Defining New Media
New media is an emerging field that remains hard to define. In a recent conversation with an English professor about new media, he struggled to come up with a concrete description. Fluctuating between old media and new media, he had difficulty establishing a clear boundary. One popular mode of distinction is to consider old media as any media that prevented the consumer from changing the content. For example, a Baywatch fan might have an idea for future episodes and could send a letter to the television broadcast company with their idea, but the company has the final word on what appears in the show. The English professor found this explanation unsatisfactory because he felt that the consumer still has control over their interpretation and therefore maintains a level of control. In The New Media Reader, Janet Murray states “the term ‘new media’ is a sign of our current confusion about where these efforts are leading and our breathlessness at the pace of change” (3). Murray confirms the challenge of defining new media. The new media field is constantly developing. Even if a definition could be decided, by tomorrow that definition might be out of date.
New media can be thought of as a representation of the brain. Our brains often juggle many different thoughts at one time. As I drive down the street, I could be seamlessly thinking about navigating to the grocery store, the many items I want to buy, and the meal I want to prepare. Thoughts flow from one to another and are linked by human consciousness. Murray says “[Jorge Luis Broges and Vannevar Bush] are both almost viscerally aware of the increased complexity of human consciousness and the failure of linear media to capture the structures of our thought” (3). New media is an extension of the human ability to have multiplatform thoughts. While browsing the internet, I can get caught in a maze of hyperlinks and follow the trail in the same way that I navigate to the grocery store with a lot on my mind.
Historically, humanity has come from a print culture into a new media culture. Print culture sought to control. In the historical church, those who could read had the power to determine meaning for the congregation. Today, it is more common for the everyday man or woman to be able to read. However, having the ability to read does not completely grant control to the reader. The reader still cannot influence the content of the book. The medium of the book or print culture created an environment for the consumer to receive information. If they wanted to respond, they could write but the process could take awhile and it followed a linear mode of communication. New media has awakened the mind’s ability to navigate multiple paths at one time and stimulate creativity. Murray says, “All creativity can be understood as taking in the world as a problem. The problem that preoccupies all of the authors in this volume is the polluting consciousness that is the direct result of 500 years of print culture” (4). New media provides a counter culture to print culture and encourages immediate response and dialogue from consumers. New media breaks through preconceived thought processes and pushes the boundaries of human consciousness.
New media needs to be accepted for what it is: a metamorphic shape shifter. If it were easily described, then it would not be new media. The lack of a concrete definition is what defines new media.
