Photo Credit: canonsnapper via Compfight cc

In this weeks workshop, we talked about the readings by David Gauntlett regarding creativity and digital media – talking about a change in the way we think about media studies. Dubbed “media studies 2.0”, this new form of media studies encourages creativity and making, rather than the old model where theoretical studies is more prevalent. My previous post talks a bit about this change, so go ahead and read up on it if you haven’t already (it’s freee~).

So what kind of affects will this shift impose? How will it change your day-to-day life? Well, as our class discussed in huge detail, we are already in the process of this shift, and it’s called social media. First of all, let me get this straight. You don’t need to be a media practitioner to create media. Almost every single one of us create media in some way or form. Posting a Facebook status, uploading on Snapchat, or even posting a new photo on Instagram are all forms of media creation.

But with all forms of media, comes the ‘two peaks’. Gauntlett refers to these peaks as the positive and negative sides of media. One peak is inspirational and optimistic, often referring to creativity and the making of media itself. The other peak is negative and pessimistic, referring to data exploitation, surveillance and digital capitalism. So what does this mean for you and I? Why should you and I care about this ‘peak’ mumbo-jumbo? Well as creators of media, you and I encounter both these peaks more than we realise.

Let’s use Facebook as an example. Over 1.5 billion people use Facebook all across the world. Considering that the world population is around 7.4 billion, that is a absurd amount of users. Facebook is a more powerful tool than people realise. Facebook’s prevalence in today’s society has allowed even the smallest of voices to be heard, allowing us all to say our thoughts and opinions. Unfortunately, this comes at a price – and we pay for it. First of all, in order to be allowed to use Facebook, you need to give a number of details to the company. This includes, but not limited to; full name, phone number, e-mail address and home address. Facebook will then track your searches on the internet, and use this information as an improved way to target advertisements to the right audience. Here’s the scary part. Facebook will not only track your searches on it’s own website, but also the browsing you do on other websites. For example, if you have been browsing for a new television from the official Sony website, Facebook will be able to track this history, and use it to advertise Sony televisions to you whenever you are on Facebook. And this goes for any website. This sort of data collection is made possible through the use of cookies. Cookies are a small data package sent from a website that you browse, and is stored on your browser history. Facebook then can read this cookies, and use it to direct relevant advertisements that have a likely chance of interesting you. So while Facebook allows its users to be creative and upload statuses, images and video; while also allowing you to communicate with friends near and far, it comes at the negative cost of allowing the company to exploit your data for profit and in-turn, capitalize on your information.

Potential employers may also use your media to their advantage. According to Forbes, it was found that “37% of employers use social networks to screen potential job candidates”. That means almost two out of five companies you apply for will use your social media as a way of determining whether your fit for a job. Your resumé is no longer the only tool they have at their disposal to gauge their potential employees. As such, even if your resumé was spick-and-span from top to bottom; one upload of a drunken night-out can make or break your potential employment. Surveillance will always be prevalent for as long as you continue to upload media on these social media sites.

This class exercise really made what Gauntlett was talking about relative to me. At first when I read it, I sort of just shrugged it off. Now that I know the full extent of how this change is affecting me on a personal, it’s definitely become a much more interesting topic to discuss.