Digital Storytelling in New Media Discussed at PAU

Talking about the importance of visual language, Parsa stated that the ability to look critically is learned and gained thanks to 'new media literacy'.

Prof. Dr. Parsa spoke about digital culture as follows: “First there was the speaking, then the writing came, the second oral culture age came and we are living in the visual age, the age of images and now the digital age. I realized that images and digital culture have homogenized us for the past year.” Parsa continued her speech with the words “As we all know, I can say that we live in a new media-based techno-economic paradigm universe shaped by new communication technologies, which we can say in addition to the definition introduced by Marshall McLuhan in the Global Village book.”

Stating that the most important feature of new media and storytelling is its interactiveness, Parsa stated that a meta-language was created with hypertexts and that written, verbal and visual systems were integrated into each other. In addition, Parsa emphasized that "video narration" is now required for presentations rather than photographs and texts. Parsa said that besides the importance of using digital indicators such as hashtag (#), everything seen should be questioned.

Parsa emphasized the following regarding digital storytelling: “Storytelling will never end. That's how I say it, but of course it disguises itself both formally and externally, it is actually reproduced in different forms depending on the images. In new communication technologies, satellite broadcasting, fiber active cables, these are all driving the development at an unbelievable speed, and this is changing, enhancing and transforming digital storytelling. Especially after the 90s, the development of communication and new media technologies deeply affects the whole life.”

Regarding the coding system of the new media, Parsa also said, “The coding system offered by the new media, with its hypertextuality and modularity features, allows the active interaction of individuals. And of course, this rapid interaction and development is growing like a snowball, improving every aspect of the media and creating new opportunities. We all see that cinema evolves into different kinds of storytelling. These forms of communication, which are converted into binary codes by means of a computer, classify images that different programs actually animate in a static and dynamic structure, and provide an unlimited work and opportunity to manipulate, store and transfer them. As a result of the convergence of imaging systems and computer technologies, nowadays, talking about the image also brings about the computer programs and the digital file formats they produce. We all have to know about these extensions. Here, videos, photographs, texts, gifs, cinemagraphs and various graphic animations, interactivity and similar eclectic data actually enter our lives as the basic building blocks of digital storytelling.”