Is New Media Really New ?

What is new media ?

Media can be New Media only when there is an old media, for there has to be something old, to be replaced by the new. So, what is “Old Media”. We can consider the primitive medium of communication where people used to scratch, signs and symbols on stones and walls in caves to communicate a message of warning or instruction. The formation of structured and organized languages can be credited as the result of civilizations and social groups, interacting with each other and evolving the way they communicated their messages to each other. With the evolution of print technology, mass media came into the picture and there was a boost in the interaction of communities across the world. Decades later, today in the age of the internet, we are practically carrying the world in our hands. Everyday we are dealing with the sources of immense information. So which phase of evolution do we define as the new media ?

If we imagine a scenario of a couple of centuries back, we would be referring to newspapers as new media, because at that time, that was the medium which was happening and connecting communities with each other, in relation to other available media of communication. Now lets travel in time again and picture ourselves in the earlier 20th century. Television and Radio comprise the new media, and newspapers and books are older media. Today, electronic gadgets and devices, which have created the social groups and interactions virtual are the new media, and the physical interactions are old.

Using this approach to the understanding of media and its evolution, can we also say that how we used to communicate decades ago was old media, the way we communicate today is media, and the way we will communicate decades from now, will be new media. We don’t know what new media is going to be, unless we wait for it and experience its evolution.