You can't STOP progress!!!

What MEDIA, this term really means to me? 

LOOK AROUND what you have been using

THINK AGAIN what you are doing

Personally speaking, media literally means a change, a constant change. As Murphie and Potts have suggested, it refers to a progress that you can't stop, a choice being made to adapt to new technology because nobody wants to be left behind. I can relate to their statement because not long ago, I just start using my new phone Galaxy S4. You can barely see anyone using a brick phone in the public these days, it could be quite a rare phenomenon for having a brick phone among a group of friends who use their latest electronic devices when they are with you, asking you why you still haven't got one. Guess what, I was one of them, the one that borrowed people's phones to take photos of any events I go, and begging them to upload all the photos I have taken from their phones. 

Now you'd like to ask if I have ever thought about having a smartphone to replace my old one after I was the odd one out. The answer is both YES and NO

Before I am going to have my theoretical talk, you need to be given with some parts of my personal story here. First of all, owning a media device, in my point of view, is an act of following the trend. It's the desire to fit in this culture, this digitalised world, your peer group, and every piece of information you should know in order to make yourself feel equal to everyone. It's rather a common thing to deal with a type of similarity that you are looking for. By looking at how frequent my friends have changed one phone to another, I told myself not to be tempted. I stayed with my brick phone for more than 6 years, the same old brick phone N81 that consists a lot of my memories in the past. Until then, I was pushed to get a new phone since everyone around me have been talking about phones, laptops, and other media devices they have purchased. Even my parents think it's really time for me to update my phone because they think that having a smartphone is mainly contributing to one's self-image. I really need to say that a fast-paced digitalised era leave us no choice to say NO to it. Hence, I ended up getting my new phone a few months ago. It has gradually become the major part of me in my daily basis. No matter wherever I go, I need it to navigate the way to a entirely new place by using the GPS it has there, which is a lot more convenient than last year, when I still needed to figure out how to reach a particular place by checking the map the night before. This is just one of the hundreds of examples smartphone offers me. 

There are much more beyond what a smartphone is designated to be at a large picture when the mass media have escalated to a higher level of digitalisation, giving you with more options to make life easier and satisfying. Therefore, a phone isn't only a device for calling or texting anymore. Or let's say, the significance of this medium has a much deeper cultural meaning than what it's presented. It's rather a new way of communication introduced to our community. The impact of this innovation indeed has altered our perception, the way we see the world now compare to how we used to see it before. As such a change is an ongoing process extending our capability, increasing our working efficiency as well as benefiting us in so many aspects that we have never thought it could be this dominant in today's society. One of its popular features, the instantaneity  of electronic devices have made us have more interactivity and hence, the media market is expanding by how much us, the consumers are demanding more and more of this. In other words, it's us letting this change go wild.

Regarding to this week's reading, one of the words I have remembered the most is 'chrono-politics', which has brought up by Virilio. As it has also mentioned during the tutorial, I was told that it generally means one's decision making is according to the change of time-perspective. We now can indulge ourselves in the virtual world connecting to one another regardless which country one comes from, what time zone she/he is in. That being said, it conceptually generates dynamism to the change of decision, which there will be more alternatives for the users to decide what future/outcome they want to have. In other words, the lapse of present time due to a form of abstract sense of 'time travelling' is one of the crucial power in terms of a much faster speed of movement to live in this information society. 

Ultimately digitalisation has given us with convenience and less intervention involved, how can our demand for media stop growing? Can we really discontinue this evolution happening? 

Reference:

Murphie, A & Potts, J (2003). 'Theoretical Frameworks' in culture and technology, p11-38. London, Palgrave Macmillan.