Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

Media has changed since its inception. Where we once relied upon books, newspapers, radio, television, and movies, we now have the digitization of text, image, sound and data, and the global interconnection of these digitized meanings per the medium of the Internet. Our connectivity is virtually boundless. Media itself is now feeling the sting of that two-edged sword. For as much as we can reach and affect an audience, that reach can have a rebound effect. Today’s films depend on social media for box office success. Similarly, a television show must have the support of social media to grow its audience. The same can be said for a YouTube Channel, a Funny Or Die short, and an Instagram or Twitter post. Without the far-reaching tentacles of social media in its many forms, media entertainment in any guise would disappear into the abyss of the galaxy of the Internet. However, it is just as likely to be destroyed by it as well through the lack of “shares,” “likes,” and reposts, or even the mass dissemination of negative responses, such as “trollers” or “fake” news. The power the media has over other media is stronger than it has ever been, and all signs point to that condition growing. So, is it beyond our control? Or is it a necessary evil with which we now have to live?