Week 6

As internet spreads the world, people are able to do whatever they expect online. Internet transmits entertainment, recreation, education, news, public legislation, business opportunities and health information online. For health issue would be the most hot concerns, they have various ways to get such health information. Lewis (2006) claims that public health has undergone a shift towards encouraging individuals to take responsibility for and manage their own health, a shift which has seen health increasingly package as a “lifestyle” issue, particularly in the popular media. People treat health issue is not as something external to or outside of the control of individual but instead is embraced as part of a broader linking of ideas of the body, self and lifestyle. So if people have some problem with their health, they would like to search online and immediately get their expected answers. Internet provides a self-managing health for citizen.

However, the answers people got online is a risk. According to Wyatt, Harris and Wathen (2008) “we are primarily interested in mediators and mediation because, as health information is rarely, if ever, intermediated in simple straightforward way”. The myriad of information is from all aspects. Whether or not is from a professional specialist is not clear. It could be from a lay user upload based on its opinions. Misinformation could be spread among internet as discriminating health consumers actively accessing health information but as a health receipt. People should pay a attention to the information where they get, whether or not a professional answers online.

Reference list:

Lewis, T. 2006. Media, Culture & Society: Seeking health information on the internet: lifestyle choice or bad attack of cyberchondria? SAGE: http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/28/4/521 (Accessed 10 Apr 2011)

Wyatt, S., R. Harris, and N. Wathen, 2008. The Go-Betweens: Health, Technology and Info(r)mediation. In Mediating Health Information: The Go-Betweens in a Changing Socio-Technical Landscape. Sally Wyatt, Nadine Wathen and Roma Harris New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Week 5

In contemporary, people live is media era. Internet provides a new platform for whole society either individuals or global industries. Media seems can be seen everywhere in people daily life. Since facebook established, media has more thuoroughly converged people's life. According to Deuz(2011), as media become pervasive and ubiquitiou, forming the building blocks for people constant remix of the catagories of everyday life. People use media for different sakes, such as entertainment, communication, business on diverse websites. People can edit their personal blog or facebook profile showing their personalities, their characteristics, even or their professional aspects. Those website space belong to people themselves for their own sytlish to construct. Therefore, media completely has impacted on people lifesytle. Besides of providing space for people, media also build time relationships. It expmlifies an increasing speed of travel and telecommunications as a benchmark for a global change in people’s awareness of reality itself.

However, mobile phone is another media which has impacted people’s life as well. Bell (2006) claims cell phone is obvisouly pieces of technology. People use mobile phone not only for communication, but also technical devices. With 3G mobile phone spreading the world, people can use mobile phone as a little portable laptop surferring internet, chatting on line. Mobile phone seems not just objects and technology, but also a system of ideas of family, of intimacy, emergency and work. It has strong capacities more than communication.

Reference list:

Deuze, M. 2011  Media, Culture & Society   

SAGE: http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/33/1/137 (Accessed 03 Apr 2011)

Bell, G. 2006 Knowledge, Technology, & Policy  The Age of the Thumb: A Cultural Reading of Mobile Technologies from Asia