Week 4 - Media Fragmentation

I don't think that media fragmentation is the end of superstardom forever and always. It's true that there will never be another Michael Jackson or a record-breaking audience for the Ed Sullivan Show as when the Beatles came to the United States. However, I think that we know as world fame and supestardom has simply changed forms. To be more specific, the number of venues to become famous through has multiplied from what it was. Media fragmentation has caused people to become famous through more than just the radio, television, and in newspapers and magazines. Now fame is possible through satellite, cable, and the endless vessels of the Internet on top of the traditional media forms. People now become superstars through many different mass media forms rather than the few that were available 30 years ago.

I think in some ways media fragmentation has lessened the sense of community. I think it's especially visible in the generation gap. Young people have embraced and been immersed in technology that older generations have not. Young people find out about an up and coming celebrity from different sources than their parents would, if their parents would at all. Entire families don't block out an hour of their weeknight evenings anymore so that they don't miss their favorite TV show. Now episodes are posted on websites, can be downloaded on iTunes, or recorded with a DVR. However, I don't believe that fragmentation has caused our society to stop having shared social experiences. People are still the same in nature. When something becomes popular, everyone hears about it in one way or another. The modes of communications may have changed, but the end result is still the same.