Lister Reading p.1-44

Lister - p.1-44

Lister's reading initially discusses what is 'new media' and the different methods of communication it has created. Lister sees the media as "a fully social institution" and that society has developed a "set of interactions between new technological possibilities and established media forms" (Lister, p10). The changes that this new development has created include:

• A shift in cultural changes such modernity changing to postmodernity. This can be seen in such example as society's economics now being handled by 'new media' which has been a key marker in change for society.
• There is now not such a solid line between national states and boundaries when concerning trade, cultures and even beliefs as new media has helped to break those boundaries.
• A shift in employment as more staff are needed to work on these new media tools.

I agree in that new media has encouraged all these changes to society, especially in the breaking of boundaries between cultures and beliefs. The internet has allowed people from all different cultures around the world to come together and discuss their views in a safe environment. Without the internet people may have never had access to information that can broader our own culture such as other religions or beliefs for example.

Lister also describes the positives of this new "interactive media" (p.11) and the different possibilities of communication it has created. I agree that new media has opened up new ways of "representing the world" and by having screen-based ineractive multimedia it allows new visual outlets for views on the world. I also agree that new technology has created new ways of forming relationships between people, as the internet and chat sites have increased the chance of making friendships with people you would have never been able to contact before.

Another aspect of this reading that i found interesting was the view on 'virtual reality' (p.35) Lister describes that this termed can describe several different meanings, for example it can describe the "immersion in an envirnoment constructed with computer graphics and digital video", but it can also go deeper than that and describe the actual experience the user is having. I agree with that even though the user's physical body is sitting remotely in front of a computer, their minds and imagination can be somewhere very different while playing these interactive games. The enjoyment of playing these games comes from the user imagining themselves being involved in this virtual world they are playing in. I also found it interesting that Lister compared this description to the experience of watching films, reading books, and even looking at paintings as while doing these things we are imagining ourselves in the fantasy world that is being presented through these media forms.

The other main part of this reading i found interesting was the discussion of 'hypertext', but i will cover this in my learning journal.