New media is taking over old media. This is being depicted by the covers of the popular news magazine, The New Yorker. In the cover of its April 30, 2007 issue, The New Yorker shows a man and woman standing in front of a huge abstract painting. The man, wearing glasses, is holding a digital camera and both are looking at the image of the painting on the screen of the camera. They are dressed casually and appear to be young adults. Meanwhile, in its August 18, 2010, The New Yorker depicts a man sitting on a chair inside a library and watching something from his laptop computer.
He has earphones on and is staring intently on the screen of his computer. Behind him are floor–to-ceiling shelves filled with books.
For the first cover, the old media is the painting while the new media is the digital picture. Both are showing the image of the colorful abstract painting. However, the couple preferred to look at the digital image rather than be awed by the huge mural. The reason may be because the digital copy is more convenient and portable. By taking the picture, they can look at the image anytime, thus making it more accessible.
For the second cover, the books are the old media while the laptop computer is the new media. The man looks more interested on watching his computer screen rather than taking any of the books behind him and read the contents. He could either be watching a movie or looking at an audio-visual presentation. The preference for the new media results from a more engaging experience. If he was reading books, his imagination would provide the sights and sounds of the story. In a watching a video, or any audio-visual material, he experiences the story because he sees the sights on the screen and he hears the conversations and sounds through his earphone. The advantage is everything is provided about the story with the effects and all; but the disadvantage is his imagination doesn’t become as active as when he was reading a book.
The new media are certainly technological progress. These enable the reader or consumer more interesting and engaging experiences. The painting enthusiasts do not have to go to the museum or galleries to be able to look at their favorite paintings over and over because they have the pictures. The digital camera makes it convenient and easily accessible. The same thing happens with enjoying a story from the computer. You can do it anywhere, not just in the library.
The disadvantage comes when technology is prioritized over personal communication. The couple looks at the digital picture instead of talking to each other about the painting. The man watches a story instead of reading a book and discussing about it in a group. When the person becomes focused on the media instead of using the media to interact more with other people then this would be pushing out traditional ways of communication.
Moderation is always the key in consumption, even with technological instruments. When one allows himself to be consumed with the new media, that is a bad way to experience the technological progress. However, if a person uses the new media to deepen his/her interaction with others, then the new media becomes an effective tool. We should appreciate the new media but we need to remind ourselves that these are just tools to make us more effective communicators.
