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In the country of Portugal, the impact that digital technologies has is great and has made the country more modern.  The internet has made information and current events more popular and more successful because of the access of information.  The bailout situation in Portugal is a prime example of this.  People all over country and world have heard about this through the means of global media.

In one of my earlier posts, they had reactions of a family in the countryside where 20 years ago you would only be able to access them through a one-on-one interview.  Through the means of global media (YouTube) I was able to capture their reaction and how they felt about their financial crisis. 

People have been able to stay connected with each other throughout the country through various means on communication.  The use of mobile phones has allowed for people in the main land of Portugal to keep in touch with those in the Azores and people throughout the world.  The ease of access is the main impact of the increase of technology in the country of Portugal.

With the increased internet and mobile phone use, the amount of information that is available is much greater than the more traditional newspapers.  The mainland of Portugal has a more increased use of the Internet and mobile phones than the Azores because the demographic of the Azores is much different.  They stick to more traditional means of information.




The Internet and computer technology has impacted global news media greatly throughout the years.  There are both pros and cons in this subject.  The main pro is that the amount of information is easily exposed and very easy to get a hold of with the growth and expansion of the Internet and computer technology.  The main con is that the quality of the information can be greatly diluted and the valididty of the information remains a big question.

Pros, like I said earlier, mainly consist of the amount of information available and how easy it is to have access to that information.  With the amount of information available people can become more educated about what is going on locally and globally.  Take for example, Al Jazeera it has provided a new perspective of information and gives people in the United States access to something that would be quite difficult to view.  Social media and the Internet has successfully been proven to change a whole country i.e. Egypt.  The Internet has allowed people to be conscious about what is going on in the world by one click of a button.  With news and newscasts broadcasted over the Internet allows people to see what is going on in a particular country without even setting foot inside the country.  For example I was able to view the biggest news cast in Portugal, RTP, over the Internet for free.

In general the benefits of the Internet and computer technology has allowed people from far away to gain access to the world's news.  Skype allows for people to chat from anywhere in the world and right there another perspective of news/newsworthy information is easily accessible.  With the growing number of sources of news, the amount of information is greatly increasing.  Cons are also present and are very much related to the pros.

The main problems of the Internet is the validity of the information is being questioned mainly because anyone can post something and it be considered news (Wikipedia).  I always hear, "You cant believe everything you read on the Internet."  That is true because you have to search and search through credible news sources to find the correct information.  Throughout the semester I found myself checking three or four sources just to make sure that the information lined up and was credible.  The Internet is also making newspapers a thing of the past.  Laptops and mobile devices are also contributing to the cause because the mobility and ease of which someone can read something online is getting easier and easier.  In conclusion, you cannot look on one website and find the right details about something without checking another source.