Hyper-reality and the digital renaissance

1) Read Media Magazine archive, MM30  page 59: 

2) NOTES FROM MEDIA MAGAZINE:

EXAMPLES:

• Television and cinema 
• Social networking and social media 
• Skype, FaceTime other video based chat services 

THEORIES: 

• Baudrillards theory on hyper-reality, inability to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced post-modern society.

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF NEW TECHNOLOGY: (or 'digital renaissance') 

• Increased interconnected amongst society 
• Greater access to knowledge and cultural sharing, breaking down of cultural barriers and ignorance 
• Social networking sites offer the opportunity to enter a hyper-real utopia in which all participants are equal because the signifiers of social belonging and the invocations of prejudice no longer matter.

NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF NEW TECHNOLOGY ON SOCIETY 

• 'Society alienated from itself'
• With the increasing prominence of the internet, both humanity and morality are losing their places in society

WIDER ISSUES AND DEBATES: 

• Privacy, government control through the use of laws and acts 
• Hackers of cloud based services 
• How much mediation is enough or too much? 
• Monetisation of live content 
• Censorship, live content of battlezones, too brutal or is society desensitised? Is it crucial to society seeing this hyper reality? 

3) The article was written in 2009. Offer three examples of more recent social networking sites or uses of technology that support the idea of a 'digital renaissance'.

 Snapchat, users can send images and videos to anyone in the world much through messaging.
Instagram, a website that is specifically for photos. Enables its's audiences to follow each other and focus on photos only
Twitter, users can comment their views, thoughts and ideas very quickly. News can be accessed more easily through twitter and everything is more fast-paced. 

4) How do live streaming services such as Periscope or Facebook Live fit into the idea of a 'digital renaissance'? Are these a force for good or simply a further blurring of reality?

Periscope and Facebook Live  revolutionised the digital media, as apps which demand for content to be consumed has led to an increase. Users have no need to wait for their content hence the increase use and demand for live streaming services. I believe these can be forces for good as it could increase the amount of people that are coming together for shared interest but it could also mean bad news for television or other broadcast services.

5) How can we link the 'digital renaissance' to our case study on news? Is citizen journalism a further example of hyper-reality or is it actually making news more accurate and closer to real life?

I believe we can link the digital renaissance to our case study on news as it is something that is heavily influenced on the advancement of technology which directly has an impact on digital media as well as traditional news platforms.  
The increase in citizen journalism through the use of social media is something that breaks down the aspect of news and information being mediated and allows audiences to experience stories at a more of an emotional and personal perspective as an audience rather than from the perspective of an institution who might have other hidden agendas in the form of dominant or preferred ideologies and readings. 
However, the the link 'digital renaissance' to our case study on the news as the emergence of citizen journalism is an advancement to technology. Citizen journalism can be seen as an example of hyper-reality as the footage may possibly not provide all perspectives thus making the audience unable to distinguish the truth over false images