Running Head: DIGITAL MEDIA IN SOCIETY

Digital Media in Society

SUNY Cortland

Rafael Cabrera, Sarah Guarino, Miles Naughton, Gaelyn Bronson

DIGITAL MEDIA IN SOCIETY

Throughout the progression of the 21st century, digital access and the ability to use the

media to spread opinions has greatly changed how citizens live in the United States. Ranging

from online attack advertisements to using video evidence to destroy a candidate, the internet has

changed how politicians approach running for a position. In a way, online access has merged

politics and marketing into one monster, creating a new economic aspect that promotes the

idea that politics can be used as a means to boost personal financial gain. Even though the use of

marketing has greatly impacted the United States political machine, commercial use has proven

to be the biggest upside to marketing in a sense. Consumers from all over the world are able to

access all sorts of goods due to sites such as Amazon, EBay, and many others. As expected, the

rise of an online market has also created an increased demand for illegal goods such as sex tapes
DIGITAL MEDIA IN SOCIETY

and other illicit items. Whenever there is an economic opportunity, there is also an opportunity

for people to exploit that opportunity. Although the use of a global market has benefitted

humanity greatly, politics and the average consumer have suffered greatly as well.

Many would think that marketing during an age of great technological advancement

would be secure and easy to use, but with increasing software and opportunity hackers are able

to easily scam citizens on a large scale. Even though there is a risk every time a consumer makes

an online purchase, the convenience of having the ability to order an item without moving

appeals to the average human. Sometimes it is easy to forget that fraud is somewhat a building

block of our American society, and this concept can be seen in the food industry. The first

thought for most students when they think about this concept is a possible high school lesson

about The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. There had always been a belief that large scale corporations

can weasel their way around national and state laws to hide production facts from consumers, but

the introduction of a global online market enabled the average person to post false information

about a product and sell it. Deception is a key human quality and when Sinclair wrote, The

great corporation which employed you lied to you, and lied to the whole countryfrom top to

bottom it was nothing but one gigantic lie. (Sinclair, 1906, 82), it shows that when opportunity

arises for exploitation there is usually a group that is willing to use this to their advantage. Even

though Sinclair exposed the meat packing industry over a century ago and the creation of the

FDA changed this, loopholes exist today because when consumers buy a product online they are

agreeing to take a chance on credit card fraud, identity theft, and other possible attacks on their

online security. The foundations of false advertising can be seen throughout history even before

the internet was widespread, so it is not surprising that this issue has spread like a wildfire with

the growth of online shopping. The digital age has had a major impact on sexual relations in
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today's society. Social media has ultimately eliminated face-to-face contact. The digital era is

taking away the intimacy of a real relationship and causes it to be more stressful because people

feel they need to be in constant contact with each other. According to a survey from

SPORTDiscus, 72% of people said they think it is okay to check their phone during a date. This

is astonishing because social media is a negative distraction. It can cause people to think

someone is disrespectful if they are using their phone in an inappropriate place, especially in the

bedroom. The survey also stated that if a person received a phone call or text, 87% of people

would ignore it, but a surprising 5% would glance to see who is calling or texting. Overall,

society is digitally distracted in the dating scene in today's world and it is a problem.

References

Stephenson, M. (2011). Sex in the digital age. Shape, 30(6), 46-50.