ben for a prank, that is when a tragedy happens.  Jason and Frye might think that it is funny to get the naked picture of Ben, but it is a terrible experience for him. This is because he treats “Jessica” as true friend and this explains for what he did, however the prank has made him trying to commit suicide for the exposure of his baked pictures. This is very true because most of the time when we are chatting with strangers, we tend to reveal our deepest secrets to them. We never think about whether they are good or bad people or whether they will do something bad to us.

Same thing goes to Cindy, when she is expressing her depression to a man she does not actually know and eventually her identity has been stolen from this man. Cindy and Derek end up tracking and man and breaking into his room to find evident of his crimes. This is not a good example for the audiences because when the couple is trying to find the evident of the man, they are committing in crime as well. The couple never thinks of the consequences as they only want to get back their money. We should not reveal too much of our identities to strangers because this may bring us negative impact. As we do not what are the aims of the strangers, we should think carefully what we can say and what cannot.

On the other hand, Nina wants to convince Kyle to expose the predators who recruit teenage girls and boys to become online porn performers. In order to get the trust from Kyle, Nina provides her detailed information to Kyle, including her home address and this made her husband not happy when Kyle goes to their house without informing. Here we can see that during the process Nina and Kyle has some chemistry between them, which is not supposed to happen. Their relationship turns out very fishy when Kyle goes her house. We should not cross the boundaries when we are dealing with strangers online because we know nothing about them and it makes it dangerous for us if we have a not-clear relationship with them.

Vlog2: Communication Barriers

What are the youngsters communicating during gathering or discussion? How deep are their conversations?

The answer is the younger generation nowadays prefer to scroll Facebook news feed or photos in Instagram, instead of speaking to their real life friends sitting next to them.

When we are facing our electronic devices, we never thought of the feelings of other people around us. They are being ignored all the way through the meeting or gathering. Just imagine how hurt it would be if we are the girl in this video. Put down your phone, start talking to your friends and family!

Games: Angel or Devil?

                Gaming has become a “must” activity for the kids and adolescence nowadays, even adults are playing too. There are several types of games, such as action, arcade, mental and strategy, and role-playing. By playing the games, all the gamers receive both positive and negative effects.

            First of all, gamers can easily learn new words when they are playing games, especially words games. This is a great source for them to learn new words to improve their vocabularies, as they try their best to spell new words in order to get to the next level.

            Next, gamers are able to learn how to cooperate with other gamers when they need to be united to win a battle. They need to have the patience and spirit of team work to work with their teammates to get victory from the fights. Moreover, leadership skill is also as crucial as patience and teamwork as the leaders need to lead and provide appropriate instructions to whole of his or her clan or guild at a suitable time.

            However, the negative influences give much bigger impacts to the gamers and affect their real lives. Gambling games can easily be found by the youngsters nowadays to participate into the games. The wining in the games would lead the gamers to gamble in real life. But luck does not belong to anyone forever, eventually the gamers end up borrowing money from money lenders and cannot afford to repay due to the high interest. Some gamers would even commit in crimes in order to gain income, such as stealing money.

            Besides, when gamers are fully addicted to the games they, play they tend to lose their ability to differentiate the virtual world and the real world. They would feel that what happens in games can be implemented in real life and eventually they could commit in crimes as well. There are many cases from all around the world whereby people simply shoot and kill the public using weapons, mainly guns. Gamers would also act more violent brutal than non-gamers. They tend to solve problems using punches rather than by using communication, as they have already get used to the way they solve problems in games.

            When gamers are playing games, they are so into their games until they ignore their families and abandon the quality time. Addicted gamers play from morning till night and they are more likely to loosen their bond with their family members. Rather, they prefer to hide in the virtual world and not seeing anyone real life. As a result, many people die from playing games for days continuously without any rest.

            Games can be good and bad, depending on how we use them. We should play games for knowledge, but not for abusing them.

The advantages and disadvantages of blogging

The advantages and disadvantages of blogging

With the advancement of technology, everyone can use different type of devices to access their blogging such as computer, laptop, tab, I-pad, Smartphone and so on so forth. There has some blogging can entertain people and some blogging would make people feel boring to read. Blogging can bring positive and negative impacts. The below are some of the advantages and disadvantages for blogging.

Advantages of blogging:                            

1.      Blogging can enables bloggers to write down their thought or feeling that can interest others people.

2.      Bloggers can easy and even quick to update and or add the new post to their own blog.

3.      Other people can leave their comments on your blog.

4.      Easy to set up because it does not need much technological knowledge.

5.      The bloggers can write post anytime and anywhere.

Disadvantages of blogging

1.      Everyone can see your post after your post it and when you wrongly post some message especially the anger message were make you might regret it later.

2.      For the personal blog may contain biased.

3.      There has some inaccurate information that post by bloggers.

4.      People will leave appropriate comments on your post.

The Blog I Like

http://lunghilemak.blogspot.com/

This blog is attracting me to take time to read it. The context of this blog is to teach us how to love our self especially women. We can learn how to live and maintain a positive lifestyle. Besides that, the stories inside the blog are all based on her real experiences in the daily life.

I like this blog because it told me that there is nobody who can fake it like you do. We are different and every flaw you see on yourself makes you who you are. Just be yourself. Cheers!!!

Furthermore, the features in the blog also catch the attention of me. There got pictures and quotes inside the every post that she had posted. For example:

Additionally, the sentences and the words that she used are so motivated and inspired me for learning to love myself and overcome some negative thoughts in our life as well.

So, LOVE yourself because we cannot go back to un-create what has already been created. Go on and start your journey of self-love.

“I AM BEAUTIFUL AND I AM LIMITLESS”

http://gerakanantidap.blogspot.com/

This blog is an anti DAP party which they spread the rumors on their blogs about the DAP, and also PKR and PAS.  

This blog made me feel irritated because of the use of their words and the incorrect information and critics of DAP.

In my stand, every party has their own goals and initiative in their organizational functioning. We should respect other parties despite the fact that you are not support them or hate them as well.

The blogger also said that Chinese is arrogant and want to win in election to lead Malaysia with many unclean actions. I am a Chinese and I feel annoyed when I read this judgment. There is no evidence to prove that Chinese has that kind of actions and characteristics.

Personally, respect others so that they will respect you then. Different people have different thoughts and choices. Be rational and think wisely when you said and critic something. It will ruin the future of the people and our country because of having this kind of propagandist.  

Socialities and New Media

Nowadays, media has make changes towards our community and society. New media such as the smartphones, tablets and computer change our daily routines. Facebook for example is use as a tool to connect people around the world regardless of ethnicity, religion and culture. With the existence of these media, more or less society has change their patterns of living and rely much on these technologies.

In the early days, people will meet up face-to-face to spend a great time to have a chit chat or sharing their feelings and thoughts. In modern days, all these activities can be conducted through the use of social media. Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, LINE, WeChat, Skype and so on so forth are used to connect with people. This more or less has given an amount of impact towards the relationship with people. It may grew weaker, but at the same time it may grew stronger. These applications are used to connect people where we seldom or unable to meet with. With friends and love ones who are in different places, these applications are the tools to make them 'feel' each other and stay connected. While new media give us convenience to access to the outer world, they also creates some concerns to some people.

People worried that with the use of new media it change the relationship patterns of parts of community or society. From the active relationship to passive relationship, from a face-to-face communication to a face-to-screen communication. People rely on technologies to maintain relationship bonding. When people are able to meet up and talk and play, they choose to communicate through the use of media. In that sense they feel more comfortable and thinking that it saves time rather than taking a journey to a place and meet up to talk. Even worst is when a bunch of friends meet up and sitting around but with gadgets like smartphones in hand to communicate when they are just in front of your eyes. It is pathetic sometimes to see this kind of scenario. For them, lifting their eyes or giving a glance will be such energy wasting. Is it necessary to build relationship through this method?

Another is that people are concern about the identity used in media. Is it true? Or is it fake? Can the identity be trusted? Can we really trust the identity used in media? In Facebook they will also appear people that use fake identities. In Internet world, we cannot expect people to be 100% honest with what they say and tell. They may feel more comfortable without revealing much true self to another or they may have bad intentions towards people in social media. They might as well thinking that identity might be a barrier which limits the socialization between people. People create another identity in Internet world, probably to the extent that the identity will bring much pleasure and giving courage to show their hidden self where in reality they are unable to do so.

Society nowadays cannot survive without media. 8 out of 10 people would answer that they need these new media besides them or else they cannot perform their daily routines. Society are too depending on new media and causing lack of interaction between people. We should somehow reconsider about the use of new media and preventing these machine to conquer us. We are using the new media or the new media is using us? That depends on how people decide to see it.

Social Media : Freedom

Social media, such as facebook, twitter, line and wechat, is quite famous from day to day. Everyone at least have an account of one of the social media. This seems bring a lot of benefit for the human, especially for those who are usually active and love in having a social relationship with the others.

However, did this social media really brings benefit for human or in fact it already limited people’s freedom? From many people point of view, social media is a very useful and convenience tools for them to react and interact with others. For example of facebook, people usually love to chat or concerned about others news from facebook. They always use it to concern about others. However, they ignore the people who are around them. How can a people really take care of others who are far away from him rather than take care and concern the people who are around them?

When we are busying involve ourselves in these social media, but we already lost the time to interact with the family and friend around us. It that not seems like funny that we willing to spend time on these social media to concern and chatting with the people far away but do not want to concern about the people around them?

I have even realized that two people who is just beside each other are using wechat to communicate. They do not want to talk to each other but free more comfortable and freedom when using wechat to communicate. This already seems like a sickness. In fact, the social media would give people the freedom and the benefit to connect with the people. However, human always overuse these benefit tools and at the end, these tools limit human freedom, freedom of time and concerning about friends and family.

Social media is quite good but human should use it cleverly. We are the people who control the technology but not the technology control human

Online news

Class activity

Visit 3 online news site:
a) news blog
b) an online-only news site
c) online counterpart of a print newspaper

Explore each of these sites and reflect

1.   What constitutes good and bad practice in online news

2.   To what extent are online news readers allowed to comment on the news? Which site would you commend to other and why
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Below is the 3 online news site that has been explored       

  

a.    Google News Blog

b.    Malaysiakini

c.    The Star Online

There are many good practices in online news. For example, instant breaking news updates in online news makes us always aware of what is happening in the world. Apart from that, we are also able to search the old news in an online news site by searching the key words or specific dates. This is what the printed newspaper cannot do. Furthermore, online news is convenient to users that are not able to receive the printed version. For instance, if I worked at United States, I still able to access the news of Sin Chew Daily by accessing to its online news site. However, we think the best practice is reader is able to interact with journalist in online news. The comment from the readers can always be the feedback to the journalist or perhaps the organization to make improvement.        

Another concern is the bad practice in online news. Sometimes, the news we are reading in online news site is not the kind of report in printed news paper due to unauthorized sources. There is some information we read is just put on by anyone without careful fact-checking.  So, we may get the accurate news. Since anyone who like to report news can become a ‘citizen journalist’, some of the news is not been reported in a rational way due to personal vale and different ethical standards. Besides, some people will post offensive or disruptive comments in online news. Hence, it may influence others people’s view to the news.     

In our opinion, the freedom to speak out the opinion in online news site is much more than printed newspaper. People are allowed to comment anonymously. It is not strictly as letters to the editor.  However, the internet “trolls” and the phenomenon of nasty anonymous is getting worse in nowadays since people are free to comment anonymous. In order to solve the problem, some of the news sites are start to require reader to register their name before they leave any comment. For instance Huffington Post decides to ban anonymous comment by require readers to identify themselves by name in 2013.

From the 3 sites, we are more likely to commend Malaysiakini to others since it is an online news sites which reported into four languages. ( English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil). Other than that, Malaysiakini offers alternative news to public and reflect views of Malaysian since it is one of the few independent media organizations in Malaysia and do not linked to any political party. In other hand,   Malaysiakini was recognized as one of the country’s favourite brand at the inaugural Putra Brand Awards 2010. So, it is an online news that provides quality report. 

Online Consumption

By YuWen Lai and MeiFong Er

Do you ever count how many hours you ‘stay’ online in a day?

Today, what we have to admit is the online consumption continues to increase due to the rapid grow of mobiles devices and the fast development of Apps with many more people now have a Smartphone in their hand. The most dramatic change for the online consumption’s pattern in this few years is the accessibility of the network and the high popularity gained by social networking sites. 

In the old days, most of us is using computer to online and the accessibility of internet is quite limited. However, what we can see in today is people are able to online wherever they are by using Smartphone. They can even update a post in a social network when they are walking or ‘check-in’ where they are or what they are eating in the social network whenever they feel like to do so. This is so much different with we have to bring along a laptop which is quite heavy in order to access internet. Everything seem like is done with a touch on the screen of the Smartphone.

Facebook is still being one of the popular social networks for nowadays even it has been used by people for the last 10 years. In our view, we think Facebook plays a big part in the online consumption of most of the people specially teenagers and students. Therefore, we are interested to come out a few questions about the consumption’s patterns of Facebook in order to gain insight the role of Facebook played in the part of online consumption among university students.

  

1. Do you have Facebook account?

a.      Yes
b.      No

 
2. Do you have a Twitter account?
a.      Yes
b.      No
 
3. How often do you spend on surfing Facebook in a day
a.     every 30 minutes
b.     every 1hour
c.     1 - 3 hours
d.     3 – 6 hours
e.     More than 6 hours

4.      How often do you spend to view other peoples’ profile or posts
a.      Less than 30 minutes
b.      30 minutes – 1 hour
c.       1 – 3 hours
d.      More than 3 hours
 
5.     What is your favorite activity in Facebook
a.      Games
b.      Update status
c.       Upload photo
d.      For the purpose of learning (eg: group discussion)
e.      Get the latest news
f.        Look for entertainment. ( eg: look for funny shared video or article)
g.      View others peoples’ status or photos (eg: stalk people all the way)
 
6.      What device you often use to surf Facebook
a.      Smartphone
b.      Computer
 
7.      Do you think Facebook is influencing your life?
a.      Yes
b.      No
 
8.      Do you think Surfing Facebook is a waste of time?
a.      Yes
b.      No
 
9.      Do you use Facebook to find a partner or hope to start a love relationship by using Facebook to establish the relationship with other Facebook’s user?
a.      Yes
b.      No
 
10.  How long can you not to surf the Facebook? ( under a condition of the network is available)
a.      less than 1 hour
b.      1- 3 hours
c.       12 hours- 24 hours
d.      1-3 days
e.      More than 3 days

The questions had been distributed to 10 communication studies students and it shown that none of the students without a Facebook account but only three of them possess a Twitter account (It seems like the popularization rate of Twitter not as popular as Facebook among Comm students). 

From the cumulative time on 10 respondents spend on surfing Facebook in a day; we get a range of mean time 2-5 hours. In the meantime, they spend around 1-3 hours to view other peoples’ profile or posts. Do not get shock of the data; we actually having a quarter of day in surfing Facebook, one third of day in sleeping time, left 10 hours for other activities. All of the activities as the question mentioned have involved as the frequent activities in Facebook. However, the games had the least involvement compared to other activities perhaps users seek for more challenge online games. 

Smartphone and computer are both devices students use to surf Facebook. Besides that, 1 out of 10 respondents is using a portable tab to surf web. Indeed, I personally prefer much bigger screen to scroll down the information. Anyway, I don’t need to zoom in whenever I am reading a text or document.  So, how do you think surfing Facebook is a waste of time? It depends on users whether they treat it as information tool or just to kill time.  

Today’s media audience is capable of anytime, anywhere online consumption and, in turn, requires advance, on-demand content. Facebook is just one of the social networking sites to meet the users’ dependency on media. However we can’t deny even Facebook turns 10; it is still holding the world’s largest social network in numbers. Trend is going to fade out in someday. 

Would you still be with Facebook after another 10 years?

                       

Mobile Media and Everyday Life

What is mobile media? Mobile media are the devices like mobile phones, PDA and so on. These are the primary source of portable media that people could obtain information and communicate with one another. The mobile media have become a natural and important part of people’s everyday life. It is the communication technologies which have the potential to accompany the people in everywhere.

So, let us focus on the mobile phone. Martin Cooper had invented the first mobile phone in the world on April 1973. The mobile phone provides a means by which people can communicate with one another regardless of their geographical location. It is portability where they have various features that the users can use, such as wireless internet, MP3 players, mobile games consoles, digital cameras and GPS which can accompany the users in everywhere.

There are 4 generations in developing the mobile phone from the year of 1973 until today. The first generation (1G) was using the analogue technology. It only allowed people in making or receiving calls. The second generation (2G) combines mobile phones with digital technology which allowed the people to make or receive calls and text messaging (SMS). The contents, phone conversations were digitally encrypted and allowing a small battery.

Next, the third generation (3G) was relying on the optical fibres which to ensure for more efficient and quicker data transfer. It allows for increased speeds and data capacity. It had more services like digital photographs, MP3 files, and multimedia text messaging (MMS). This generation started to offers the innovative design with the touch screen.

While the fourth generation (4G) which is today’s society using. It provides quick and easy wireless which people can access to the internet and video streaming. The markets are all promoting the 4G mobile phones which are now known as smart phones. They are categorized in many brands such as Apple Iphone 4G, Samsung Galaxy Series, HTC and so on.

The mobile media play an important role in everyday lives of millions of people in the world. So, how is the mobile media like mobile phones influences people daily’s life?

Today, people use mobile phones as making calls, texting, voice recorder, diary, alarm clock, watch, surfing internet and dealing with some business. Mobile phones not only used as the communication tools, but also as devices with other functionalities such as radio and camera features.

Mobile phone help people to stay connected with everyone no matter where we are. They can easily contact with their loved ones although they are staying abroad. With the technological advancements today, mobile phones have become more featured packed and perform many functionalities in people’s life. These mobile phones can give driving directions. The GPS technology in the mobile phones can help the people who have been lost in the middle of the road.

Besides, they also can hook up to the email through internet to get the latest news especially to those business people. This is because they are away from work, but they still can be in contact with those that they need to be in contact. It allows people to stay even more connected.

In conclusion, mobile media had been firmly embedded in people lives. It allows people to communicate with others regardless where we are. It leads people to a renewed cultural creativity such as storing cultural output like music, video blog and so on. It also allows people to completely detach themselves from locals and communicate across different localities. Mobile phones bring happiness to people. It is easy and convenient for people to use it in everyday life.

Crossing boundaries of new media and journalism: Opportunity or Crisis?

“How many times you read newspaper per week?” Well, it is kind of old-fashioned question to learn about newspaper readership. 

It is supposed to be asked “How many times you read online newspaper every day?” For today’s phenomena, many readers are more likely to scroll down an online newspaper rather than flip through the printed newspaper. I am also one of them who like to subscribe to online newspaper daily.

The new form of online newspaper is known as ‘networked journalism’ are increasingly visible in Malaysia’ society. We are being informed that this new form of journalism is emerging in line with the spread of new media platforms of all kinds such as bloggers and ‘user-generated content’ of citizen journalist. The gradually reduce of traditional reader has bring in the decline in circulation for all mainstream media. Perhaps, it is no longer to see the old folk reading the newspaper while drinking the kopi-O in the kopitiam after another 10 years? Then the journalist is struggling to adhere to both their professionalism and creative idea of how to increase readership to compete with the citizen journalist.

In 1997, Utusan Malaysia had launched its online version of ‘Utusan Malaysia On-Line’. It is Malaysia first online newspaper to enable reader to read exactly replicas of its printed newspaper. Until today, Sin Chew Jit Poh, China Press, The Star, New Straits Times and other mainstream media have also joined the online newspaper to stand firmly after the emergence of new media.  

The Star online portal (Image Source: http://www.thestar.com.my)

Working practices have slightly transformed because of highly demand to keep update for instant news. Journalists may still have feature stories to write but multi-media platform to feed: Twitter, Facebook, web, blogs. If you ask me whether the flourishing of bloggers as the citizen journalist will weaken the influence of mainstream media? My answer is blogging won’t wipe out journalism because journalism requires skills and concrete resources that bloggers are lack of. But it can improve the practice of traditional media to take the new forms of reporting.

The journalist takes the challenges to collaborate with the social media for the source of breaking news. The engagement of mainstream media with the content from social media networks such as Flickr, Twitter and YouTube has been included in online newspaper. However, the relying of journalist on the social media untrue sources is lead to the reader heavily criticized on misleading information and questioned about their professionalism. The reader believes the mainstream media to report the solely solid gold facts. So, take it in wise way, journalist should use the social networks intelligently to see what others know but avoid the untruthful information.

In short, to all the online users not only the journalist, own checking and verification are still need to happen in the use of social media too. 

New Media Journalism, the Changing phase.

Journalism has always been recognized as a credible profession. As every single source that it publicizes need to be verified before a statement were given, its reliability is among of the highest in daily information sources. However, the new technology has slowly overtaken the traditional way of approaching journalism, coming out with new media journalism. Nowadays, especially significant in big cities, paper-printed press and newspaper has slowly lost its popularity. In the other hand, electronic news has been widely accepted for its convenience, price and environmental friendlier since it saves the use of paper.

Although the popularity of printed newspaper has gone down, it is still accepted in certain group of people. This is due to the credibility and richness of news that it always holds to. Especially for broadsheet press, they have never compromised about verifying source reliability. Perhaps every single statement that it gives were seen and checked by thousand of readers, to make sure it doesn’t spread rumours and fake information. Most of the big companies require their public relations or communication department to check every day press so that every single story the press publishes in the newspaper does not spoil their company’s reputation. Any unverifiable or untrue statement will be brought to court to protect their reputation. We have seen plenty of slander court cases in local and also in other countries. To tackle with such heavy pressure, journalists have to bear in mind that every single word written is attached with proof and evidence. Pro and cons. Pro is that the press keep to its credibility to every single details, whereas cons is the newspaper attain less sensational elements as most of the news published must be from verifiable sources.

However, the electronic news receives a different treatment. The electronic news are seen as instant, convenient and sensational. Compared to the printed press, electronic publishing did not get much control from government regarding it source reliability. Often the news was more casual in writing style. It is more like telling you stories that happened around you, rather than reporting details. Adding that recent new media journalism has blend with stories from blogs, commentaries, social networking and online news. And yet, everyone can write their own stories, and their speculation regarding the issue. Recent happening of missing flight MH370 show how viral that fake information and rumour can spread through electronics. Basically everyone has their own opinion and their own speculation regarding the issue, and they will write their thoughts and ideas of how things happen. Some of them even created stories that the missing plane was found and passengers were saved. Readers could have shared these false information to their social networks and to those people around them. Thus, electronic news do not receive high credibility as compared to printed news when readers realize that not all news from the electronics are reliable. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why people still choose printed news over the electronic news. Nevertheless, some of the print-news press developed their very own electronics news in order to follow the new media journalism trend. Their electronic news were synchronized with the news that are going to be published in the printed. Thus these electronic news were also referred as credible news sources. And more people are going for electronic news subscription due to it’s lower price, conveniency and instant.

Although there are certain people still holding to print-newspaper, but the prints did not show positive and promising numbers in its popularity and market in recent years. If you ask me what’s my opinion regarding the future od the prints, I would say that it will end and become a history or even antiques someday. The electronic journalism will totally overtake its market. But the unknown is, how long will it take for that to happen? My guess, perhaps in 10 to 15 years. By the time, probably the new media journalism will change into another form.

Vlog 1: 9 things that students will do in lectures

Since smartphones have been invented, the device has become the essential tool for students in class. But how many of us really utilize the functions in our smartphones in the classes? Let's see

In this video we can see that most of the students are playing their smartphones rather than using the smartphones in a useful way, such as staring at phones, playing games or taking selfies.

Your Smartphone is not everything

Your Smartphone is not everything. Are you one of Smartphone addicts??

In the past, we use computer to search internet, use mobile phone to talk. With the development of communication device such as mobile phone, the online consumption pattern of people is changing gradually. We start to see people holding their Smartphone or tablets when they are walking, talking, eating, or whatever they are doing. On contrary, people less to use computer or perhaps a laptop to search internet since a Smartphone is always more convenience compared to a laptop which is quite heavy to bring along. Initially people use mobile phones to make calls, send message and text message. Today’s, the function of a mobile phone is closer to a handled computer. A Smartphone meet people’s requirement for its variety of function, big screen, and all sorts of rising expectations. By using a Smartphone, people are able to online whenever they want. They can read a book online, chat with friends by using a chatting apps, upload photos once they take, share their feeling in social network or even shopping. There are too many things we can do by just sliding the screen of the Smartphone. 

Because of this, the attention of people is always on the screen of a Smartphone more than the people around him or her. It is very common in nowadays we see a group of people having a dinner but each of them is so busy to chat with their friends (not the friends who having dinner with them) online through all kinds of chatting apps such as Wechat, Line, Whatapps and other,  taking the photo of the food and uploads to the social network, update their status, check-in, or viewing the Facebook and else. Do you think this is a normal phenomenon? For me, of course it is not and is very unhealthy. The habits of life of people are changing and unfortunately they do not find it is a problem for that. Communication between people is less since all they people are looking at the screen of a Smartphone rather then the people around them. They chose to chat with friends online rather than spend time with the people around them. We are changed by the Smartphone and definitely it is not a good change! How long you have not looked at the sky that is much more beautiful than the ‘world’ inside your screen?  So, don’t over-reliance on your mobile phones. It is more worth to enjoy the nice scenery around you and talk face to face with your beloved friends and family members!

The Digital Inequality

Digital Age has begun more than a decade. However, according to the NEW YORK TIMES DAILY REPORT (2013), the Obama administration has poured billions of dollars into expanding the reach of the Internet, and nearly 98 percent of American homes now have access to some form of high-speed broadband. But tens of millions of people are still on the sidelines of the digital revolution, Edward Wyatt reports.

Digital Inequality in another word also means that there is the inequality toward the digital access by all the people. Some people got the internet access anywhere, anytime, but some still facing the problems of the internet access.

Beside the unavailable of the internet access, some digital inequality also means that some people doesn't know how to use the digital and the technology facilities. Compare with teenager, most of the golden citizen are not familiar with the digital technology. Teenager read news or do their finding in the webpage, however, golden citizen would prefer reading news through newspaper.

According to DiMaggio, Hargittai, Celeste, and Shafer (2001), there are four ways that the technology change may social change.

First, Competence destruction increases inequality. Second, New technologies reduce inequality by generating demand for more skilled workers. Third, New technologies influence inequality indirectly by altering the structure of political interests and the capacity of groups to mobilize. Fourth, New technologies enhance social equality by democratizing consumption.


Reference:

DiMaggio P.; Hargittai E.; Celeste C.; and Shafer S. (2001).  From Unequal Access to Differentiated Use: A Literature Review and Agenda for Research on Digital Inequality. Russell Sage Foundation.
http://www.eszter.com/research/pubs/dimaggio-etal-digitalinequality.pdf

New York Times (August 19, 2013). Daily Report: ‘Digital Inequality’ Holds Back Millions in U.S. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/daily-report-digital-inequality-holds-back-millions-in-u-s/ (Last Accessed: 10 March 2014)