ICISTS-KAIST에 지원하면서 썼던 Essay

Communication is something that everybody learns before everything else. It is one of the standards in classifying history. Prehistory refers to the age before written communication. It is means of control. It evolved with human race, transforming day by day. It had evolved from restricted into abundant, playing a major role in emergence of Renaissance. The concept of media must have formed by then. And then, here comes 'Media Revolution', latest evolution of communication.

New media usually consists of electronic media. It has developed with the growth of Internet, and is compared to 'old' media by its distinguishing feature; interactive communication. No medium yet had the concept of mutual influence, and was only mass-produced simplex transmission. However, emergence of new media is referred to as 'Media Revolution', not only because of its unique characteristic as interactive communication, but also of its revolutionary concept of prosumer-one who consumes, regenerates, and reproduces information.

The concept of prosumer implies that anyone can produce information, disregarding of the source. This is where the saying, 'drowning in the sea of information' comes from. Since anyone can generate information, many pieces of information come from unreliable sources. These junk information only results in misinformation and confusion. That is the reason why some people think of the Internet as the source for trash.

Although it has many deficits such as junk information and false facts given above, the benefits of this new means surpass these deficits. This new medium can work as a powerful delegate of minorities. An example of this, media virus, is one of the most effective ways minorities can propagate their ideologies to the public. This small virus superficially consists of attracting articles, which includes revolts to the authorized. It defies to the authorized media by sneaking into it, and deteriorating it. Although this virus may be very small, it can be influential as much as, or even more than majorities over the society. For instance, a small comment that new digital vote counting machines are unreliable caused the whole country to make a recount. Because of this potential power, some fear that this power must be controlled.

However, media revolution should not be controlled. Also, it cannot be controled. In Luddite movement during Industrial Revolution, there were people who were trying to impede advancement, but none could stop machines from spreading fast. Likewise, this media cannot be hindered from evolving. Before the new media age, media has played an important role in controling the general public. As an example, media used to work as the right arm of dictatorship, blocking the public's eyes and ears. New media, in contrast, is an wide-open stage. It is not a one-way transmission, but is interactive communication happening everywhere. Everyone can speak out on this new stage. Blocking this open stage would violate the law of democracy.

New ages has always come with new paradigms. Media revolution is no exception. In the new media age, all individuals would become as powerful as any group. In this new world, old paradigms of moral behavior crash with new environments given by technology. Disharmony between technology and ethics results in chaos. That is why new norms are required. These new ethics should be developed under free discussion, not by authority.

Necessity of equality means need of revolution. Media revolution would place minorities to the level of majorities. That is why I say media revolution should be encouraged. However, we must not forget disorders in epochal ages. Ethical revolution should be done beforehand, and that is what I think as presupposition of development.

전체적으로 초점이 없는 글이다. 이리저리 왔다갔다만 한 느낌.

용량 늘리려고 별짓을 다하니까 글이 분산된 느낌이 들지..;;

결론: 조낸 못쓴 글이다.