Weeks 3,4 & 6 — New Media Ecologies

Lachlan Ballingall
Sep 7, 2018 · 8 min read

Week 3 — Communication Infrastructures in Media Ecology

We live in a time where we are quite fortunate when it comes to accessing technology, but there is a ‘digital divide’ within certain parts of the world. This divide can be credited to a number of issues, communication infrastructure being one of the main ones.

Our access to the luxuries in life such as the internet are based around the communicative infrastructures created, but do we ever consider that? A great example is when we lose connection (4G) on our phone, and with that, we automatically begin to think about what is wrong with the infrastructure which has led to us not being able to gain reception. Before that though, we rarely sit back in our day and think about the facilities built to allow everyone to communicate through technology.

The communicative infrastructures in our world, in a media ecology sense, act as the spine allowing different components within the ecology to interact and connect. Without the infrastructure in place, the ecology very much would not exist.

It is difficult to see how those people who are not as fortunate as others when it comes to access to the internet find a way to cope. Sure, they would adapt as they are not as reliant, but there would be times when they desperately need the internet to complete work or even just socialise with someone they have not seen in a while.

Even here in Australia, a country which is considered one of the best to live in, has certain individuals having to use the internet at a certain hour of the day due to how poor the connection is. That all stems from the infrastructure, which contributes to the digital divide as some individuals do not have the same access.

There are cases where some individuals in rural Australia find working between certain hours of the day and night is the only way to access their NBN at a decent speed (Wilken 2014, p. 4). Having to pick and choose when to work over an issue such as the internet speed does suggest there is a problem, and further reiterates this digital divide.

Digital literacy has also contributed to this divide with many avoiding the NBN as they did not understand the concept of what it was (Wilkens et al, 2013, p.145).

Despite our concerns regarding the internet in Australia, countries such as India have areas which are far worse off. Mark Zuckerberg’s attempt to provide free internet access to those in India through his Free Basics Project is arguably something we need to see more of. Yes, some will say that what he is doing is for his own gain, but the reality is that an idea like Zuckerberg’s is supposed to give them something they previously did not have.

An information ecology is defined as a “system of people, practices, values, and technologies in a particular local environment” (Nardi & O’day, 1999, p. 49). Nardi and O’day also go on and explain some of these ideas around an information ecology, and the one that stood out was this keystone species which is necessary for the survival of an ecology (Nardi & O’day, 1999, p.51).

This keystone species which is based around this idea of the survival of an ecology could be applied to Zuckerberg. Perhaps he sees himself as the savior for India and their infrastructure around communication. Perhaps he believes he can close this gap on the digital divide.

India did actually reject the project, which reportedly was due to the fact that the Indian people felt Zuckerberg was trying to take advantage of them (Agrawal 2016). Perhaps they were right, but ideas like this need to be rolled out with the correct intentions if the world wants equality when it comes to a topic such as the internet and communicative infrastructure.

References

Agrawal, R., 2016, Why India rejected Facebook’s ‘free’ version of the internet, Mashable, viewed 16 August 2018 <https://mashable.com/2016/02/09/why-facebook-free-basics-failed-india/#COBH6vHROuq6>

Nardi, B., O’Day, V., 1999, Information Ecologies: Using Technology With Heart, MT Press, Cambridge

Rowan Wilken et al., NBN benefits regional centres, but rural Australia is left wanting, 2014

Wilkens R, Nansen B, Arnold M, Kennedy J, Gibbs M, 2013, ‘National, local and household media ecologies: The case of Australia’s National Broadband Network’, Communication, Politics and Culture, Vol. 46, p136–154

Week 4 — Connection and Disconnection in Media Ecology

In a digitally saturated era, people are connected to technology and are quite reliant on it, too. From turning your alarm clock off, checking the news, completing work or even just socialising, the average person is connected on a regular basis.

A writer by the name of Richard Eaton attempted this idea of a ‘digital detox’ for a week, which revolves around taking a break from the online world and just simply disconnecting (Eaton 2015). He claimed to be someone who spent most of his normal days online, but he found within that week that he went offline, it made him more relaxed, in the moment, creative and it gave him some clarity around some things that were stuck in his head (Eaton 2015).

Personally, for what I do for a living as a sports journalist, I need access to the likes of Twitter for news and also to share the content I create for work, so I would find it hard to even go a day, let alone a week. There would be many in the same situation, which does raise the question, is it possible to disconnect in our current ecology?

The one time I recall going without being connected was a school camp. It was a total of nine days, but the reality was back then I didn’t feel the need to be connected due to the fact I didn’t have the job I do now.

Going offline for today’s society for a week wouldn’t be a bad idea, because this online world is potentially having a negative impact on us, but it can be hard to get away from for whatever reason that is. For some though, this idea of digital literacy, simply means they cannot connect due to poor NBN connection, which mainly stems from the infrastructure built. Those people are probably best equipped to deal with being disconnected as they rely less on media technologies.

Jose van Dijck discusses this idea of Web 2.0, which ultimately has allowed us to create and publish our own content via platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (Van Dijck, p.158). For example, many people in today’s world have created their own website portfolio to show potential employers, which has ultimately led to them getting work.

Web 2.0 has also allowed us to create social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter. It sounds great when you list everything the internet allows us to do. It appears we have so much freedom, but as Nathan Jurgenson has put it, we are less true to ourselves since the beginning of the digital age, where we are more interested in our social media profiles in terms of popularity rather than living in the real world (Jurgenson 2013).

One does have to accept this is the world we live in now as Web 2.0 has made the online world so attractive and addictive, but it’s no real surprise why many do suggest to disconnect on the rare occasion as we do get lost and forget the real world. Media technologies are a huge part of our lives.

References

Eaton, R 2015., Why You Need To Go Offline For A Week, Huffington Post, viewed 22 August 2018, <https://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-eaton/going-off-line_b_7964960.html>

Jurgenson, N., 2013, The Disconnectionists, The New Inquiry, viewed 22 August 2018, <https://thenewinquiry.com/the-disconnectionists/>

Van Dijck, J., 2013, The Ecosystem of Connective Media, Oxford University Press, pp. 154–176

Week 6 — Digital Health in Media Ecology

We are often reminded about technology and the potential negative impact it could have on our health, but there are also positive aspects to consider.

Information and communication technology has allowed individuals access to the likes of calorie counters, diet tracking tools, health applications and an online space where people can discuss their mental health, such as Headspace. There is even the social aspect that information and communication technology has provided us. You may live in a remote area, or even have a serious illness which won’t allow you to be as social as you’d like face-to-face. That is when technology is handy.

But, the reality is, not everyone has access to information and communication technology to gain the benefits it could have to their health. Many are somewhat considered disconnected.

According to Professor Robyn Broadbent and Doctor Theodoros Papadopoulos, the lack of access to information and communication technology is impacting education, employment and economic prospects in Australia (Broadbent & Papadopoulos, 2011, p. 1).

Broadbent and Papadopoulos discuss how it is vital for people to have access to information and communication technology when it comes to a topic such as social inclusion and health (Broadbent & Papadopoulos, 2011, p. 1).

This is important because people need access to the likes of health and welfare services, but with the digital divide in many parts of the world, that is sometimes not achievable for many as they do not have the technology to access such services.

Broadbent and Papadopoulos conducted research of a housing estate in Collingwood, which provides “low-cost housing to people with a low socio-economic profile, recent migrants and refugees” (Broadbent & Papadopoulos, 2011, p. 2). They found that by providing the modern technology to these people, there was improvement in the quality of those people’s life (Broadbent & Papadopoulos, 2011, pp. 9–10).

Those who do not have access to information and communication technology are very much disadvantaged, and without it many are left stranded. I discussed in my first post this idea of of the keystone species, which is necessary for the survival of an ecology (Nardi & O’day, 1999, p.51). One could argue that the survival of certain social groups is reliant on the information and communication technology people have access to. If you cannot interact with people through the likes of technology because you are digitally illiterate, then you could argue that ecology is dead for certain individuals.

Doctor Ben O’Mara found in his study about the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities that those from “different age groups and with different levels of educational background and exposure to English CALD do use and access new and emerging technologies, such as the internet and online media platforms, and have the capacity to apply these forms of ICT in ways which are meaningful, positive and useful in their day to day lives” (O’Mara, B et al, 2010, p.ii). It is a shame that there is such a divide as many do gain something worthwhile in terms of health when it comes to the use of information and communication technology as O’Mara discovered, but yet, there are many who do not.

References

Broadbent, R. & Papadopoulos, T., 2011, Bridging the digital divide — an Australian story, Behaviour & Information Technology, Taylor & Francis Group, London.

Nardi, B., O’Day, V., 1999, Information Ecologies: Using Technology With Heart, MT Press, Cambridge.

O’Mara, B., et al., 2010, Sending the Right Message: ICT Access and Use for Communication Messages of Health & Wellbeing to CALD Communities, Victoria University.