5 Ways Digital Media Makes Your Life Better

EDU520: Blog 3

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For most of us, now is a time when it’s difficult to remember how life was before the Internet or smart technology because it is part of so much of our daily lives.

Yet, I can remember in 2010 watching for the first time when Steve Jobs introduced the original iPad. Jobs revered this new device as “holding the Internet in your hands” (SteveJobsArchive, 2017). He said it was “a whole web page in front of you that you can manipulate with your fingers,” and he was right. The iPad, one of Apple’s flagship inventions, would become a pivotal part of how our then-future lives unfolded, and it was in no small part because of the digital media needed to make it relevant.

WHY IS DIGITAL MEDIA SO IMPORTANT?

Digital media is uniquely positioned to have an enormous influence on our lives. Every day in some shape or form, we interact with digital media. Digital media is things in digital formats, such as audio, video, photos, illustrations, graphics, text, maps, music, infographics, and books. These digital assets create online content such as educational learning, eBooks, blogs, articles, social media, advertising, video games, virtual reality, maps, and more.

Research at 3M Corporation concluded that the human brain processes visual content 60,000 times faster than text (Williams.edu, n.d.). Psychologist Albert Mehrabian demonstrated that 93% of communication is nonverbal. Studies have shown that people recall nearly 65% of what they see three days later, but they only retain about 10% of what they read three days later (Caplan, 2019).

As of January 2021, 4.6 billion people use the Internet worldwide—that’s over half (59.5%) of every person on the planet (Statista, 2021). Arguably, digital media is what makes the Internet so valuable and exciting. People appreciate digital media because it’s up-to-date, easy to use, engaging, fun, and creatively entertaining, and there’s no need for physical copies.

Digital media continues to make our lives better in many ways, and five important ones are listed below.

1 . EDUCATION

There has been an incredible number of advantages and improvements to education since the invention of digital media. Many people believe that learning online with digital multimedia tools helps them remain connected to their peers and school. Studies have shown that digital media helps people better understand what they’re learning – and it can also help them communicate better and collaborate more, too (Jarrett, 2019). The bottom line is that digital media is a superstar at facilitating education and life-long learning to build the skills we need for our future.

2. VIRTUAL REALITY

Virtual reality, also known as VR, uses technology to create a simulated immersive environment. VR can improve education by making it more fun and providing students with memorable and immersive experiences that would otherwise not be possible (Immersion VR, 2020). Some cool things that you can do with VR in education include learning a new language, taking a museum tour, stepping back into history, taking a field trip to Mars, working in a laboratory (Coleman, 2020), and lots more. What's more, all of it can occur in a classroom setting.

3. STORYTELLING + SOCIAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS

Digital media is commonly used in software, video games, videos, websites, social media, and online advertising – but it’s also very culturally famous for visual storytelling. Visual storytelling communicates a narrative using digital media to tell the story. Look around, and you’ll find some impressive campaigns that expertly use video, text, special effects, and some really great storylines to evoke public concerns and advocacy around topics like self-esteem, gender stereotypes, social and racial injustices, and other important issues.

To see some terrific examples of storytelling in social awareness campaigns, check out Reverse Selfie by Dove, The Best Men Can Be by Gillette, and Like a Girl by Always.

4. INFORMATION SHARING

Digital media is any form of media that uses electronic devices for distribution. Nowadays, people no longer wait for the 5 o’clock TV broadcast or a printed newspaper to be delivered to learn the news. People now turn to the Internet or their smart devices to keep informed about local and global events.

Fun fact: President Obama was the first president in our historical timeline who had social media available during their presidency. He used it well by creating a campaign supported by customized digital imagery.

Image source: Campaignlive.co.uk

We’ve already determined that humans are visual creatures, and with so much stimulation on the Internet competing for our attention, digital multimedia catches our eye. Here’s an excellent example of a social media campaign that used a powerful digital image to advocate breast cancer awareness. Using lemons to depict 12 different signs of breast cancer, #KnowYourLemons was a Worldwide Breast Cancer campaign to promote awareness and remind women that lumps are not the only symptom.

Image source: BBC.com

The images from this campaign reached 7.3 million people through just 3 Facebook posts (Bredava, 2020). This campaign tackled a sensitive and vital issue with the clever use of only a digital image and some text.

5. COMMUNITY + CONNECTION

There was a time when people would live and die without ever seeing a single person outside their tiny area. The world has become a global village. Today, we interact with people halfway across the world—and this is done through the facilitation of digital media, which allows us to communicate with others and empowers people to have a voice, participate in civic causes, and create communities.

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. We can achieve so much as teachers, learners, and global citizens by taking advantage of technology and embracing digital media as both consumers and creators.

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References

Bredava, A. (2020, September 21). 15 Awesome Examples of Social Media Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/social-media-marketing-examples/380202/#close

Caplan, B. (2019, March 20). 3 Reasons to Liven Up Your Marketing with Visual Content. Retrieved from https://www.score.org/blog/3-reasons-liven-your-marketing-visual-content

Coleman, M. (2020, October 1). 8 Inventive Examples of Immersive Technology in Education. Retrieved from https://vrscout.com/news/8-inventive-examples-immersive-tech-education

Immersion VR. (2020, January 2). VR for Education. Retrieved from https://immersionvr.co.uk/about-360vr/vr-for-education

Jarrett, N. (2019, November 6). How Students Respond to Digital Media in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://edtech4beginners.com/2019/11/06/how-students-respond-to-digital-media-in-the-classroom

Roxby, P. (2017, January 15). Signs of breast cancer explained, using lemons. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/health-38609625

SteveJobsArchive. (2017, September 21). Steve Jobs introduces Original iPad - Apple Special Event (2010). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaEYIYJLVlw

Statista. (2021, January 27). Worldwide digital population as of January 2021. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide

Williams.edu. (n.d.). Using Images Effectively in Media. Retrieved from https://oit.williams.edu/files/2010/02/using-images-effectively.pdf

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