Week5：New Media and Lifestile

Silverstone (2002) discusses the experience of everyday life is no longer containable within physical space since media have penetrated deeply into the daily life. In the past people accept information passively by newspaper, magazine, radio and TV. As the new media emerges, communication becomes active mutual participation instead of passive acceptance. With new media including social networking sites, email, chat software and client terminal, people can reinforce existing relationships and get more information about new entrants into their offline world.

Subrahmanyam and Greenfield (2008) said that adolescents are heavy users of newer electronic communication forms such as instant messaging, e-mail, and text messaging, as well as communication-oriented Internet sites such as blogs, social networking, and sites for sharing photos and videos. Adolescents seem more likely to live in media rather than live with media. They use new media as a platform to introduce themselves, share their experience and tell their stories.

Nowadays, the first thing after getting to know someone might be asking his or her Mobil phone number, email address, personal home page, or blog. Hence, it can be learned that new media has quietly penetrated into every corner of people's lives, influenced their cognitive ability and moral sentiment, and changed their life stile directly.

Reference list:

Silverstone, Roger. 2002. “Complicity and Collusion in the Mediation of Everyday Life.” New Literary History 33(4): 761-780. 2007.

Subrahmanyam, Kaveri and Greenfield, Patricia. 2008. “Online Communication and Adolescent Relationships.” The Future of Children 18(1): 119-146. Spring 2008.