Digital media

Digital media is any kind of communication that uses encoded machine-readable data. This means that content can be created, viewed, changed, listened to, and saved on digital electronic devices like computers, tablets, and phones. Unlike older ways of sharing information, digital media uses series of digits to represent data and can include text, audio, video, and graphics.

Digital media platforms such as YouTube, Kick, and Twitch became very popular. In 2020, people spent about 27.9 billion hours watching content on these platforms. This growth sped up during the COVID-19 pandemic because many people were staying at home and needed ways to connect and entertain themselves online. Digital media is a big part of what we call the digital revolution, thanks to how connected everything has become.

Examples

Examples of digital media include software, digital images, web pages and websites, social media, digital data and databases, digital audio such as MP3, electronic documents and electronic books. Digital media is different from older types of media like printed books, newspapers, magazines, photographic film, audio tapes, or video tapes.

Digital media has changed many parts of our lives. It has brought new ways to share news, watch shows, learn new things, and connect with others. Because of digital media, we now live in what some call the Information Age, where more and more things can be done on computers instead of on paper. But there are still challenges, like making sure everyone has access to these tools and protecting creative work online.

Business model

Digital media platforms like YouTube work with a special way of doing business. They give people information and fun shows for free. At the same time, they watch what people like and learn about them to tell advertisers. This helps the platform get more people to watch and play.

Paid media means ways companies pay to show their ads, like on TV, radio, or the internet. They pay to put ads on places like Instagram so more people see them.

Owned media are the places a company controls, like its website or social media pages. These are things the company can use to share news and updates whenever they want.

Earned media happens when people talk about a product or service on their own, like sharing it on social media because they like it. This kind of attention is free and can help a company grow because people trust what others say.

History

Codes and information handled by machines were first imagined by Charles Babbage in the early 1800s. Babbage thought these codes could help run his machines designed to reduce calculation errors. Between 1822 and 1823, mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first set of steps for these machines to follow when doing calculations. Her steps are now considered the first computer program.

By 1986, less than 1% of the world's stored information was digital, but by 2007, this grew to 94%. The year 2002 is thought to be when we started storing more information digitally than in older, non-digital ways.

The first true digital media appeared with the creation of digital computers. These computers use a system of ones and zeroes, called binary code, to store and work with information. The first modern digital computers, like the Manchester Mark 1 and the EDSAC, were invented between 1948 and 1949.

The idea behind digital media was introduced by scientist Vannevar Bush in his 1945 essay, "As We May Think". Bush described a device called a "memex" that could help people store and connect information. Though this idea came before digital computers, it later helped shape ideas for digital scholarship, the World Wide Web, wikis, and social media.

Impact

The digital revolution

Since the 1960s, the power of computers and how much they can store has grown very fast. This happened because of a way to build tiny parts in computers, which lets them do more things faster. Personal computers and smartphones put the ability to see, change, save, and share digital media into the hands of billions of people. Many devices, from digital cameras to drones, can now make, send, and show digital media. With the World Wide Web and the Internet, digital media has changed society in the 21st century in ways similar to how books changed the world long ago. This change has been so quick and wide that it has moved our economy from making things to one based on information, creating a new time called the Information Age or the digital revolution.

The digital revolution has also brought changes in how we think about digital media. Terms like new media and multimedia relate to both the new technology and the cultural effects of digital media. As digital media mixes with other types of media and with culture and society, it sometimes is called new media. Digital media also needs new skills for communication, like knowing how to navigate the Internet, check sources, and make digital content. There is some worry that we might be heading toward a digital dark age, where older media can’t be seen on modern devices.

Disruption in industry

Digital media is easy to copy, save, share, and change, unlike older types of media. This has caused big changes in many industries, such as news, publishing, education, entertainment, and music. These changes are so big that it’s hard to measure them all. For example, in making movies, we’ve gone from film cameras to digital cameras, which is almost complete now. This helps Hollywood save money and add special effects, but it has been hard on small movie theaters that couldn’t or won’t change to digital.

Between 2000 and 2015, the money made from advertising in print newspapers dropped from $60 billion to about $20 billion. Even big reading days like Sunday have seen fewer people buying papers.

In news, digital media and citizen journalism have caused many jobs to disappear in print media and made many big newspapers go out of business. But digital journalism has also created new jobs and types of work. E-books and self-publishing are changing the book industry, and digital textbooks are changing schools.

In schools and universities, digital media has led to new ways of learning called digital scholarship, making open access and open science possible because it costs less to share information. New subjects like digital humanities and digital history have grown. It has changed how libraries work and their role in society. Every big media, communications, and academic area is going through changes because of digital media.

Often, magazines or publishers have a digital edition, which is an electronic version of the print version. This saves money for publishers because making digital versions costs less.

Since 2004, the number of people working in newspapers has gone down, with only about 40,000 people working in the field now. During the 2008 recession, some magazines lost over 10% of their print sales, and only 75% of their ads sold as before. But in 2018, a big part of newspaper advertising money came from digital ads.

Mobile versions of newspapers and magazines grew a lot, by 135%. The New York Times saw a 47% increase in digital subscriptions from one year to the next. 43% of adults often get news from websites or social media, compared to 49% who watch television. Some people also get news from streaming devices on their TV – 9% of U.S. adults do this often.

Individual as content creator

Digital media has also let everyday people become much more active in making content. Anyone with a computer and the Internet can share their writing, art, videos, photos, and comments online, as well as do business online. The big drop in cost to make and share content has made it easier for everyone to create content, leading to new types like blogs, memes, and video essays. Some of these activities are called citizen journalism. This increase in content made by people is because of the Internet and how we use media today. As more people use social media, sharing content becomes more important. New technologies like mobile devices make it easier and faster to access media. Many tools to make media that used to be expensive are now free and easy to use. The cost of devices that can connect to the Internet is going down, and having many digital devices is becoming normal. These changes have affected how people take part in politics. Digital media is thought to have played a role in events like the Arab Spring, and some governments try to control digital and social media.

Over the years, YouTube has grown to be a place where people share videos. This content isn’t always checked by companies, so there are many different opinions and personalities online. In 2020, the top 10 YouTube creators each made over 15 million dollars. Many of these creators have setups like TV studios and run their own digital companies as their audiences grow. There are over 1.5 billion tablet users in the world, and this number is expected to grow slowly. About 20% of people in the world often watch content using tablets.

Creating content online brings up issues like privacy, how trustworthy the information is, being polite, and paying for creative work. The spread of digital media and the need for different skills to use it well have made the digital divide bigger between those who have access to digital media and those who don’t.

Web-only news

The rise of streaming services has caused fewer people to use cable TV, down to about 59%, while streaming services are growing to around 29%, and 9% still use digital antennas. TV controllers now have special buttons for streaming services. People spend about 1 hour and 55 minutes each day watching digital videos, and only 1 hour and 44 minutes on social networks. 6 out of 10 people say they watch TV shows and news using streaming services. Companies like Netflix have become popular because they are affordable, easy to access, and make their own shows. Netflix has even brought back shows that were cancelled before, like Designated Survivor, Lucifer, and Arrested Development. As the Internet becomes more common, more companies are starting to share their content only online. Young people today are more likely to use TikTok than Google, TV, or newspapers for news. With fewer viewers, companies lose money, but not as much as expected.

As of 2024, some people considered too controversial by big media have moved to online platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to keep sharing their messages. One example is Tucker Carlson leaving Fox News and moving to X. This has caused discussions about free speech and hurtful speech.

Copyright challenges

Digital media makes it easy to move from one piece of content to another. Because it’s so easy to make, change, and share digital media, it can be hard to protect copyright and intellectual property. It’s often unclear what the rules are for common online activities, like sharing pictures from someone else’s social media, writing fanfiction, or using popular songs in videos. Over the last ten years, ideas about fair use and copyright have been used for different types of online media.

Copyright challenges affect all parts of digital media. Creators on platforms like YouTube must follow rules about copyright, intellectual property, and the platform’s own copyright rules. If they don’t follow these rules, their content might be taken down, deleted, or they might face legal action. This can happen if creators accidentally use music or scenes that are protected by copyright. To avoid these issues, some creators use open licenses or release their work to the public domain. Fair use is a part of US Copyright Law that allows limited use of copyrighted materials without permission. There are four things that decide if something is fair use: the purpose, what copyrighted content is used, how much of it is used, and whether it affects the value of the content.

Wikipedia uses common open licenses like Creative Commons and the GNU Free Documentation License. Open licenses are part of a movement that wants to reduce or remove copyright restrictions on software, data, and other digital media. Tools like the Creative Commons Search engine and Unpaywall help find and use these licenses.

Software has been made to control access to digital media. Digital rights management (DRM) locks material so it can only be used in certain ways. This lets movie makers rent movies for less money by limiting how long you can rent them, instead of selling them for full price. DRM can also stop unauthorized changes or sharing of media.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) protects companies that host user content, like YouTube, from being sued for copyright infringement as long as they follow certain rules. One important rule is the “notice and take down” policy, which requires online companies to remove content when they get orders or reports that the content might be illegal. Because of this, YouTube has created more policies and an algorithm to check all content on their site.

One platform with copyright concerns is TikTok. TikTok is a social media app where users share short videos, often using music. About 50% of the music used on TikTok doesn’t have the right licenses. TikTok has agreements with some artists and labels, but this doesn’t cover everything. Users can still break copyright rules, like if music is playing in the background or if they record a song playing on a laptop.

Online magazines are also big targets for copyright issues. Digital magazines are now made to work on interactive platforms like the Internet, mobile phones, and tablets. Because it’s easier to share digital magazines, copyright issues are more common. Online piracy of digital media, like movies and TV shows, hurts the owners of the copyright. Piracy breaks copyright laws and morals. Digital media has also made it easier to spread false information or fake news, which can harm people’s health and well-being.