In this image, created by ChatGPT, a kid is about to play on his computer, while having a phone and tablet besides him.
Using digital media is as routine to us as waking up in the morning, especially to Gen-Z. The first thing most of us do as soon as we open our eyes is go on our phones and see what our friends have posted on Snapchat, Instagram or X.
But little do some of us know that digital media has been around for decades. It first started with informercials on the TV that our parents had on in the morning. Now, it’s more like the Temu ads we see on TikTok.
Gen-Z is the only generation that was born into, and will die with digital media. Many of us who were born in the early 2000’s spent our days playing video games on sketchy websites. During these cherished moments, these websites included text, visual, audio and advertisements, showing off different angles of digital media simultaneously.
There’s no slowing down to the development of digital media either, as this subject has been developing faster than ever in the past 30 years. Although it is still developing, many people do not think about the term “digital media” often. Every company now is working with digital media and even hire specific roles for this section. According to GoogleTrends, the term’s interest has been on a steady decline since 2004 (GoogleTrends, n.d.)
Now, a new term is being coined. Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is also advancing at lightning speeds with mixed opinions from both sides. Some are in favor of the innovation while others fear it will do more harm than good. One thing is for sure, is that both digital media and AI go hand in hand (Chazen, n.d.).
For those against AI, one of the main concerns is the possibility of over-saturation in the digital market. But who's to say we haven’t already been experiencing it? In 2007, Apple released their first widely-successful iPhone. Since then, 155 millions of people residing in the U.S. have owned one (Singh, 2025.)
This invention changed the trajectory of digital media for good. It put a mini-computer in everyone’s hand. With this, and the addition of the development of AI, not only will this advance the speeds of the network on the phones but also how fast these phones can be built.
Although this may sound scary, many professionals in the public relations and advertising field reassure that AI will not be fully productive as it lacks the emotional aspect that we humans experience.
As a current Integrated Public Relations and Advertising major, no ad is effective if there is not a touch of human connection into it. Quantity and quality have distinct entities, but quality will always triumph. Many professionals in the marketing and advertising field agree, as AI is seen more as a tool than a replacement for jobs (Chazen, n.d.).
Although this was reassuring to hear, some questions still linger on my mind on these advancements for digital media. For example, what regulations will be put into place when using AI in digital media? Will advertisements created by AI overlap the more “important” ones?
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