Digital Culture and Society

【Abstract】With the rapid development of big data， more people have changed their original life styles. As a new subject， Digital Culture and Society has academic and practical usage. By exploring the theories of relevant scholars on the subject， this paper analyzes the significance and application of various aspects of this subject， and points out its importance and prospect.

【Key words】Digital Culture and Society; Academic; Media; Economic; Education

【作者簡介】杜瑾（1990-），女，汉族，云南宣威人，贵阳护理职业学院，文学硕士，研究方向：数字媒体文化、新型社交网络、跨文化交流与对外汉语教学。

Digital Culture and Society （DCS） is an academic subject which could be divided into three different fields： the social science including philosophy， law and education; the sciences including telecommunications and information technology; the arts including media and performance. There are some professors researching this subject widely from different aspects，  and their theories could clearly define how essential DCS is through providing new ways for communication through social media such as Youtube and Facebook. The subject is not only about new media， but also about people， communication， and society. Yochai （2007：1） believes： ‘Information， knowledge， and culture are central to human freedom and human development. No matter what other possible new ways would been invented， the need to use digital means of communication in daily life is increasing without any doubt.

Because DCS is mainly regarded as a subject linking to  digital media， so the people who it benefits should be the public. The former media used to be advertisements on the streets. These media forms firstly attracted peoples attention and made the world smaller， which furthermore， made diversified communication possible among citizens（Lister，2003：6）. After that， other types of media such as radio and television were invented， and these media forms do not need to be seen or heard directly. Finally， when the internet was created， the digital time of media came.

Besides， this subject could also be useful in helping economic development， especially in modern companies. Those companies such as Microsoft， Google and Apple have long-term competition with each other， and the trend of competition could lead to positive business atmosphere and better internet quality（Charles，2012：37）. As a result of this， the economy between those business would be more attractive and competitive.

And in the other aspect， this subject could be beneficial to the education fields. Culture is an abstract concept. Professors tried to explain it in easier ways but there is still difficulties for non-adults understanding through culture. Therefore， DCS uses digital methods to maintain culture as well as to spread it. Youth can find it more interesting in getting familiar with subjects and courses by using digital teaching methods. For example， Powerpoint and monitors are quite well known by students as their learning tools.

Generally， DCS is a diversified subject which may include three or four fields such as arts and science， and a changeable subject which may update everyday（Charlie，2008：40）. But it is still with a core concept that is to link people to the culture and society through digital research and record methods. The subject would benefit a big range of people and industries with its high-tech feature， and of course， the need of it would definitely rise as long as the development of the world is still related to the internet and other digital technologies.

References：

[1]Charles Arthur. Digital Wars： Apple， Google， Microsoft and the battle for the internet[J]. London， Kogan Page，2012.

[2]Yochai Benkler. The Wealth of Networks： how social production transforms markets and freedom[M]. New Haven and London， Yale University Press，2006.

[3]Charlie Gere. Digital Culture[J]. London， Reaktion，2008.

[4]Lister， M. et al.（eds.）. New Media： A Critical Introduction[J]. London， Routledge，2003.