Terry Flew Concepts of New Media

This essay discusses Terry Flew's concepts of new media, focusing on mobile media, hacking, and the digital divide. It highlights the evolution of communication technology and the implications of these concepts in contemporary society. The essay emphasizes the importance of understanding new media's role in creating a global village and the challenges posed by the digital divide.

TERRY FLEW CONCEPTS OF NEW MEDIA
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TERRY FLEW CONCEPTS OF NEW MEDIA
New Media entail different forms of media that are contrasted with old media forms like
radio, television and print media. The difference between these media forms and the old one is
based on their interactive process and digital generation that allows users to access different
types of information at the same time.1 New media allows an interactive feedback that makes the
user a participant at the same time. Twenty concepts have been advanced to assist in
understanding contemporary media and communication.2 This essay discusses three concepts of
new media; mobile media, hacking and the
Mobile Media
Mobile phones are the most distributed ICT devices that are easily accessible
everywhere. The international Telecommunications Union estimated 5.981 billion mobile phones
by 2011, a number which must have almost doubled today. Today, mobile media is the leading
communication tool since 80% of the world’s population has a mobile phone.3 The use of these
devices has evolved from voice carriage and text messaging to becoming a full media allowing
users to access music, videos, games, photographs and internet from one single device.4 This
new features plus the rise of tablet devices have made mobile phones the most powerful media
ever.
Today mobile media has become part of daily life where users enjoy the cloud based
technology advantages that are attached to them allowing users to either download ort stream
1 DeFleur, Everette, E Dennis, and L. Melvin, Understanding media in the digital age : connections for communication, society, and
culture. (New York: Allyn & Bacon, 2010),.12
2 Flew, Terry, New Media, (4th. Oxford Univeristy Press, 2014) 24.
3 Ibid, 28
4 Graham, M. , "Time machines and virtual portals: The spatialities of the digital divide." Progress in Development Studies 11 (3): 211-
227(2011), 215.

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content.5 This has changed the world of communication technology since people can access and
use media devices anywhere around the world. This technology seems to be evolving every day
with the rise of applications which are being created to paly different features on the new form of
media.6 With this, mobile media has become part of daily life since they are being used to carry
out every activity of people’s lives. In their near future, the media will be designed to read and
control human functions apart from using it as communication tool.
Hacking
Hacking entail all activities that revolve around programming and design of software for
different purposes. Hacking offers both positive and negative implications, where positive
implications entail hackers working together to improve each other’s content for better features
in their programs7. On the other hand, negative hacking effects on privacy, surveillance and
computer security. Instances of leaking of sensitive information like WikiLeaks is a breach of
national and private security.8 This presents both benefits and threats to security and privacy to
information. Hacking threatens to expose of any new technology and at the same time seek to
increase high levels of transparency in different environments.
A hacker’s world entail creating new technologies and algorithms that can keep
information more secure or uncover secrets that may have been hidden from the general public.
The rise of social media sites enables hackers to easily interact and at the same time share
content with their followers.9 The creation of cyberspace has led to new forms of crime that are
5 Ibid, 16.
6Ibid, 29
7 Ibid, 24
8 Ibid, 220.
9 Halpern, D., and J. Gibbs., "Social media as a catalyst for online deliberation? Exploring the affordances of Facebook and YouTube
for political expression." Computers in Human Behavior 1159-1166, (2013), 1161.

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driven by the need to explore information technology and at the same time, threaten the very
existence of new media forms and the role that they play in the society.
The digital divide
The digital divide entail the gap that is crested in the population through different levels
of access to ICT technologies. This is based on a combination of socio-economic factors and
physical geographical patterns that give some populations advantage over others regarding
access.10 The digital divide composes global divide which is the differences of access among
nations while social divide entail gaps that exist within a nation regarding access to internet
related content that leads to different access levels among populations.
The need to achieve global connectivity has been driven by the urge to reduce global
digital divisions. Infrastructural resources have been put in place and even international bodies
like the UN setting millennium development goals that describe the nature of infrastructure that
needs to be put in place by all countries.11 Reducing digital divisions is one way of allowing the
globe to enjoy benefits associated with new media and bringing the benefits closer.12
New media has created a different space within the world that has changed the world into
a global village. This is through allowing interactive and feedback sessions of real time data
among users.13 The web has changed everything that ever existed since access to content is just a
click away. Today new media through tools like social media and the internet are used in almost
every activity to reach out to a wider base of people. This has been seen in political campaigns,
civil society activities, and social life and even in academic forums to keep track of activities that
10 Ibid, 25
11 Madon, S., N. Reinhard, D. Roode, and G. Walsham., "Digital inclusion projects in developing countries: Processes of
institutionalization(2007), 17.
12 Chen, W., and B. Wellman, "The global digital divide within and between countries." Journal of IT & Society 1 (7): 39-45(2004), 41.
13 Wasserman, Herman, "Is a New Worldwide Web Possible? An Explorative Comparison of the Use of ICTs by Two South African Social
Movements." African Studies Review 50 (1): 109-131, (2007), 124.

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happen around us.14 New media forms have not reached their peak but rather, they are evolving
to something bigger than what we are experiencing today.
14 Towner, T. L., "All Political Participation is Socially Networked? New Media and the 2012 Election." Social Science Computer Review
1-15, (2013), 5.

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References
Chen, W., and B. Wellman. 2004. "The global digital divide within and between countries."
Journal of IT & Society 1 (7): 39-45, 2004.
DeFleur, Everette, E Dennis, and L. Melvin. 2010. Understanding media in the digital age :
connections for communication, society, and culture. New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Flew, Terry. 2014. New Media. 4th. Oxford Univeristy Press.
Graham, M. 2011. "Time machines and virtual portals: The spatialities of the digital divide."
Progress in Development Studies 11 (3): 211-227.
Halpern, D., and J. Gibbs. 2013. "Social media as a catalyst for online deliberation? Exploring
the affordances of Facebook and YouTube for political expression." Computers in
Human Behavior 1159-1168.
Madon, S., N. Reinhard, D. Roode, and G. Walsham. 2007. "Digital inclusion projects in
developing countries: Processes of institutionalization." Proceedings of the 9th
International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries.
Sao Paulo.
Towner, T. L. 2013. "All Political Participation is Socially Networked? New Media and the 2012
Election." Social Science Computer Review 1-15.
Wasserman, Herman. 2007. "Is a New Worldwide Web Possible? An Explorative Comparison of
the Use of ICTs by Two South African Social Movements." African Studies Review 50
(1): 109-131.