UNIT 1: EMERGENCE OF DIGITAL MEDIA
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Learning Outcomes
1.2 Defining Digital Media
1.2.1 Understanding Digital, Online, New Media, WWW
1.3 Characteristics of Digital Media
1.3.1 Interactivity
1.3.2 Convergence
1.3.3 Immediacy
1.3.4 Archiving
1.3.1 Linkages
1.4 Digital Media in India
1.4.1 Digital landscape
1.4.2 Digital Media: Historical Perspective
1.4.3 The Impact of Digital Media on Traditional Media
1.5 Digital Media and Journalism: Emerging Trends
1.5.1 Data-Driven Journalism
1.5.2 Digital stories
1.5.3 Mapping in Journalism
1.6 Challenges
1.6.1 Fake Information
1.6.2 Online Abuse and Threats; Trolling
1.7 Let Us Sum Up
1.8 Further Readings
1.9 Check Your Progress: Possible Answers
1.0 INTRODUCTION
From reading the newspaper to watching television, from listening to the
radio and watching films, each and every media consumption experience has
been affected by the emergence of Digital media. Newspapers are being read
on laptops, tablets and smartphones. Even while reading the print version,
there is always a temptation to go online to watch a video using a certain
app. Online medium world over is giving a tough competition to Print and
TV. Many people are consuming media messages not from the established
television channel but by subscribing to YouTubers. Radio sets are often
seen in households unused as people are tuned into their favourite channels
through smartphones. The medium has not only affected the consumption
pattern but has also affected the way media messages are produced. New
technologies have impacted every function in a media house. Old ways of
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Internet & Social Scenario working on certain products have been replaced by a new way of packaging
information influenced by the emergence of technologies.
In this unit, we shall discuss the emergence of digital media, the digital
media landscape, the opportunities and challenges of digital media, and its
impact on traditional media. Different terms are being used interchangeably
for Digital Media like online media, new media, ICT etc. we will discuss all
these terms for your conceptual understanding.
1.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
●● describe what digital media is and how it has impacted the media
landscape;
●● articulate the effect of digital media on legacy media and how legacy
media has adapted to the recent technological advancements;
●● analyse the challenges posed by the digital media; and
●● explore and use digital tools for constructing media messages.
1.2 DEFINING DIGITAL MEDIA
Every industry is relooking and reinventing various processes like
production, resource management, marketing and is aligning them to the
rules of the digital world. Media Industry, too has undergone a sea change
through the digital transformation process. In recent years, every function
of a media organisation has been affected by new technologies. While some
media houses were very prompt and active in embracing these changes,
others lagged. Laggards, though, could not resist the change for long and
had to hop to the digital be and wagon to survive in the industry. Slowly
they too embraced technology’s meaningful role in the digital world.
1.2.1 Understanding Digital, Online, New Media
In media, a number of terms are used interchangeably, like New Media,
Information and Communication Technologies, Digital Media, Online
media, Multimedia, Convergence media, etc. There are some overlaps, but
the meaning varies with the context. Let us explore the meaning of these
terms:
●● Information and Communication Technologies: According to the
World Bank, ICT consists of hardware, software, networks, and media
for collection, storage, processing, transmission, and presentation of
information (voice, data, text, images)
●● Digital Media: The digital process breaks down all information(
data, text graphics, audio, pictures or video into a sequence of
numbers ( digits), transports it by wire, cable or broadcast frequency
to a destination and then re-assembles it back into its original form.
Digital media refers to audio, video, and photo content that has
been encoded (digitally compressed). Encoding content involves
converting audio and video input into a digital media file such as a
Windows Media file. After digital media is encoded, it can be easily
manipulated, distributed, and rendered (played) by computers and is
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easily transmitted over computer networks. Examples of digital media Emergence of Digital Media
types include Windows Media Audio (WMA), Windows Media Video
(WMV), MP3, JPEG, and AVI.
●● New Media: New Media refers to those digital Media that are
interactive, incorporate two-way communication and involve some
form of computing as opposed to ‘old media’ such as telephone, radio
and TV, according to Robert Logan (2010).
●● Online Media: This is a generic term often used loosely to describe
digital information access, retrieval or dissemination. This means
accessing the information on the Internet via modem or telephone
line.
●● Multimedia: This means using more than one media technique (text,
audio, still images, moving images) to tell a story. A multimedia news
story then is any piece that uses two or more media to tell it.
The terms mentioned above are deeply linked and thus difficult to distinguish.
The significance of limiting this definition is largely contextual. While
Information and Communication Technology encompasses everything from
hardware to software and includes dissemination of information, the focus
is on what makes any information digital in the Digital Media definition. In
New Media, stress is on how the digital media is being used with interaction
and two-way communication as its important feature. Multimedia, however,
is the combination of two or more media techniques which is easily possible
only when the information is available in digital format. While there is an
overlapping basis for these, each of these terms has some distinct feature.
For this chapter, the term Digital Media will include online platforms, social
media, new digital tools, and the new ways of packaging and disseminating
information, all in the context of the media industry.
1.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF DIGITAL MEDIA
There has been a massive growth in the popularity of the digital media
world over in the last decade. Digital media is seen as a threat to legacy
media. Wherever there is a decline in newspapers’ readership, Digital has
been quoted as one of the major reasons. Whether digital is responsible for
the decline in the growth of legacy media will be explored in the subsections
later in this unit. In this section, the focus will be on the characteristics that
made digital media a popular platform.
1.3.1 Interactivity
The most important characteristic that distinguishes Digital Media from
traditional media is ‘interactivity’. It allows people to rate, share, like and
comment on any message. There is a shift from the limited interactivity
that traditional media offered earlier in letters to the editor or the feedback
programmes on TV and radio to the unlimited interactivity that digital
media offers. This interactivity allows people to respond or react to the
messages constructed by the media houses. Still, it also turns consumers into
producers, wherein people are not just consuming media messages but also
constructing media messages. This feature has turned passive consumers
into active producers. Most news portals nowadays offer opportunities to
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Internet & Social Scenario the users to interact with the content (in the case of interactive stories),
interact with the producers of the content, and provide space for user-
generated content. Report for CNN is an example of how mainstream media
encourages its audience to interact with the platform. Here, the interaction
is not just writing comments or rating stories done by CNN. Still, iReport
for CNN” is an interactive, international monthly half-hour TV program
showcasing the most newsworthy and informative iReport contributions
and citizen journalism reports on the Internet. Besides sending it to the
platform, citizens can post it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with the
hashtag #CNNiReport. Check the following website to know more:
http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/ireport/
Activity - 1
There are many examples of citizen journalism. Try to find out case
studies where mainstream media welcomed contributions from citizen
journalists.
1.3.2 Convergence
Digital Media makes the merging of various mass communication formats
like print, television and radio. On the Internet, every medium resides next
to another. You can listen to an audio interview, watch the event happening
and read the story simultaneously. Journalists use one medium to tell one
aspect of the story and another medium to tell another aspect. For example,
a story on a satellite launch in India might use an explainer video to explain
demonetisation, photographs to tell how it is being implemented, text to
analyse the initiative and audio for interviews with the experts. You could
combine these elements with telling a story on launching a satellite. This is
also called multimedia journalism. In this case, each media element is an
important part of the story. Multimedia reporting is usually confused with
parallel reporting. Two or three journalists cover a story for print, video,
or audio in parallel reporting. In such cases, these stories are independent
of each other. As they are separate stories told by different journalists.
Even if it is uploaded on the website, the only thing they have in common
is the subject; otherwise, stories are different. In multimedia journalism,
various media elements are weaved in the story according to the story’s
requirements. Several digital tools can help journalists to write multimedia
stories. Some examples of the multimedia story can be seen at the following
link:
https://infogr.am/examples
1.3.3 Immediacy
Another important characteristic of Digital Media is immediacy. While in
radio and television only one thing can be shown at one time and to show
another the previous one has to be interrupted, on websites one can have
multiple stories, and same can be updated as the developments on those
events take place. A single story can post several updates on one story. By
introducing live broadcasts, social networking sites have changed the game
altogether. Traditional Media houses, as well as locals, can broadcast any
event live. The broadcast feature, though, offers many opportunities with
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just a Smartphone in hand and no other infrastructure. But at the same time Emergence of Digital Media
use of this feature has drawn a lot of criticism.
Here is an example of Live Streaming of Iraqi and Kurdish forces advancing
on Mosul. ‘‘So what are we to make of Mosul, as Kurds and Iraqis advance
on the city via 24/7 streaming on Facebook Live from Al-Jazeera, Channel
4 News and a Kurdish agency? Do we want an emoji on every blast of
destruction? “Like”, “like”, “like” the carnage … Is this some sort of
macabre computer game?” Peter Preston Columnist with Guardian about
Channel 4 News’ Facebook Live broadcasts is a new trend and to add to
this is the latest feature of 360 videos by the Live broadcast app like a
periscope. So it is not just a live shot, but with 360 videos on Periscope, one
can experience moments with the broadcaster and take a look around — it’s
one step closer to being there.
Activity – 2
Explore Facebook Live or Periscope to broadcast local events in your
area.
1.3.4 Archiving
Another characteristic differentiating digital from legacy media is its inherent
capacity to archive news stories, videos, audio and infographics. The shelf
life of news, which used to be very limited, has increased tremendously,
with all sorts of content lying on different website shelves. One can visit that
content anytime. The tags and keywords act as keys to those shelves. For
example, you can access an article on global trade by typing a search query
in the search box. If the article is given a tag like trade, Indian economy
etc., it will be easy to retrieve it from the repository full of millions of
articles. So it is important to have a well-archived website, but it should be
well searchable. Archiving can also help writers provide important context
to what they are presently writing and can be an excellent resource for
research. For readers, it provides an opportunity for non-linear consumption
of content. They can create their own stories by reading different pieces
written by different writers and at different times.
1.3.1 Linkages
Archiving and information available on the web make linkages possible. It
is easy to link the article to something written earlier on the same topic or
with an article on the same subject written by a different writer. Linkages
provide depth to the story. In Digital, for any story, the amount of space is
limited, so is the case in print, TV and radio, where there is limited space
and time. While in legacy media, the challenge is to tell the entire story
in the limited time and space allocated to it, digital media overcomes this
challenge by providing links to other relevant material. It could be an
article on the same website or some report lying outside the website. While
linkages broaden the scope of the story and anyone can explore multiple
angles simultaneously, it also poses the challenge of losing a reader to some
other website or content. It becomes very difficult to bring readers back to
the site once they are navigating out of the website to look for other content.
Therefore, it is important to use linkages strategically in any story.
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Internet & Social Scenario Check Your Progress - 1
Note: 1) Use the space provided below for your Answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1. Once digital media is encoded, it can be easily……….......….. and
………….. by computers and is easily transmitted over computer
networks.
2. ………….. for CNN is an example of how mainstream media
encourages its audience to interact with the platform.
3. Write four characteristics of Digital media.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
4. With Digital Media, there is a shift from limited interactivity to
unlimited interactivity. Discuss.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
1.4 DIGITAL MEDIA IN INDIA
1.4.1 Digital Landscape
India is going through a digital revolution. The amount of growth that India
has seen in internet penetration is unprecedented. India has become the
second-largest country globally in terms of internet users, with 462 million
people connected with the Internet after China. The penetration is 34.8 %,
according to http://www.internetlivestats.com (Internet Live Stats is part
of the Real-Time Statistics Project which provides live internet data). The
government’s Digital India Programme (Digital India programme has been
launched by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology,
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of
India) has given a fillip to digital media in India. The Digital India campaign
is centred around three visions:
●● digital infrastructure as a core utility for every citizen
●● governance and services on demand
●● digital empowerment of citizens
All the digital initiatives to fulfil the visions mentioned above will
contribute significantly to strengthening digital media in India. While it has
already contributed to increasing the number of internet users in India, the
implementation of Digital infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen
will also increase the internet penetration, which is low compared to other
countries. India has also seen tremendous growth in mobile use both for
data and voice. Though it took two decades to reach a billion connections
covering over 100 million unique subscribers, India has become one of the
largest mobile markets in the world.
This trend encouraged people in the media industry to take Media Mobile
Apps seriously. Several media houses have created their apps so that
they can connect with those 100 million subscribers. Also, because of the
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popularity of the platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook, there is a need to Emergence of Digital Media
repurpose content for those who are consuming media messages using these
platforms.
Media industry research has shown that media content creation, access and
consumption have gone through enormous changes in the second decade of
the 21st century, globally, and in India, and shifts would be more dramatic
over the next five years by the end of 2020. Three main factors responsible
for this trend are:
1. Technology and internet access, especially fast mobile data and
broadband
2. Gadgets, especially smartphones and streaming media devices
3. The app ecosystem.
The growth in digital advertising has been the maximum over the last
few years compared to other media segments. This massive growth is the
increase in the internet user base, which includes mobile internet users.
1.4.2 Digital Media: Historical Perspective
Digital Media and Print Media
In India, The Hindu was the first newspaper to start its website in 1991.
After that, most of the newspapers built their websites to connect with
the people who had access to the Internet. In 2007, Malayala Manorama
became the first regional newspaper to establish its presence in digital
media by launching a mobile app. Newspapers like The Times of India,
The Hindustan Times, The Hindu and The Indian Express joined Twitter
in 2009-2010. In 2012, TOI forayed into augmented reality by launching
its Alive App. The app allows users to scan any picture or graphic and then
take them to the relevant multimedia content. In 2013 mobile media apps
became very popular. One app that emerged as a leader was ‘Inshorts’. The
app was an instant success and was based on the premise that people would
like to consume messages quickly. Hence, the news is constructed so that it
delivers the entire story in a few words.
To make their content easily accessible through search engines, many media
outlets forayed into Search Engine Optimisation and Digital marketing.
Social media marketing became as important as content. Media houses
trained their staff or hired digital marketing agencies just to be on top of the
Search Engine Result Page list and get more clicks and traffic.
A lot of experiments were being done in the ways news was told. Anyone
explored several digital tools that allowed the development of stories in
different ways. This was the year of immersive storytelling. Malayala
Manorama online started offering 360-degree videos.
Immersive storytelling aims to give the consumers a feeling of really being
there’ by using 3D gaming, 360-degree videos, and virtual and augmented
reality technologies. The delivery of news and storytelling is made more
hard-hitting and entertaining by using advanced technologies.
Media & TV
With the increase in internet connectivity and the availability of cheap
smartphones, there was an explosion of online videos. Anyone who had
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Internet & Social Scenario access to technology and internet-enabled phone also had the opportunity
to create and disseminate videos. One could also do something unheard of
until a few years back, creating one’s channel. Depending on the interest,
youtube is full of channels on DIYs, politics, news, entertainment, travel,
food etc. The reach of many of these channels is much more than that
of a traditional TV channel. The last few years have witnessed massive
growth in the number of videos created and uploaded. In addition to internet
connectivity and cheap smartphones, this was made possible by new digital
tools that allow creating and editing videos on the go.
Most of the social networking websites like Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter
integrated these tools so that anyone could create and disseminate these
videos for the forty-two per cent of the world population that is connected
with the Internet. Some of the emerging trends we are witnessing nowadays
are immersive storytelling (360-degree videos), video selfies etc. The Quint,
an online news platform, roped in Barkha Dutt, senior journalist, during the
2017 state elections (UP) for new media journalism. She used selfie videos
and Facebook live extensively to cover UP elections.
Also, The New York Times announced its launch on snap chat discovered
forum in 2017. The idea was to reach 41 % of all 18-34 years old in the
US using snap chat. In comparison, an average individual US TV network
reaches 6% of the same demographic.
The examples of The Quint and The New York Times show how new
technology shapes the way media messages are constructed. TV no longer
has the monopoly over videos, even online newspapers host videos on their
portal.
Digital Media and Radio
Keeping in view the increase in internet penetration and growth of
smartphone segments in India, traditional broadcast radio channels have
taken their stations online. Some companies run internet-based radio
services.
Radio has remained a strong partner of the media and marketing mix.
Radio broadcasters adapt well to how digital channels are changing the
industry, turning mobile phones and the Internet into a way to extend their
brands, protect their listener share, and reach new audiences. Radio stations
these days have also created engaging websites and apps, where audiences
can listen to podcasts, stream radio broadcasts and experience visual, video,
text or interactive content.
Check Your Progress - 2
Note: 1) Use the space provided below for your Answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1. Which department has been entrusted with launching and implementing
the Digital India programme?
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
2. Three visions of the Digital India programme are:
Evolution of Mass Media ……………………………………………
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3. In 2012, TOI forayed into augmented reality by launching. Emergence of Digital Media
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
4. ......................................................................................... is an app that
delivers news content in limited words.
1.5 EMERGING TRENDS IN DIGITALMEDIA
1.5.1 Data-Driven Journalism
Data Journalism, big data, data analytics are buzzwords nowadays. Data
is being used by media houses to tell stories. The open data movement has
made it easier for communicators and journalists to access and use data.
Many countries are releasing their data as open data to be used by the public
for various purposes. In India, the www.data.gov.in platform hosts data from
all the Ministries and departments.
The data.gov.in is the result of the National Data Sharing and Accessibility
Policy (NDSAP), which the Government of India notified in March 2012 to
promote a culture of data sharing and data utility for meeting larger socio-
economic goals. Adhering to the norms laid out by this policy, the National
Informatics Centre (NIC) has set up Open Government Data (OGD)
Platform India – (http://data.gov.in), which is a state of the art dynamic
data-sharing platform espousing the principle of Open Government Data.
The portal has many rich features to support this policy, such as the
‘Search & Discovery’ mechanism for instant access to various datasets
of great importance. Community engagements around published datasets
for innovative applications on open data can provide customised citizen
services. Tools/ Apps/Visualisation so developed by using this platform has
played a pivotal role in increasing transparency and citizens’ participation
in the governance process.
The Emergence of Digital Media
Data Portals.org is the most comprehensive list of open data portals globally.
It is curated by a group of leading open data experts worldwide, including
representatives from local, regional and national governments, international
organisations such as the World Bank, and numerous NGOs. The data on
these platforms are freely available for the researchers to work on.
According to David Anderton, freelance journalist, Data journalism bridges
the gap between statisticians and wordsmiths.
Data journalism uses sheer scale and range of digital information to tell
compelling stories. Data journalism focuses not on what happened but on
what a particular development means.
Several digital tools are available to work on data-based stories. Some of
the tools are as follows:
1. Google fusion table
2. Lucid chart
3. Silk
4. Infogram
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Internet & Social Scenario 5. Picktochart
6. Tableaux
7. Carto
Activity - 3
Explore the following website to see the amount and range of data
available: www.data.gov.in
1.5.2 Digital stories
Digital stories are a new way of storytelling. This means telling stories by
using computer-based tools. They are also known as digital documentaries,
computer-based narratives, digital essays, electronic memoirs and interactive
storytelling.
They all revolve around the idea of combining the art of telling stories with
Evolution of MassMedia, a variety of multimedia, including graphics,
audio, video, and Web publishing.
The duration of digital stories is shorter, i.e. from 2 to 1 minutes. Some of
the tools which are used to tell digital stories are:
1. Powtoon
2. Moovly
3. We video
Activity - 4
Following is the link to the digital story on Panama leaks. Watch this to
understand the concept which is explained with Piggy banks. Find out
some more digital stories on the web and attempt to make one yourself on
a subject of your choice.
The Panama Papers, explained with piggy banks https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=k2APYPjTWZ8
1.5.3 Mapping in Journalism
‘Where’ are the important element of 1Ws and one H in journalism. It
describes the place where the event took place and can tell a great deal
about the story. Geography, culture, politics, and economics have to do with
any event occurring at a particular place. So if it is news about the Nepal
earthquake, the geographical features of that place become important. If it
is news related to Arab spring, the political environment of those countries
in the Middle East becomes important. While a few years back, the name
of the place in the story was enough, or one or two shots of the location
were adequate. Today, we are when Digital savvy readers prefer to have
an immersive experience. How about feeling the place, exploring more
than what one-shot offers, navigating from one place to another or visiting
different locations to find out more information? It would be interesting and
enriching to be a part of the scene and experience the story’s fun, excitement,
horror, and pain.
With live broadcasts and geotagging, a lot of information is generated from
various locations. The information generated from various sites can be an
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excellent resource for journalists. Putting this information together and Emergence of Digital Media
converting it into a story can be challenging.
Mapping can be a powerful storytelling tool, which journalists can use
to take their audience on a journey following a narrative storyline or to
illustrate and make sense of fast-moving breaking news events (Catalina
Albeanu 2014).
Mapping places and live broadcasts are emerging trends and to add to
this is the latest feature of 360-degree video by the Live broadcast app
like Periscope. So it is not just a live shot, but with a 360-degree video on
Periscope, one can experience moments with the broadcaster and take a
look around — it’s one step closer to being there.
The new technologies have made both generations and storage of data
possible. There is a lot of data based on locations. According to Gustavo
Faleiros, data journalist and media trainer, most data sets contain location-
related information that makes them good candidates for mapping. “Maps
are also a great tool for allowing user interaction,” said, “and just a great
way to tell stories.”
There are hundreds of tools available to create maps. Some are free, some
paid and some available on the fermium model. The learning curve for these
tools is also varied. Some tools can be learnt easily, and some have a steep
learning curve. To get started, Google Maps is the easiest option. One can
start by mapping schools, colleges or the places to visit or places visited,
to begin with. Google My Maps can be accessed by searching in a search
engine or Go https:/ /www.google.com/maps/d/
How to create your Map
●● Step 1 Visit google maps and click on the menu
●● Step 2 In Menu, click your places
●● Step 3 Create maps
Other tools for mapping are:
1) Google fusion table
2) Story map
3) Carto
4) Infogram
Activity - 1
Create your Map by using Google my Maps.
1.6 CHALLENGES
1.6.1 Fake information
While digital media has made the work of communicators easier by providing
cheap platforms and easy-to-use digital tools, it also poses many challenges
for the producers and consumers of media messages. Undoubtedly, Digital
Media has democratised the media landscape by providing others with an
opportunity to create and disseminate. Anyone can be a producer, director,
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Internet & Social Scenario writer and distributor, but this also poses many challenges. There is a lot
of information available on the web that is inaccurate. Hence a new term,
“Post Truth”, was coined, which means “circumstances in which objective
facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion
and personal belief.”
During the US presidential election, we have seen a barrage of fake news
like Pope’s support to Donald Trump and Hillary’s link with ISIS. There
were hundreds of fake websites created in Macedonia to spread such false
information. In India, too, we witness the continuous flow of such messages
on WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook. A lot of initiatives are being taken to
curb this. Facebook has added “It’s a fake News story” options for the users
to report any fake story. Facebook will also flag fake news stories with the
help of users and third-party fact-checkers.
Many third-party fact-checking organisations have sprung up in the last few
years to curb the flow of false information. Organisations like International
Fact-Checking Network lead the movement. As part of this network, more
than 100 websites conduct fact checks. In India, two organisations are
conducting fact checks fact check-in and check4spam.com. Though there
is a need for such initiatives, this should be supported by a digital literacy
campaign.
1.6.2 Online abuse and Threats; Trolling
The Internet has made lives easier for those who want to use it for
constructive purposes and those who would like to use it in destructive and
disruptive ways. This practice of using the Internet for destructive ways in
a social setting with no apparent instrumental purpose is termed Internet
Trolling. The concept has emerged recently, and researches are being done
on Internet Trolling as a phenomenon. The purpose and intent of trolls,
their psychology and their process of creating chaos online is an important
area of study, keeping in view the drastic increase in the number of such
cases the world over. A closer look at the trolls and their comments shows
a pattern. From a person seeking attention by being disruptive to the one
enjoying hurting others displaying sadism to the one taking advantage of
being anonymous online, internet trolls can be categorised in several ways.
Who are Internet trolls?
Internet Trolls are the individuals on the web who connect to create chaos.
According to the researcher, Dr. Claire Hardaker, a troll is “a computer
user who constructs the identity of sincerely wishing to be part of the group
in question … but whose real intention is to cause disruption and/or trigger
conflict for the purposes of one’s own amusement.” Dr. Claire categorises
trolls in the following manners according to their intent and the people or
issues they target.
1. RIP trolls, who spend their time causing misery on memorial sites
2. Fame trolls, who focus all their energies on provoking celebrities;
3. Care trolls, who purport to see abuse in every post about children or
animals
4. Political trolls who seek to bully MPs out of office; and many others.
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Helen Lewis (2014), in her article “Who are the trolls” published in New Emergence of Digital Media
Statesman, added two more categories to this:
1. Subcultural trolls - or “true” trolls - the ones who trawl forums full of
earnest people and derail their conversations with silly questions, or
hackers
2. Professional trolls” or “columnists”: writers and public figures whose
media careers are built on their willingness to “say the unsayable”;
or rather, say something which will attract huge volumes of attention
(albeit negative) and hits.
Reasons for Internet Trolling
US Researcher Alice Marwick gives the following explanation for Internet
Trolling: “There’s the disturbing possibility that people are creating online
environments purely to express the type of racist, homophobic, or sexist
speech that is no longer acceptable in public society, at work, or even at
home.” Anonymity hence is the biggest reason for Internet Trolling. This
anonymity leads to online disinhibition, which is one of the characteristics
of Internet Trolling. According to Psychologist John Seller (2004), some
people self-disclose or act out more frequently or intensely when online. He
explored six factors that interact in creating this online disinhibition effect:
dissociative anonymity, invisibility, synchronicity, solipsistic introjection,
dissociative imagination, and minimisation of authority. Personality
variables also will influence the extent of this disinhibition. All the above
factors described by Seller triggers Internet Trolling.
Check Your Progress - 3
Note: 1) Use the space provided below for your Answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1. What is the main objective of open data movement?
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
2. .............................................. is the most comprehensive list of open
data portals in the world.
3. Name three digital tools that can help you to work on data-based
stories.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
4. ...............................................................Name three digital tools that
can help you to create Maps.
5. What do you understand by “Post truth”.
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1.7 LET US SUM UP
Digital Media in India is growing at a very fast pace. Keeping in view
the various initiatives under digital India that will strengthen the digital
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Internet & Social Scenario infrastructure, this trend will continue. The Indian Media Industry has
embraced digital, and all the platforms, including print, magazines, TV and
radio, are adapting themselves to remain relevant in the digital era. Digital
Media offers many opportunities like new ways of storytelling, marketing
and research. Still, at the same time, it is being criticised for creating a lot of
chaos by spreading false information, and issue like trolling has caught the
attention of many in recent years. The medium offers many features, and it is
up to the people how these features can be exploited constructively. And the
vision of Digital India puts it very succinctly that with Digital infrastructure
for every citizen and government services on demand, there is also a great
need for digital empowerment of citizens if India has to become a digitally
empowered society and knowledge economy.
1.8 FURTHER READINGS
1. Michael M.A. Mirabito Barbara L. Morgenstern, The New
Communication Technologies; Applications, Policy, and Impact,
Focal Press (2004)
2. John Vince and Rae Earns haw, Digital convergence: The Information
Revolution, Springer (1999)
3. Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen, The New Digital Age, Reshaping the
future of people, nations and Business, John Murray (2013)
4. Lotz, A. D. 2009. What is US television now? In E. Katz & P.
Scannell (Eds.), the annals of the American Academy of Political
and Social Science (Vol. 621, pp. 49–19). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
5. Hardaker, C. (2010). “Trolling in asynchronous computer-mediated
communication: From user discussions to academic definitions”.
Journal of Politeness Research. Language, Behaviour, Culture
6. Helen Lewis (2014), “Who are the trolls”, New Statesman, http://www.
newstatesman.com/helen-lewis/2013/07/who-are-trolls Accessed on
8.2.2017
7. Jessica Valenti, How the web became a sexists’ paradise, The Guardian
How the web became a sexists’ paradise https://www.theguardian.
com/world/2007/apr/ 06/gender. blogging Accessed on 8.2.2017
8. John Seller,The Psychology of Cyber Space, http://truecenterpublishing.
com/ psycyber/disinhibit.html Accessed on 8.2.2017
Weblinks
●● Social News gathering and fact checking ghttps://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=LcNpFvVGDkw&t=9s
●● Cyber Psychology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_03g2NLQ
Pc&t=28s
Digital story Telling https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=w0gsOhyE
2q0&t=219s&index=1&list=PLNsppmbLKJ8IQ6p PSocBtzGh3PlA
9y8NV
●● Data Journalism https://www.youtube.com/
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watch?v=N3Csz2LvJxI&index=4&list=PLNsppmbLKJ8IKrTt3fhW Emergence of Digital Media
LAZI7k92724ss
●● Mapping for Journalism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4 x 9
x pmmryI
1.9 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: POSSIBLE
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1. Once digital media is encoded, it can be easily manipulated,
distributed, and rendered (played) by computers and is easily
transmitted over computer networks
2. iReport for CNN is an example of how mainstream media encourages
its audience to interact with the platform Interactivity, Immediacy,
Linkages, Convergence
3. This means traditional media offered limited interactivity earlier in
letters to the editor or the feedback programmes on TV and radio.
In contrast, digital media provides an opportunity for unlimited
interactivity. This interactivity allows people to respond or react to
the messages constructed by the media houses. Still, it also turns
consumers into producers, wherein people are not just consuming
media messages but also constructing media messages. This feature
has turned passive consumers into active producers.
Check Your Progress 2
1. Digital India Programme has been launched by the Department of
Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Communications
and Information Technology, Government of India.
2. Digital Infrastructure as a core utility for every citizen Governance
and services on demand
3. Digital empowerment of citizens
4. Alive App
5. Inshorts
Check Your Progress 3
1. To promote a culture of data sharing and data utility for larger socio-
economic goal
2. DataPortals.org is the most comprehensive list of open data portals
globally.
3. Infogram, Google fusion table, Carto
4. Google My maps, Storymaps, Google Fusion table
1 Circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping
public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”
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