Task 8: From mass media to personal media

Marika Lüders has written an article titled "Conceptualizing personal media" (2008) in the New Media & Society magazine. She states that "the digitization and personal use of media technologies have destabilized the traditional dichotomization between mass communication and interpersonal communication, and therefore between mass media and personal media."

What she's trying to say is that "traditionally mass communication is comprehended in contrast with interpersonal communiation." Lüders states that "with the digitalization of media, in certain cases the same media technologies are used for both mass media and private individual purposes."

What does it mean, really? Nowadays the dynamics have changed quite a lot. Anyone with an internet connection can use various publishing platforms, share photos or befriend total strangers. The digitization and personal use of media technologies have empowered people. The new media discourse has had a serious impact on how people communicate with eachother.

It's not only that the same technologies are used for both mass media and private individual purposes, but the line between public and private has become increasingly thin. People have become more vulnerable than ever. People are sharing more information about their lives than ever.

The following video is a good example regarding how we hand out information without really thinking things through (thus creating privacy risks) and how these new technologies are used for interpersonal communication. Would anyone actually share this information with roughly 200+ people? Or is it just a habit we've become used to (since technology enables it)? And most importantly, is that how life's going to be from now on?