Walter Benjamin begins his essay, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by stating: “In principle , a work of art has always been reproducible." This statement is the quintessence of the essential and the concern it raises to highlight how "art" with the progress of technology is transformed into new forms, thereby shaping people's perception and thinking In this process, he introduces the term aura, which is one of the most commonly invoked terms in media theory. Aura for Benjamin represents originality and authenticity. of a work of art that has not been reproduced He focused on cinema and photography as new means of mechanical reproduction, which constituted the two major technological advances of his time. He links these two new technologies. about the changing way people think and how it has affected different media industries. The medium of art has changed immensely over the ages and it speaks of the loss of the aura of the original work. The change in perspective and growth led to the formation of various new mediums due to which the original work of art lost its “aura”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"?Get the original essayBenjamin was trying to understand the cultural importance of reproductive technologies, such as photography which allowed the mass reproduction of images. This was something that did not yet exist at the beginning of the 20th century. He offers an overview by discussing the consequences of cinema and photography on the work of art. Since the essay's publication more than 80 years ago, reproductive technologies have become even more widespread in society thanks to the Internet, smartphones, computer games, enhanced television, augmented reality, and 3D printing. Not only has it proliferated, but it is much more accessible than ever. Benjamin argues that due to the rise of reproductive technologies, distraction has replaced contemplation because it is fundamentally social. Distraction exchanges the viewer's thoughts with a carefully coordinated set of images (film), thus preventing the viewer's imagination from taking on a form of itself that is central to understanding a work of art. For Benjamin, contemplation is something that the author asserts over his audience by letting his work of art absorb the audience thus creating an “aura” around it. Conversely, distraction involves the audience absorbing the art. This change in the reception of art is due to this state of distraction. A classic example is the case of cinema. “The film with its shock effect responds halfway to this mode of reception. The film pushes cult value into the background not only by placing the audience in the position of the critic, but also by the fact that in cinema this position requires no attention. The public is an observer, but distracted. Benjamin's view emphasizes how an individual and their art form a bond that should endure in its original for preservation purposes. “Even in the most perfect perfection, one thing is missing: the here and now of the work of art, its existence in a particular place.” For example, getting a signed photo with someone will not have the same value. If someone buys said photo online because the person has not had a chance to interact with the signer, which is a creation of a moment in itself. Benjamin explains how technology and art create a new form of alteration through design. Subsequently, he mourns the loss of “real art” for another reason. He is firmlyconvinced that every work of art has a certain aura and when it is reproduced it loses the initial appeal it once had. For example, a painting has an aura because it is an original creation. He goes further to say that a cameraman on a film set deprives the audience of the full story because he only films and edits what he wants and not what the audience deserves to see. Benjamin argues that artists have sought and are willing to experiment with new tools for reproducing images, thereby pushing the limits of their artistic abilities. The camera, for example, gives an artist greater access and greater prowess in reproducing a scene than a sculpture. Additionally, tools do not always have to be tangible in nature. They can take an abstract, intangible form, such as a computer algorithm for image manipulation. Photo manipulation has become such a huge market over the past eight years that the industry is now valued at over a billion dollars! As Benjamin observed in his essay, with the expansion of publishing, almost everyone is free to publish whatever they want. Thus the division between author and audience disappears. What remains is the functional division: the author happens to be an entity writing at a given time and the rest, the audience. As with everything in the world, the manipulation of images has both constructive and destructive meaning. The growing phenomenon of “fake news,” alongside “morphed images,” something Benjamin might not have predicted, has shaken the world, to say the least. While creative rights belong to almost everyone, these destructive forces have shocked the world. Cases of fake photo IDs, fake identities, grooming and revenge killings have been reported for at least a decade now. Additionally, one of the things that Benjamin saw and addressed in his essay was how "new media" (film and photography in his time) time, the Internet and its by-products in the age of 'information) is changing the way people interact with each other, providing an array of exciting opportunities. It allows interaction, sharing and participation between people at the same time from multiple locations. “The mechanical reproduction of art changes the reaction of the masses to art. The reactionary attitude towards a Picasso painting turns into a progressive reaction towards a Chaplin film. Progressive response is characterized by the direct and intimate fusion of visual and emotional pleasure with expert guidance. Such a merger is of great social importance. The Internet, in our time, has given people the opportunity to be their own creative leaders, to express media products or works of art and expose them to a global audience. It is for this reason that the considerable increase in the number of participants has changed the mode of participation: the way of producing, sharing, appreciating and criticizing the work of art. With the advent of YouTube, a parallel stream of media emerges, very different from the commercial media Benjamin referred to in his essay. This cinematic movement, if I may call it, is known for its light content, realism and naturalism, symbolic elements mainly aimed at the younger generation, which have gained immense popularity in recent years. This ecosystem is such that almost anyone can be a creator, a critic or a public. This led to the merging of art and media, resulting in a narrowing of the gap between the artist and society. Contemporary visual artists have adopted these new technological developments by creating websites as an extension..