Convergence in media

 Convergence in Henry Jenkins' view is an expression used to describe technological, industrial, cultural and social changes, depending on who is speaking and what they think they are talking about. 

While Steven Johnson and Nicholas Carr argue that it is still difficult to predict how convergence and immersion in the media will affect culture, society, and individual brains, and that convergence is changing the way we engage with media today, they nonetheless each have a different viewpoint, As Steven sees, according to his book "Everything Bad is Good for You", modern technologies, modern media, megalomaniacs, video games and television today are mentally stimulating, in that they are cognitively challenging and invite active participation and problem-solving. 

From another point of view, Nicholas Carr argues that the vast array of interconnected information available online erodes attention spans and makes contemporary minds distracted and less able to engage deeply and deliberately with complex ideas and arguments. Carr cites neuroscience studies showing that when people try to do two things in One time, they pay less attention to each and perform tasks less carefully. In other words, multitasking makes us do more things badly. 

The convergence of media based on the transformation of media institutions from traditional work to new media, ,which is considered as a phenomenon that involves linking and integrating information and communication technology, computer networks and media content. It is a direct result of the digitization of media content and the great spread of the Internet. The convergence of media is based on transforming traditional media institutions from press, television, radio and the services they provide to enable the emergence of new forms of media content, meaning that convergence has become a reality in light of the new digital technology. 

Iraq, like many countries, was also affected by the media convergence. The local media is no longer the only means that the Iraqi society follows, due to the spread of the Internet and smart phones. Many foreign television stations have become a source of information for the Iraqi street, such as the BBC and the Guardian. 

According to Henry Jenkins, there are five types of this convergence, which we will mention: 

- Economic convergence occurs when a company controls several products or services within the same industry. For example, in the entertainment industry a single company may have interests across many kinds of media. 

- Organic convergence is what happens when someone is watching a television show online while exchanging text messages with a friend and also listening to music in the background—the “natural” outcome of a diverse media world. 

- Cultural convergence has several aspects. Stories flowing across several kinds of media platforms is one component—for example, novels that become television series 

- Global convergence is the process of geographically distant cultures influencing one another despite the distance that physically separates them. —for example, Nigeria’s cinema industry, nicknamed Hollywood. 

-Technological convergence is the merging of technologies such as the ability to watch TV shows online on sites like Hulu or to play video games on mobile phones like the Apple iPhone. 

According to Steven Johnson, the modern technological media convergence can be a factor in the development of societies and individuals because it is in line with the requirements of modern communication and information, While Nicholas Carr finds in this a kind of regression in the level of individual development, poisoning the huge amount with the dispersion that one experiences as a result of this convergence and digital media. 

Suhad Obaid