Hyper-reality and the digital renaissance

1) Read the article from Media Magazine: Hyper-reality and the digital renaissance (Dec 2009). Use our Media Magazine archive, click on MM30 and go to page 59.

2) Create a new blogpost called 'Hyper-reality and the digital renaissance' and make notes from the article under the following headings: 

examples

1876 - Alexander Bell invented the telephone 

audiences embraced television when it became commercially available in the 30s and 40s
stereoscopic images were pioneered in the 1870s by Eadweard Muybridge.
The Internet came about in the 1990's and heightened people's routine use of technology.
Next came Laptops, wireless and broadband technology which expanded the daily use.
'has reframed the way in which media institutions conceptualise their own business infrastructure: in the post-digital age the most successful brands are those that exist across multiple platforms: BAUER’s Kerrang!,

for example, is a website, TV and radio station. Likewise, the increased interactivity between audience and institution has refined their relationship, with niche market programming proliferating at the expense of broadcasting,' 

'On the face of things, social networking sites like Bebo, Facebook and MySpace embody postmodern culture: they are virtual reality spaces in which the distinction between the real and the simulated is neither here nor
there and audiences are free to construct

their identity from a bricolage of pop culture references:

theories 

Interactivity 
'proliferation of digital technology'
'hyper-real utopia'

'Frankfurt School theorists like Theodore Adorno, for example, viewed the gramophone record and cinema as a means of distracting the working class from their disadvantaged social positions. Likewise, though Jean Baudrillard’s work is pivotal in understanding terms like hyper- reality and simulacrum, he expresses anxiety about a society alienated from itself. And, indeed, from Albert Bandura’s The Bobo Doll Experiment (1961), to Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine (2002) the media is forever on

trial: a convenient bogey man to be blamed for all society’s evils. '

positive aspects of new technology (or 'digital renaissance' 

More interactivity
Potentially less prejudice - definitely more opinions 

negative aspects of new technology on audiences and society  

various mental health issues 
Echo chambers 
people may become too influential

wider issues and debates 
Echo Chambers

3) The article was written in 2009. Offer three examples of more recent social networking sites or uses of technology that support the idea of a 'digital renaissance'.

Snapchat - People send more videos and images than written word - News stories are also available in short form.

Twitter - has become a major news source for individuals - however echo chambers are a great wish and people end up being in their own bubble and are then shocked by election results.

Instagram - People are sharing and influencing/being influence by lifestyles.

4) How do live streaming services such as Periscope or Facebook Live fit into the idea of a 'digital renaissance'? Are these a force for good or simply a further blurring of reality?

Live streaming services fits into the 'digital renaissance' because it is new and constantly changing technology - particularly with periscope as it is still relatively new and people are still establishing a main use - however especially with live streaming there is usually a facade created by users because they believe it will get them more views which will in turn blur reality.

5) How can we link the 'digital renaissance' to our case study on news? Is citizen journalism a further example of hyper-reality or is it actually making news more accurate and closer to real life?

Citizen journalism can in fact be seen as hyper reality as we only see one perspective and typically UGC is centred around negativity and loss of life which can create a negative reality. Further more even though footage wouldn't be edited by particularly powerful people - someone can easily chose what to shoot live which can alter the true event.