Day four delved into the examination of what ‘new media’ and ‘social media’ is. Consequently, we then spoke about how they operate and how their logics alter user habits. Thus the lecture was split into three parts.

1. New Media
2. Social Media
3. Instagram 

Elaine began by defining new and social media and its relationship to the ever expanding SNS Instagram through an interesting analogy. New media is the jar, it’s a container with a capacity for things, cultures, communication practices, to grow. Social media is one root, the organ of the plant that has begun to grow inside of the container, it has taken advantage of the jar’s capacity and started to grow. Roots are productive, and they produce according to the environment in which they are situated.

If we take this analogy into account, we can assume that medias growth is limited to the shape and size of this ‘jar’. Therefore, it is a metaphorical output that exists as a result from the jar and the roots. Ultimately it is dependant on the jar and of the roots as factors of its own growth. The diagram that was shown was beneficial, as it showed the three entities coexisting and its methodology. 

So what is new media to me? I am a huge fan of advertising, and really enjoyed Elaine’s talk about the Coke rebrand. The coke bottle’s content remains the same, but the medium and packaging has been changed to fit the culture in which it is set. So, when we talk about new media, we can discuss some basic examples. New media scholar Wendy Chun discusses the problem of control and freedom of new media. Chun argues that regular updates are a crucial part of new media; they are ‘disruptive and come at the compulsion to establish new habituation’ (Chun, 2016). 

As I reflect on the ever expanding and demanding concept of technology and new media, I think of Instagram instantly. It’s almost as if Instagram cannot be irrelevant. For example, instagram introduced stories and facial filters on the platform to compete with Snapchat. It almost feels like every week there is a new feature or filter on instagram, and if I don’t have to wear makeup in a picture, I’m not complaining. 

 

Credit: Jenna Rosenstein via Harpers Bazaar

 

References:

Chun, WHK 2016, Updating to Remain the Same: Habitual New Media, MIT Press, Massachusetts, United States.