| dc.description.abstract | New media technologies have without doubt ushered in a new era of mass media. bringing with it great promise and great concerns about the effect on young people and their well being. Although we tend to see these issues as being new, similar promise and concerns have accompanied each new wave of media technology throughout the past century; films in the early 1900's, radio in the 1920's and television in the 1940's. With the introduction of each of these technologies, proponents touted the educational benefits for young people. while
opponents voiced fears about exposure to inappropriate commercial, sexual and violent content.
Initial research on technology tended to focus on the amount of time young people spend with the new media. However, as the use of the technology became more prevalent,
research shifted to issues related to content and its effects on young people.
This is especially so because the new media have become pervasive as a result of the convergence of telecommunication and computer technologies. And the internet has led to a dizzying growth in communication options including individualized, two - way synchronized interactivity and increasingly drawing on sound and visual to offer sophisticated virtual environments.
In addition to interactivity and immediacy of media production and business for all media, traditional and new media incorporate characteristics of and influence each other. that is. media convergence.
Therefore it is becoming increasingly important to understand media's growing influence on young people especially in shaping their lifestyles and cultures; longer period of full time education, growing influence and greater recreational time has made youth a distinct consumer group, with lifestyles and identity shaped increasingly by the media.
The purpose of this research therefore is to look at the way the new media technology and how it affects the young people. The study has been done using information gathered from a section of young people drawn from Nairobi, Kenya. | en_US |
