Modern Media Anthropology

Modern Media Anthropology

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Introduction

Modern media encompasses digital media, print media, and broadcast media formats. Over the years, media technologies have significantly evolved. Currently, it is possible to connect and share content with billions of people across the globe. As media has evolved, anthropologists have explored how content produced is interpreted and adapted by people from different groups. Modern media has significantly changed how healthcare professionals and patients interact and share information in the healthcare profession. In the nursing profession, modern media has had positive and negative impacts on the professional lives of nurses. Modern media involves technologies that have helped spread information and connect people. Therefore, media anthropology is an important aspect of healthcare as it helps nurses understand how their patients consume and interact with their content.

How Anthropologists Study Modern Media

Anthropologists have long studied mass communication and a wide range of digital media. Media is technology that connects people through shared content and is a central part of everyday life. Anthropologists explore the ways media is designed and adopted by communities and cultural groups. The information shown is interpreted differently depending on the audiences’ culture, history, and identity (Peake, 2018). Anthropologists also explore the ways media enable people to create and maintain ties and their sense of identity. Overall, media anthropologists question universal beliefs around various forms of media and highlight how an individual’s culture, history and beliefs influence the interpretation of media content.

Ways Nurses Could Use Modern Media Professionally

The internet is the most popular form of modern media currently. The latter half of the 1900s saw the creation of the internet; however, it was not until the rise and popularity of social media platforms that its influence reached the masses. Different individuals created various social media platforms between the late 1990s and early 2000. These platforms made it easy for people to connect. Social networking sites are part of everyday life and can be used for professional and personal reasons. Social media platforms are characterized by openness, community, connectedness, and participation. These features aid in the efficient transfer of information and enable nurses to connect and engage with other healthcare workers or potential clients. For instance, openness is evident when nurses share healthcare information with other healthcare professionals. On platforms such as Twitter, nurses can use hashtags to receive real-time information on topics they find interesting. They can also use these hashtags to participate in conversations. Nurses can use social media sites to access and connect with experts in their profession. This ease in accessing and connecting with experts enables the creation of online communities dedicated to nursing. Also, nurses can use social media platforms such as LinkedIn to build their professional image by sharing their skills, accomplishments, and qualifications.

Social media is an internet-based tool that meets the different needs of users. As a nurse, I could use this powerful tool for collaboration. Healthcare is constantly evolving as technology and science advance. As healthcare advances, there is a need for healthcare professionals from all parts of the globe to connect and collaborate. I could use social media to create a platform that connects specialists with nursing students and young nursing professionals starting their careers. People can engage in online discussions, share health information, and discuss career opportunities through this platform regardless of their geographical locations. Lastly, I could use this platform to champion a supportive environment that enables all participants to acquire real-time information on best practices, further contributing to the field of nursing.

Benefits Of Using Modern Media in Nursing

Efficient communication is an aspect of modern media that enables nurses to provide and receive professional training. Since the covid-19 pandemic broke out, various learning institutions have relied on the internet to offer online classes to their students. For instance, in Australia, nurses must receive annual professional development points. During the pandemic, nurses used the internet to access online classes and obtain their professional development points (Hao & Gao, 2017). Also, modern media, such as various social media platforms, have made it easy for nurses to connect with their patients. This ease in connection has made it possible for nurses to frequently check up on their patients and share crucial healthcare information without necessarily meeting in person. Another advantage of modern media is the ease with which nurses can create a supportive network of individuals. On social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, nurses can connect with other like-minded individuals who can help them improve and navigate their professional life. Lastly, social media platforms such as LinkedIn enable nurses to get jobs more quickly as they are more visible to potential employers and recruiters.

Drawbacks Of Using Modern Media in Nursing

Though modern media, such as the internet and social media, provides distinct advantages, it also has disadvantages. One of the biggest challenges in the nursing field is the lack of reliable healthcare information. The ease of sharing information through modern media has made it easier for people to share accurate and fake information. Moreover, some professionals have been found guilty of magnifying health information to get more clicks, a factor that has further discredited existing healthcare information found online (Hao & Gao, 2017). Another significant drawback is the violation of patients’ privacy. Some nurses post videos and pictures of patients without consent. It results in a breach of trust as it denies them dignity. Moreover, ignoring individuals’ anonymity and privacy causes them harm (Nelson, 2018). Patient privacy violations destroy the relationship nurses have with their patients. Patient privacy violations can also harm a nurse’s career as they can result in job termination and the withdrawal of their registration.

Conclusion

Media anthropology enables professionals to understand different aspects of modern media and how people interact and interpret their content. As media technology advances, nurses must know how to use this tool to promote healthcare and grow professionally. Also, nurses must understand media anthropology as it can help them have better media interactions with their audience, further promoting health and professional excellence.

References

Hao, J., & Gao, B. (2017). Advantages and disadvantages for nurses of using social media. Journal of Primary Health Care and General Practice, 3, 2.

Nelson, K. (2020). Doing fieldwork: Methods in cultural anthropology. Perspectives: An open invitation to cultural anthropology.

Peake, B. (2018). Media Anthropology: Meaning, Embodiment, Infrastructure, and Activism. UMBC Faculty Collection.