Yi Lin/Have new media changed our lives for the better?

New media may not have changed our lives for the better as the user-generated content may cause the problem of unreliability. People can express their views on various topics through the use of new media such as blogs, podcasts, forums, social networking websites and more. The credibility of information is an issue as many sources available are unverified. For example, the information on Wikipedia is written by people of the general public who may lack the knowledge and expertise in that area. Some information may be inaccurate as they are not vetted like the articles published on newspapers and books, the older of media. However, I believe that the users of new media are discerning users and will not blindly believe and all use the user-generated content. Netizens themselves are willing and able to verify information when taught how to do so. They can cross-reference the information found on the new media with the information found on the more reliable and renowned websites to ensure the information is correct. Also, with the help of google and yahoo, people can double check the content on the websites they find useful by going to other websites to look at the relevant content. The information would most likely be reliable if they coincide with one another. Thus, as long as people are able to make their own judgments and do not accept all the information found on the new media readily, the new media has definitely changed our lives for the better as we can get the information we want at our fingertips.