New New Media Ch. 1-5

As Liandra said, I also liked this reading the most so far. Social media, or as Levinson would say, “new new media,” is a large part of my life, and I not only enjoy it, but also find the subject of it very interesting. The amount that this new new media has worked its way into our lives is incredible. Its presence is so strong, particularly among our age group -- the millennials. Not only are many teenagers and twenty-somethings literally addicted to their social media, but many feel it is a necessity to have. For example, Facebook has become an integral part of our lives. As Levinson said, Facebook jumped from the 7th chapter in his first edition of the book to the 2nd in the new edition. I think that the ease of finding someone that you need to get in contact with is what keeps Facebook staying relevant. Personally, I hardly use my Facebook anymore, but find that I can’t delete it because it is the easiest way for someone to find me if they need to, and vice versa. I have used it to find many people from school that I need to get in touch with, or people that I have met and forgot to get their phone numbers. Unlike other social media sites, most people use their real name and hometown so finding them is much simpler. Although I believe Facebook will have it’s inevitable downfall like Myspace, for now it is safe because of this essential feature. 

However, while reading about the Alexa program I wondered if it also took into account the number of users on the applications on their phones, or just website visits. I think far more people visit Twitter and Instagram on an application on a mobile device than actually going to a web browser and visiting the site. I also think that Instagram will continue to rise in popularity, although I have a feeling it will not reach as many different age ranges as Facebook has. Twitter and Instagram, for the most part, seem to be more dominated by younger generations, while Facebook reaches out to baby boomers and senior citizens. This factor could be Facebook’s saving grace in keeping a top spot in the Alexa rankings.