STRUCTURE
Remember to focus on key issues around new media – privacy, knowledge, understanding, education, friendship, behaviour, thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, politics, economics, employment, war, conflict, food, the environment, space, science (essentially social change)
- Overview: New media always creates change (printing press, telegram etc)
- Q: so how has recent technology changed (society, individuals, organisations, ideas, beliefs etc etc)
- CSP 1 – show knowledge of CSP
- characteristics of new media (in reference to CSP 1)
- theoretical / conceptual analysis of new media (loop theory, network theory, Dunbar number, McLuhan, Krotoski)
- Critically thinking about new media (Baudrillard, McLuhan, Krotoski, B. F. Skinner, Zuboff, Lanier – are all essentially critical of new media technologies. But Gauntlett, Shirky, Jenkins are all very positive about new media technologies)
- CSP 2 – show knowledge
- Draw parallels and conclusions
- Suggest future pathways / developments
MEDIA LANGUAGE
The elements across the website are all arranged with a focus on beauty – the main dominant signifiers on the website’s homepage are often indexical signs of celebrities with anchorage around them detailing what the story is about. From this, we can see that there is a lot more choice available to us on the website because of how many different stories there are, and we are compelled to read each one base on the images shown on the front page. This links to the impact of new media in that we are given free will in the choices provided. However, Skinner states that “free will” is an illusion as behaviour is either a reaction/response to your environment or is random. I agree with Skinner on this viewpoint – one reason for this is the fact that, in the case of Teen Vogue, although we are given choice as to what article to read, the ultimate outcome will be us consuming articles and information constructed by their company. This leaves an impressionable audience vulnerable to biased propaganda, and manipulation, as depicted by Jaron Lanier when he argue companies are changing us as audiences through the content we passively consume.
MEDIA REPRESENTATION
The slogan for the website (‘Rise, Resist. Raise your Voice’) gives an impression that Teen Vogue promotes a representation of the world intertwined with freedom of speech and discussion. This sense of participation has been amplified in availability thanks to the concept of new media, and the fact that anyone can post ideas and words online for the whole world to view in mere seconds, in comparison to older times where broadcasting was only available to those in positions of power and influence, shows the fluidity of identities as depicted by Gauntlett and that a libertarian lifestyle is being prioritised.
Representation, Audience, Industry
In the story “Andrew Tate and the Manosphere Show How Far Hating Women Can Get You”, Teen Vogue presents a representation of typical masculinity as a negative idea and an evil force for the world. We can see this because the article is condemning Tate’s views and not being afraid to expose Tate’s indecency in light of recent allegations of human trafficking, for example “Tate is disgusting, yes — but of more concern is his popularity with young boys and young men”. The dominant reading here (as depicted by Stuart Hall) is likely to be one which aligns with Teen Vogue’s view on Andrew Tate and his views, due to the fact that 80% of Teen Vogue’s audience is female and young teens from the United States are targeted. Teen Vogue uses means specific to their audience such as popular opinion leaders to engage their readers, which links to the Two Step Flow audience theory as described by Paul Lazarfelt. The audience targeted here is likely to find the product more reactionary, which links to David Hesmondhalgh’s theory that the Media Industry is a “risky business” in that repetitive products are generated to sell and guarantee more revenue to large media companies.
Media Industries
Teen Vogue shifted from 10 prints a year to 4 prints a year, and has now transitioned to becoming entirely digital – based. This is a good example of how media Institutions are embracing new media and modern technologies into their business, and how new media is providing an easier means of circulation in comparison to old media (In January 2017, the magazine’s website had 7.9 million US visitors compared to 2.9 million the previous January according to Business of Fashion).
