Marianne

 ==FINAL PRESENTATION FOR MASS MEDIA IN AMERICAN SOCIETY CLASS ==  The reason I picked my topic of Technological Changes in Mass Media and the question of with the changes in technology is the media reaching all generations, is a result of my taking this Mass Media in American Society class. I found myself having a difficult time with the creation of a Blog and posting to the Blog for assignments. Being a baby boomer--the generation defined by the government as people between the ages of 45 and 63--it made me wonder how many baby boomers have embraced the new technology available and how many people actually access the media through the Internet. I had just learned about blogging and twitter this past July at a seminar, so imagine my surprise when class started and I found out I had to actually create and post to a Blog.  I don’t consider myself to be a techno-tard, having moved up with the technological advances made in the world of typewriters to computers in the workplace. The very first typewriter I used in high school was a manual typewriter. When I entered the workforce electric typewriters were being used followed by typewriters that used a floppy disk and could save your work. These typewriters then were replaced with computers. So even though I was exposed to computers to produce documents and kept myself up-to-date on how to use software related to clerical work, my use of a computer was limited to its use for work. The reason I purchased a computer for use at home was because I needed it for my class work when I began taking college classes. 

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a project of the Pew Research Center, o ver half of the adult internet population is between 18 and 44 years old. In 2000 46 percent of adults used the Internet and 74 percent used the Internet in 2008, which indicates a 28 percent increase, with 62 percent accessing the Internet wirelessly in 2008. In 2000 there was no wireless Internet access. At the end of 2005 50 million Americans accessed news online and is attributed to the increase in home broadband connections. Since we are now a society of instant gratification, with faster access to the internet people are using it more to access the news because it is so fast and you don’t have to wait until the 5, 6, or ten o’clock news to become informed.  Technological advances in cell phones have increased the access of the news by adults with cell phones. Fifty percent of adults owned cell phones in 2000 with 82 percent of adults owning cell phone users in 2008, which was a 32 percent increase. My first cell phone was the Motorola flip phone. It had a screen which displayed the cell phone number you were dialing. Today, flip phones are smaller, slimmer, and can access the Internet which allows you to access news on the Internet



Today, the Internet has surpassed all other media except television as a means of accessing national and international news. Before the invention of television most people acquired their news through newspapers. **T** he use of newspapers began to decline noticeably at the turn of the 21st century, with the increased use of the Internet and cell phones with Web access, hundreds of newspapers across America have ceased to publish and/or are Internet based. Our society today is on fast track and the younger generation is not the only generation that wants instant news. We want our news now and don’t want to wait until the newspaper arrives at our door. With the growth of technology and the Internet, many members of the younger generation haven’t ever picked up a newspaper and totally rely on either the television or Internet (blogs and twitters) to receive up-to-the minute updates on not only what is going on in the world, but with their family and friends.



Even though a large number of Americans are accessing the news media through the Internet for information, according to the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) there still exists a digital divide in gaining access to electronic resources. So not only does access to technology vary by age groups it also is affected by social status. Most affluent American families are connected to the Internet, while poorer families are unable to purchase computers to access the Internet at home.

While access to the Internet is available at schools and public libraries, I agree with findings by the NTIA that more community access centers need to be made available in order for all members of society to access news and information available on the Internet. There should also be free classes on how to use new technology available to older generations in order to bring them up-to-date with technological advances. But no matter what type of technology or training is available to the public at no cost, I think there will always be people that are not interested in new technology and want to remain in their comfort zone with what they are familiar with. So in my mind no matter how hard you try to reach the masses it is impossible to reach all audiences whether it is through the Internet, television, or in print through magazines and newspapers.

[] [] http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/ http://pewinternet.org/topics/Digital-Divide.aspx Follow the link below to take the quiz the Pew Internet and American Life website has to find out what kind of tech user you are. ** http://pewinternet.org/Participate/What-Kind-of-Tech-User-Are-You.aspx
 * __FIVE WEB LINKS WITH INFORMATION ON MY TOPIC:__**
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My test result: ==You are an Drifting Surfer  == If you are a Drifting Surfer, you are an infrequent online user. When you use technology, it is for basic information gathering – perhaps looking for some news headlines. It wouldn’t bother you to give up the internet or cell phone. Digital resources are not at the center of how you get information, keep in touch with people, or do your job.