CCT109H5 Chapter 3: Ch 3 Txtbk Notes

• School: UTM
• Department: Communication, Culture and Technology
• Course: CCT109H5
• Professor: Jeremy Packer

Document Summary

The hype: there is a belief that technology is socially progressive, that it is the new cutting edge or the place for forward thinking. Cyberspace is probably one of the most over-hyped terms of the latter part of the twentieth century. Digital media provides a decentralizing and globalizing force when it decouples production and removes or reduces the necessity of being co-present in order to coordinate our activities. New empiricism: tries to ground new media studies in real data and the real experiences of those who use media. Empiricism lends itself to statistically based sociology and quantitative, survey- based methodologies that are intended to generate advice for government policy- makers on managing technological change. Explores interaction between technology and culture in future oriented terms (speculative media theory). Questions whether policy-making organizations possess sufficient distance from powerful private interests. Looks at the use of media in everyday life using online ethnography.