The main thing I am taking away from this class is a deeper understanding of new media, and the ability to analyze media in a way I never have before.  Prior to this class, I took new media at face value.  I considered the internet, laptops, tablets and smart phones to be new media, and never really took into consideration even the content that these devices make available.  Even when I would look at content on the internet, I would take it at face value, and never delve into the deeper meanings that content can have.  Now I know that many aspects of new media showcase problems that are prevalent throughout our society.  Certain types of new media have given people an outlet to express feelings and thoughts that would often remain unspoken if they were saying them face to face to a group of people.  Although sometimes this can be good, and help people work through emotions, like crisis memes allowing people to work through their feelings about tragedies, often they can be dark and show a deeper problem within our society.  The racist and sexist comments of some gamers is a prime example of this.  Because these people see themselves as anonymous, they say disgusting things that they would most likely never say to a person face to face.  New media has given us a way to express good feelings and reach out and help others, but it also showcases the deeper problems in our society as a whole.  People who claim that racism and sexism no longer exist should simply browse the comments on a Youtube video to see exactly how prevalent these issues still are.

My group project on Google and the academy has also taught me a lot throughout this course.  I have never really thought to question Google before, it was always there, always a useful tool.  I never had reason to believe that we should see it as anything but a useful tool before now.  While I do not think that Google is going to become an evil dictator and take over the world, I think it is important to understand the issues surrounding Google, and the possibility for corruption, even if it has yet to occur.  I also think that the fact that so few people are informed about Google and their issues like data mining and their control on knowledge is a little scary, and we should work to keep informed and keep others informed about Google and other companies like it, to keep them from possibly abusing their power in the future.

Overall, this class has opened my eyes to a new media culture that I am a part of, but had never really considered before.  I took for granted a lot of the new media that I use, and never bothered to look at any deeper issues within new media.  I think now, with the knowledge I have gained, I will be able to be informed about new media and how it effects me and those around me.