New Media Theory

New Media Theory

New media theory is the belief that the audience are now in charge of media and they are shaping the media for themselves.

New media theory is mostly linked to the internet; however, other platforms are now trying to borrow online features to give the audience a voice.

Advantages of new media theory include;

1.     We, as an audience can now feel more involved. We feel more involved as we can now interact through media. For example, we can ‘like’ things on Facebook or ‘follow’ people on twitter.

2.     It is also more personal. We find it more personal as we can now write status ourselves or post our own pictures onto the internet.

Disadvantages of new media theory include;

1.     It can be frustrating for media professionals as they can now have less control than the general public.

2.     There may be conflicting opinions over the internet on websites such as Youtube or social networking sites. This may lead to bigger problems such as trolling. This is where people may be getting bullied excessively on the internet.

In New Media the audience now have a voice through features and conventions. These features and conventions can include; discussion boards, video posting links, ‘like buttons’ or ‘follow’ buttons.

On my charity website I will take advantage of new media theory by including a ‘community’ part of the website. By this I mean that I will create a part of the website where people can interact with others. For this all members will have the choice to create an account with my charity where they can; play games, talk with others on discussions boards, watch videos and track the progress of the charity. This should give my target audience a sense of ownership over the product. I think this is a very important thing as it means the product will appeal to them on a deeper level and they will feel more loyal and committed to this product than they might feel to another similar product that has not given them a similar voice.