Opportunities, ) Challenges, and Power of Media and Information The world is changing at a startling pace. Developments in information, communication, and technology in the past decades have enabled society to transform the mechanisms of how information circulates and how people interact, access information, sreate new knowledge, learn, and work. This information revolution has opened new waves of opportunities and challenges not only for media and information but also in social systems, commercial and economic approaches, and citizens’ engagement. Over the years, media has evolved to be more than just a vehicle of information, but an influential instrument powerful enough to transform established systems. However, despite the fact the access to information and knowledge has increased during the last decade, significant challenges and obstacles still remain. In this lesson, we will look into the opportunities, challenges, and power of media and information. &) What | Need to Know Learning objectives Particularly, at the end of this lesson, you will: 1, Realize the opportunities and challenges in media and information (MIL11/120CP-tIIh24); and 2. Research and cite recent examples of the power of media and information to affect chanae (MIL11/120CP-IIIh25) @) What is It Xe Discussion There are both endless opportunities and challenges in the Information Age. As a digital native, you ought and be able to make the best use out of the media's opportunities and hurdle over its challenges. Read and reflect on how these opportunities and challenges exist and affect some of the different aspects of society. and the Web) Whether we like it or not, the advent of the Intemet has forced practically almost everyone to migrate to the virtual world, especially when most of the information we need is now available via the Intemet. Today the World Wide Web is at the forefront of information providers given its multimedia format, which have “enriched information through a synergy of text, audio, image, and video (Liquigan, 2016).” The new media has enabled audiences to faster, easier, and more efficient access and utilization of data and information, especially that search engines have made information seeking more interacting, engaging, and convenient. It also links users through the vast networks of communication platforms such as e-mail, Internet search, and messaging applications. Moreover, the Intemet has afforded the audiences to a world that connects people and share cultures transcending physical boundaries. 1. Informational (Social Me Aside from the Web, one of our most accessed source of information is social media. ‘Study the table below for the challenges and opportunities that you, as a netizen, face in the midst of your engagement with social media (Liquigan, 2016).Cee Projects enable the joint and simultaneous creation of content by many end-users ‘Wikis-Websites which allow users to add, remove, and change text-based content, e.g, online encyclopedia Wikipedia currently available in more than 230 different ortunities of Social Media er eae cay ‘© The joint effort of many actors leads to a better outcome than any actor could achieve individually. «From a corporate perspective, firms must be aware that collaborative projects are trending toward becoming the main source of information for many entries in reverse chronological order. The social media equivalent of personal web pages and can come ina muttitude of different variations, from personal diaries describing the author's life to summaries of all relevant information in one specific content area languages consumers. Blogs ‘* Special types of websites that |* Many companies are already usually display date-stamped | — using blogs to update employees, customers, and shareholders on developments they consider to be important. « [Its risky because] customers who turn out to be dissatisfied with or disappointed by the ‘company's offerings may decide to engage in virtual complaints, which results in the availabilty of potentially damaging information in online space. eee Challenges/Opportuniti Content ‘+ Main objective of content ‘+ From a corporate viewpoint, communities | _ communities is the sharing of | content communities carry the risk. media content between users | of being used as platforms for the ‘+ Exist for a wide range of sharing of copyright-protected different media types materials including text, photos, videos, |~ While major content communities and PowerPoint presentations | have rules in place to ban and remove such illegal content, itis difficult to avoid popular videos being uploaded only hours after they have been aired on television. + On the positive side, the high popularity of content communities makes them a very attractive contact channel for many firms. ‘+ Other firms rely on content communities to share recruiting videos, as well as keynote speeches and press announcements, with their employees and investors. Social + Applications that enable users |+ High popularity, specifically networking to connect by creating among younger Internet users sites personal information profiles, inviting friends and colleagues to have access to those profiles, and sending e-mails and instant messages between each other ‘+ Can include any type of information, including photos, video, audio files, and blogs ‘Source: Media and Information Literacy (Liqugar, 2076)On the other hand, still because of all the information and data right at the audience's disposal, Cybercrime has also been one of the greatest challenges in media and information According to the Department of Justice, Cybercrime is “a crime committed with or through the use of information and communication technologies such as radio, television, cellular phone, computer and network, and other communication device or application.” According to the 2001 Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, criminal offenses in cyberspace include: 1. offenses against the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of computer data and systems; 2. computer-related offenses; 3. content-related offenses; and 4. offenses related to infringements of copyright and related rights 2. Economic (Business and Marketing) To put up a business means having to disburse money. It's an expensive endeavor. Starting a business is one thing, but sustaining and marketing your business is another. In the old days, traditional marketing mediums such as print and broadcast were very costly, and actually even until now. Due to the impact of social media as a new medium, the relationship between brands and consumers has changed a lot. Now, through social media marketing, business owners can connect with their target consumers for free through using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc., and can significantly lower their marketing costs. The New Media also allows them to see what potential customer's opinions are and network with them as well. It creates a platform for discourse and lets the business owners respond to customer grievances, questions, and concerns almost instantly. Businesses will always be connecting with customers, both actual and potential ones, and social media enable for a more fast and cost-efficient mechanism. However, its opportunities are also its disadvantages. First, because the connection to customers is put on a priority, you may have to spend more time being active in social media answering queries, responding to feedback, and updating your online presence with creative marketing content, This may be a challenge for some as this is time-consuming and may compromise the time you get to use for actual work or production instead. Moreover, the ability for new media to caier to online feedback may also pose a challenge as they can also spread bad things from your product or brand. Competitors may also be lurking around studying your business. public use is people having to assess and evaluate the usefulness and credibility of the information on their hands. It is unfortunate, though. that people in some communities. especially rural ones, don't even have the chance to evaluate information because they have no access to such technology and data in the first place. As the world and education rapidly progress, people who have been left behind are even stuck at a farther distance making it more difficult for them to catch up.3. Educational Media and information have made a radical impact on education (Gonzales, 2016). Today, learning has never been easier and faster. When we talk about education, we usually refer to its most technical sense, “the knowledge, skill, and understanding that you get from attending a school, college, or university (Merriam-Webster's Dictionary).” In the past decades, society has been limited to the idea that people can only learn and get an education through sitting and listening to lectures in a classroom, passing exams, or doing projects. Today, learning and education have taken a whole new meaning with media and information. At present, the advancement in media tools and information dissemination has made learning and education resources more open and free for public use. What we had to research in the library before can already be sought through your laptop or phone today. Thanks to the Internet, a learner may also get information from a wide variety of sources like e-books, articles, videos, and the like. Furthermore, it has also opened the opportunity for various modes of learning to exist, both informal and non-formal arrangements. One of the growing trends in education is distance or online learning where students need not attend classes physically, instead, register to online courses or programs and attend in such even in the comfort of their homes. This is especially beneficial to people who are constrained by their schedules or due to some personal reasons. The convenience, abundance, and interconnection, aspect of media and information for education are opportunities worth taking advantage of (Gonzales, 2016). However, the opportunities that media and information brought has also opened several challenges. For instance, the problem with overflowing information available for 4. Political (Poli ics and Governance) The communication of political information is an important process in the political system, and the mass media play a central role in this activity (Coxall et al., 2003). Media, as a vehicle in communication, can provide the audience with news and information, which will help them develop more informed opinions and choices. For instance, during the election period, most of what the people would know about political candidates and political parties is the information we get from media, which often affects how they perceive a certain candidate or party, both positively and negatively. The media also acts as a watchdog that monitors the conduct and governance of elected government officials. In today's politics and society at large, media is essential to safeguarding the transparency of democratic processes. Through media and more information provided to the public, a bigger platform for political discussions has also been opened. This validates that ‘the media assist the working of a democratic system through facilitating free speech and unrestricted public debate (Coxall et al., 2003)” On the other way around, politics can also have an effect on media as, at times, although not explicitly, powerful political figures and even the government can manipulate or influence media's content. This kind of media regulation can be best seen in communist systems like North Korea's, where the government enforces rules and regulations governing the media industry and prescribing the kind of information they are allowed to broadcast. This is one of the chalienges of media as an element in politics, the truth or information the media disseminates may be manipulated by external factors. An example of this is what we call propaganda, a communication that is primarily used to influence an audience and further an agenda; thus, information may be made incomplete, twisted, or presented selectively. The interrelationship between media and politics provides a fair foundation in the function of media as a source of information (Gonzales, 2016). However, today, the widening gap between the media, the government, and the public's trust is becoming a pressing Challenge.5. Social (Citizen Engagement and Social Change) Have you ever heard of ABS-CBN’s “Bayan mo, Ipatrol Mo!”? The program where ordinary citizens send reports, photos, videos, of problems in their communities, issues they want to put the spotlight on, or advocacies they want to promote. How about this, have you ever noticed that news organizations are now using photos and footages from ordinary citizens when reporting for a story? Have you ever wondered at what point did ordinary citizens take part in providing information for mass broadcast? This trend is brought about by advancements in technology and the fast and widespread dissemination of information. This is what we call citizen journalism. ‘As defined by Encyclopedia Britannica, citizen journalism is ‘journalism that is conducted by people who are not professional journalists but who disseminate information using Web sites, blogs, and social media.” Citizen journalism is one of the biggest opportunities in media and information as it encourages ordinary citizens to take part in the news production process. It gives the then-teceivers an opportunity to became news producers as well. Moreover, it also urges them to be more wary and mindful of the things happening around them and gives them the confidence to speak out when they see some! wrong. According to TCC Group, their work revealed that media influences an audience (i.e., affects change) through a flow, illustrated in the diagram below. Targeted es a= a. %& ae a. 2 = i = ‘Source: Gasper, 2016. How Media Afects Socal Change. Retrieved from hps./.tecgrp.cominsights-resources/nsights- perspectives how-menie-affects-soce-change) As opposed to the traditional communication process where the message to be sent is usually found in the middle, this flow reveals that there may be several entry points of targeted contents, and media audiences may start at various points along with the flow. This means that some may just be aware of an issue or topic, some may actually understand it, or some are just acquainted with it because of emotional connection. Whatever the case is, “content can individually and collectively (as part of a campaign) serve to affect an increase in audience understanding and help foster an emotional connection between the audience and the issue being presented (Gasper 2016).” Several events in history proved this to be true, that media, as a vehicle of these targeted contents brought about action and mobilization. In fact, history has concretely shown society how media can be a powerful tool for social change and mass revolution, ‘The speed at which information is spread through social media is the main reason why platforms such as Facebook or Twitter have had increasingly large roles in civil society, even fueling the revolution. Check out the powerful ways social media has been used to create change around the world. 1. Libyan Revolution — When official media outlets like television and print media were controlled by the state, social media became the reliable source of information for the revolutionaries and even a platform used to distribute information and firsthand accounts of what was going on within the country. As a result, media tools like tablets and phones played crucial roles in the revolution.2. Arab Spring — In 2011, an online frenzy of activity commenced a revolution in Egypt which saw more than 3 million tweets on Twitter, hundreds of hours of Youtube video, and countless posts on Facebook and blogs which told stories of the revolution from citizens who needed to get their voices heard. 3. Ukrainian Revolution — In Ukraine, much like traditional revolutions, protesters line the streets to call for social change. Nonetheless, social media still played a role in the movement as protester used some as a strategic tool for communication, using platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to organize thousands of like-minded individuals. Apart from mass protests, calls for social change may also be in the form of what we call social marketing. Social marketing refers to using business and marketing techniques to encourage people to adopt certain behaviors that would lead to better physical and mental health, and eventually to wide-scale social change. On the other hand, although media has the ability to bring people together, conversely, it also has the potential to bring people apart, attitude, and ideology-wise. As earlier mentioned, social media and the World Wide Web offers the audience a wider avenue for intellectual discussion and productive conversations. However, due to the influx of various: differing ideas, the broadening problem of polarization has been one of the undeniable challenges in media and information. Because of the differences in views and opinions of the audience, a culture of social division is becoming evident and is taking a toll on unity and even social trust.