List of “Must Have Media”
- Game of Thrones, books and TV Show – I am involved with the characters
- Harry Potter – I have followed the series since I was a kid
- The Daily Show –I appreciate the commentary
- CNN.com – I like to get my news on a glance here
- The New York Times – If I am in the mood to do more than browse the headlines I go here.
- Times Magazine – I still enjoy the physical feel of a magazine as a way to digest news
Like any large-scale change to culture, demassification has had both negative and positive effects on society. For some the effects have been good. For others they have been adverse. Those who are making their living off their blog or youtube channel are benefiting from the shift. Those who are invested in traditional media, which is losing reader and viewership, are suffering adverse effects.
For a culture as a whole, I believe that demassification is positive, and will lead to a more democratic system with better checks and balances than with large media houses.
Andrew Feenberg and Maria Bakardjieva in their journal article “Virtual community” no ‘killer implication’” show how their research foresees that demassification will lead to more creating ideas being generated (Feenberg &Bakardjieva, 2004).
Large corporate media houses can have hidden political ties and agendas. Demassification leads to the power of media being in the hands of the masses. This will lead to more voices reaching out. They will, albeit, reach out to a smaller platform. Though no one can stop the trend of demassification, it is good to recognize the positive side to it.
Reference:
Feenberg & Bakardjieva, 2004 Virtual Community: NO ‘killer implication’ http://people.ucalgary.ca/~bakardji/files/pubs/journals/NoKillerImplication.pdf
