The Effects of Digital Media

Digital media has greatly affected my life, especially in the last decade. Websites have been around since I was in elementary school, but they looked pretty primitive and outdated. Now, websites are extremely practical, efficient and designed to look very professional. I know that website technology will only continue to improve, and it's amazing to me that now there are programs available that allow a typical person to create a great website of their own, even without any prior training or experience with HTML or website design. For example, artcodeinc and iWeb are both very user-friendly applications. I appreciate this since I don't really have the time or interest to learn the complicated HTML codes myself. I know that my (limited) knowledge of website design will only help me in the future, as in my future career, I may need to help develop and improve our company's website, for example. Even if I am not designing websites, it is still extremely useful to know how to navigate and search around a particular website in doing research or preparing for interviews,. Websites are so useful but in a way, they also represent the dying out of other forms of research like hard-copy books, newspapers and even visiting in person.

Other types of digital media programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign have been a great blessing to me. I discovered the programs a few years ago and loved trying them out and creating new designs. I have never thought of myself as much of an artist so to be able to create digital art with these extremely simple programs was such a great way for me to explore my artistic creativity. I am so appreciative of these programs and I know my experience with the programs will definitely help me in the future. Even though I don't plan to be designing or creating artwork for a living, it's still a hobby I would like to continue to pursue and I will be able to put it to good use with designing posters and editing photos, for example.