Thursday, October 15, 2009 by Pete
the issue of the importance of the internet in our lives was recently brought up in a tutorial. The vastness of the internet allows the potential to connect the whole of the globe in a way which enables complete connection of two of the five human senses regardless of distance, consequently The pros and cons included within an analysis of its worth in society are at least as far reaching as its abilities.
One effect of the internet is debilitating in the extreme to one facet of human existence being the humble newspaper. The future of traditional forms of media journalism hangs in the balance in the face of such threats as citizen journalism; distrust of the media and primarily the blogosphere, whose progress can be tracked trough analysis of the change in Jurgen Habberma’s Public sphere. The question is, who cares? Is this simply evolution of global and social media presentation? Some would argue that traditional forms of media have had a monopoly over a market that ordinary citizens lacked the capacity do furnish themselves.
The creation, recognition and classification of the Blogosphere possesses by its very nature the potential for evolution in the field of Habbermas Public Sphere. The ability for the common user to acknowledge a news item, or indeed any item of interest, is the beginning of their search. Links provide the option for said user to direct his attention instantly to relevant information. The instigation of citizen journalism comes in to effect here as not only can the views of experts and specialists able to be amalgamated, but the eye witness account of someone at the scene of a particular event or story can provide depth that a newspaper could never accumulate on one subject in one article. Through this, the ability for our searcher to gain a level of comprehension of the subject is potentially limitless. Whereas a newspaper delivers one reading of a story, Blog searching can provide many, allowing the reader the opportunity to make up their own mind while reducing speculation.
Newspapers are leading the forlorn hope of traditional media. The level of information provided by the internet has swamped that contained in newspapers. Subscriptions are in steep decline as readers have found convenience in the solitary pursuit of information palpable to them as an individual. Television journalism still remains convenient, but for how long? It once heralded the decline of print journalism and now it is possible that its life will be more short-lived. The death of traditional journalism will be reported by blog.
This is just one contentious argument for the analysis of internets benefit to society. There are many more. The future of this issue will be decided by the poles of human interaction and demand which in the long term remain unpredictable.