Introduction to NDM

1) This article spoke about two researchers going into a school to analyse and look at how a group of year 9 students interacted and used digital media to enhance their education at home and school. It also looked at them developing relationships through social media websites. They had to make sure what they were doing was "ethical" and that it didn't evade peoples privacy but as it turned out they saw that the year 9's accepted them into their social group and grew more fond of them then parents or teachers as the researchers had an un-judgmental view of what they did online. They also looked at the impact students using social media had on the ability of teachers to freely post what they wanted.

2) The second article includes the advantages and disadvantages of Periscope which is a live-streaming app. The advantages consist of viewing particular events through live coverage; due to this, a drunk driver was once caught. It also permits a marginalised audience to be seen as everybody can use the app and stream them worldwide. On the other hand, as it is a worldwide app which anybody can use, a disadvantage of privacy is obvious as certain people who do not wish to be included within the periscope could possibly be filmed without consent causing an ethical and privacy issue. In addition to this, everybody is enabled to view the location of where the periscope is taking place which isn’t safe for anybody, especially the youth as it is most popular amongst them. A disadvantage of piracy is also stated as individuals could live stream a certain event which is only available on box office and would consequently cost, periscoping this would allow numerous people to watch the match for free.

3) One of the strengths of this essay was that the writer was balanced between back-and-forth views and opinions on each point that she discussed. This made a counter argument available, juggling between opposing ideas within the essay. She also referred to a variety of examples from the case study which helped support her answer using relevant evidence.

4) In the past 5 years, I would say that my presence on digital media has actually become increasingly less, to be honest. There was a time when I probably owned an account on probably most, if not all, of the popular social media platforms at one time. However, after having signed up to each website or application, I would end up bored and wouldn't find the platforms useful. A lot of these sites are very similar to one another and therefore only serve one or two uses. Most of these were to connect with others. I would argue that "social" media is actually more anti-social than anything because in my experience, people around me have been so engrossed in the online world that they wouldn't be so focused on real life. For example, I could be sitting in a room where someone would rather talk to their friend online than talk to their family who is sitting right next to them. Therefore, I personally hold the view that social media has had more of a negative impact on myself and others of my age group.However, with that being said, one of the positive aspects of social media is that there is the benefit of having our voices and opinions heard by both like minded and opposing people whch could allow us to engage in healthy discussion or promote a cause.