The discipline of media studies should change in response to today’s highly dynamic media environment. In this environment, analogue media communication systems are increasingly being replaced by digital systems, generating a lot of media waste in the process. Moreover, as many technology companies continue to compete for market, many media companies have fallen victim to a culture where there is a social expectation for any new technology to be adopted, regardless of its appropriateness in the media industry. This has also contributed greatly to an increase in media waste.
Today, the “new†media studies discipline has not done enough to address the relationship between media use and media waste (Green, 2002). Many aspects of media use behaviour remain unexplored. Moreover, there is hardly any link between theory and practice in regards to media studies in general and media use in particular. In today’s era of rapid growth in the use of computer-mediated communication, scholars of media studies must do more to address issues relating to optimal utilization of technology and the establishment of a framework for guiding decisions on appropriateness of emerging media technologies. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which the discipline of media studies should do more to address the relationship between media use and media waste.
At the outset, it should be noted that it is important to highlight the need for empirical research on the dynamics of media use behaviour (McChesney, 2004). This is one of the areas where the discipline of media studies must do more. An analysis of social processes that influence the way people perceive media use should be undertaken. Similarly, not much has been done to define the position of media waste discourse within contemporary media theory. In such a situation, media companies are compelled to adopt unorthodox approaches in efforts to avoid falling prey to sellers of substandard or inappropriate technologies that only contribute to a pile-up of electronic waste.
The information that is normally used by users of media is usually embedded in a specific social context. Indeed, media companies choose to adopt certain technologies simply because do not want to be seen to be lagging behind in regards to the embracement of technological advancements. Conventionally, today’s society expects the mass media to be at the forefront in the use of new computer-based communication tools (Flew, 2005). In fact, technology companies are very keen to provide sponsorships to media houses in their efforts to undertake technological upgrades. These companies are aware that such efforts…
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