A theory is a set of assumptions that attempts to provide a reasonable or rational explanation of cause-and-effect relationships among a group of observed phenomenon. However, theory in mass communication is looked at differently, one of the interpretation of theory in mass communication is that a theory is a lens through which a person can understand the world together with other scholars (McQuail). Banerjee Debanjan, an author and professor in Journalism and Communication studies and Head Examiner of a leading Indian state university talks about communication theories in his research paper, “Mass communication: Trends, traits and theories.” Debanjan says, “The idea of a theory lies at the heart of any scholarly process, and while those in …show more content…
Also, theory tries to show us the ways in which people put mass communication into use. One theory of the many mass communication theories is the common sense theory Denis McQuail, a communication theorist, mentions in his book McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory, that we all have knowledge as a result of experiences with media; it also allows us to differentiate between what is actual and …show more content…
The evolution of media has caused the people not take their time and think about what they’ve been told on social media, and the television (Gillmor, Dan, 6). Media is very powerful because it dominates almost everything, from politics to the economy, media shapes the values and views of the audiences, it gives the audience something to discuss and to gather around for. However, media also plays a big role in shaping the youngsters, for instance, There is also the Mass Society, it proposes that media in a way manipulates people by offering the audience a view on the world that is not similar to their world, but it is also needed for the audience’s psychic survival under tough conditions. This theory relates to current social phenomenon because nowadays media is affecting the audience, both positively and negatively, for example youngsters are the most affected by this because they’re still growing and thus their opinions and outlook on like are still being shaped, what mass media does here is affect the way youngsters think, and it influences them to live a certain lifestyle, that does not exactly fit with the society they live in. Ultimately mass communication and mass media do the thinking for their audiences. This theory
The theory assumes that the world is good, that events in the world have some kind of meaning, and that good people who make good
I chose the movie American history X and the theory is Sutherland’s differential Association theory (DAT). We look at many theories. In this theory people are taught that beliefs, involvements, behaviors, and attachments, can possess pro-social attachment. In the movie we see a correlation between the two brothers which shows social control theory, social bonding and social attachments. We then examine Edward Sutherland’s theory to begin to understand that, what we have learned from behaviors are taught.
The article “Mind Over Mass Media”, written by Professor Steven Pinker, describes the impact of media on human lives and brains. Pinker illustrates the benefits people gain from using the worlds quickly increasing technology and media. Pinker suggests that today’s technology such as, PowerPoint, Google, and other forms of social media can actually enhance and bring more intelligence to the mind, instead of being detrimental. Critics believe that the many different forms of media can lower intelligence. However, Pinker declares that scientists are using all of this technology everyone else is using, and are still discovering new things.
The Roaring Twenties was recognized as a Golden Age for its’ mass culture that shaped the new beliefs of those across the United States during the 1920s. This period was known for its’ thriving economy and political changes. New forms of leisure appeared because everyone had a fair amount of spare cash caused by the consumer society developing. Radios were bought, cinemas were opened, newspapers and magazines were sold; all sorts of mass media were methods of communication that emerged during this glorious era. They were not only tools of amusement, but also had the effect of spreading popular culture.
The main objectives in chapter 9 include the ways media attempt to influence people’s attitudes, beliefs, and/or behavior, ways media technology can be disruptive and have adverse effects on behavior, the positive and negative influences of certain kinds of media, such as advertisements or reality television programs, on self-image. Even though media is a great outlet, media has changed our generation causing effects on self-image and human interactions. Because of its pervasiveness in American culture, the media affects people in both obvious and subtle ways. Modern media comes in many different formats, including newspapers, magazines, television, social media, etc.
Over the years, mass communication has been defined in several ways. While some view it as a process, others perceive it as a skill. But apart from these two classifications, I particularly view mass communication as a tool since it is an essential device that can be used in one’s everyday life. It is an instrument all humans can make use of in delivering their intended messages to their family, friends and even to strangers. Charles Berger and Richard Calabrese suggested the same perception as they proposed their theory called the Uncertainty Reduction Theory.
We were told that this theory is too broad because it explains everything and yet explains nothing. The question of which came first the chicken, or the egg conception is the same of learning is too simplistic. Do we truly learn from those who are closest to us who else can we learn from? We should ask the all-time question, “Why don’t we commit crime?” not why do we.
The theory has five essential presumptions. As Katz, Blumler, and Gurevitch (1974) clarify in the book Mass Communication Research, the principal suspicion is that the gathering of people is considered as active.
Mass media play a very significant and determinant role in the contemporary world, by broadcasting and communicating information in fast pace and at the same time entertaining vast audiences. Mass media have a tremendous impact on the structure and history of our society due to the fact that they can influence and shape public opinion, determine political agendas, affect socialization and create a relationship between people and government. They consist of television, press, internet, radio and books and they became one of the main sources of popular culture in the modern capitalist society. Media’s role, however, is not only to offer news and entertainment but also to transfer and cultivate a variety of social stereotypes, beliefs and values of the society in order to reproduce the order and the already existing formation of social life. In this paper, I shall examine the notion, the types and some important theories on stereotypes as well as their dependable relation with media.
An example of this is Lazarfelds two-step flow theory. Baran (2012) states that “behaviour was limited by opinion leaders – people who initially consumed media content on topics of particular interest to them, interpreted it in light of their own values and beliefs, and then passed it on to opinion followed, people like them who had less frequent contact with media.” This theory can only go so far as in this day in age there are so many different mediums used to convey media information. With television, radio, newspapers, magazines, film and social media/internet they have the ability to influence the way we act dress and communicate with others. Our perception of what’s right
The mass media has had a greater influence on modern culture than either education or history Technology has played an important role in people life nowadays and this leads to the modern culture in the present. Many countries are trying to develop an innovation in many ways in order to make it more convenience for their people. Mass media is one of many factors that has a greater affect to modern culture as we live in a society which depends on information thus, communication can leads to our activities also affects our attitudes and beliefs, as well as our perspective on social life. Nevertheless, education and history have an influence on modern culture as well; while students study in school some teachers use the Internet or other media to stimulate their
This is because the content of mass media is very powerful and it has become a agent of socialization which can shape people’s behavior or even influence the ways of how people think. There are many agents of socialization that can influence an individual lifestyle and one of the agent is mass media, which means that mass media can affect an individual self-concept, attitudes, or other orientations toward life especially the adolescents. The fact that there was a time when the internet, television and cell phones were considered a necessity but now the mass media seems to be more of a commodity to teenagers, because we can see that most of the adolescents tend to spend more time on the electronic devices rather than going for outdoor activities. Based on the researched, we found out that every people in the society
Media are platforms of mass communication that can be categorized as either new of traditional media, with new media being forms of communication that make use of technologies such as the Internet, and traditional media being more conventional forms of media such as newspapers. Media, primarily new media, is getting more popular and influential, especially in today’s day and age since we are exposed to it a lot more than in the past and also since media is more easily accessible now. The media can shape our behaviours, perceptions and opinions, and it is important to know how people are influenced and impacted by it. The media can influence someone’s perception of social reality, or perceptions of beauty or even influence people’s behaviours and habits and therefore, the media does shape who we are. One way that the media can shape who we are is by influencing our perception of social reality.
The theory explains “how individuals use mass communication to gratify their needs” (Burgeon, Hunsaker and Dawson, 1994, cited in Udende and Azeez, 2010, p. 34). The theory holds that “people influence the effects that mass media have on them” (Anaeto et al, 2008 cited in Edegoh, Asemah and Nwammuo, 2013, p. 23). The assumption of the theory is that people are not just passive receivers of media messages; rather, they actively influence the message effects. Media audience selectively choose, attend to, perceive and retain media offerings on the basis of their needs, beliefs, etc., thus, “there are as many reasons for using the media as there are media users”