Thoughts on Jenkins

The article in which Jenkins discusses the different opinions and approaches of media makes many different points. Some of the topics discussed were obvious observation such as globalisation and how due to technology it is much like Marshall MCluhan's Global Village. I however found it more interesting because of the issues raised that i had not thought of myself, such as his first point. Innovative, how when people think of media they think of technology instead of the culture and the media itself. "Most often, when people are asked to describe the current media landscape, they respond by making an inventory of tools and technologies. Our focus should be not on emerging technologies but on emerging cultural practices. Rather than listing tools, we need to understand the underlying logic shaping our current moment of media in transition."I sort of agree with this, because if we take the company apple, is it a media company or just a hardware company? Many see it as a media company when in reality it just makes the products which allow the audience to access the media much more easily.

Another point raised which is the fact that is technology generational? I believe it is, because if we think about it, stereotypically our generation is seen as the "digital generation" due to the fact that we grew up with the software and can use it yet just a few years before us are not as clued in. The younger generation are more aware of the newer gadgets such as Iphones and smartphones. Of course I don't mean to say that our generation is better than the older generations who invented the technology such as Bill gates, and Steve jobs, but i make the point that in everyday life, it seems to be the younger generation paving the footpath in technology. I am constantly being asked by older family members for help on the computer since from the age of thirteen i have been constantly learning about technology through school and other aspects.

There could be many reasons as to why this seems to be the case but maybe it's because they were brought up in what seems to be a completely different world. Jenkin's says "Throughout the 20th century, however, as the rate of technological and cultural change accelerated, young people adopted cultural styles and values radically different and often fundamentally at odds with their parent's generation" So they would have to change their thought process for example, if all your life you had bought the morning paper and read it on the way to work and suddenly the paper could be accessed on your phone, although you would see the convenience about it but perhaps you'd feel out of your comfort zone without that routine. This is the same as the older generation, the technological boom has happened rather quickly so maybe they have not had enough time to adapt to the new technology. Another reason that seems to have been brought to my attention is that the older generation seem to be scared of the technology, maybe it's because they are not fully used to the software and the vast speed it seems to be developing that they don't seem to trust it. Picture this, you had lived your life for thirty years believing that you could only buy something by going to the shops and paying for it by hand when an unknown person comes up to tell you that if you gave them the details, you could have your product brought directly to your home...Would you believe the unknown? Perhaps this is why the older generation seem weary of it. They do not know it, they don't understand and are very unfamiliar therefore they stay away in fear of it messing up the momentum of their life.

"Adults know less than they think about what young people are doing on line and young people know less than they think about the values and assumptions that shape adult's relationship to media." According to Jenkins, we assume more than we know which again makes the gap between the generations bigger in our mind and justifies the fact that parents and children are now completely different to how they were say forty years ago.

Although being a media student, I'm aware of the development that is made in the industry however it wasn't until i read this article that i was aware just how much detail must be paid in order to catch the subtle changes which can then lead to big ones. The issues raised by Jenkins shows the detail in which he has clearly observed the media over time. I think in order to understand the media, you must take part in the media which is what Jenkins did by posting the article online.

Reference:

Jenkins, H. (2006) Eight Traits of the New Media Landscape [WWW] Available from: http://www.henryjenkins.org/2006/11/eight_traits_of_the_new_media.html