The Importance Of Traditional Media

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Human advancement has always walked beside the literacy of its people. From scratchings on African cave walls to Mesopotamian temple prayers to the historic newspaper announcement of the first World War, the rise and fall of civilizations have always been catalogued by symbols of literacy and mediums of media. The 21st century world is a whirlwind of advancing technology that forces media to shift from its traditional medium of paper to the digital medium of the Internet; in response, literacy too is changing. However, perhaps the most wondrous difference of new and traditional media is not its technological aspect, but rather its impact on the world. A defining characteristic of new media is its ability to empower the common people. The accessibility of the…show more content…
At its arguably most transformative and revelationary form, empowerment begins with the individual person. This is an axiom proven by history time and time again, from Jose Rizal to Carrie Fisher. It is precisely new media that makes individual change and empowerment possible. As online traffic increases on platforms where conversations can take place, whether it be Twitter or Reddit, all kinds of people are exposed to opinions and views that not only support their own, but directly contradict them. When traditional media previously dominated, it was difficult to get this kind of exposure; newspapers were biased towards the clients they served, and geographic and religious boundaries tended to determine the nature of one’s moral attitudes. In direct contrast, in the age when the Pope can tweet in opposition to islamophobia and an average teenager can listen to a woman speak about North Korea on TED, people of all ages and races across the globe are forced to reevaluate attitudes and beliefs that they previously held true. New media demands critical thinking and just indignation. Traditional media, on the other hand, allows willful

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