Sociology Chapter 5: Mass Media
application (or app)
software program that performs a task
Relation-dependent self-esteem
people who post a great deal of information about their relationship have relatively weak self-esteem declaring information that paints a relationship as happy, they are trying to convince themselves that it is, validating themselves as happy
Social Media Addiction
researchers discovered that using social media has a direct effect on brain activity. For example, when teenage subjects were shown their own photos with a large number of "likes," the researchers recorded a spike in the activity in the pleasure center of the brain teens look on their phones on average 2,500 times a day
Radio timeline
- 1885, the German physicist Heinrich Hertz was the first to transmit wireless sound (Hertz) -1910 The use of a ship's wireless allowed easy contact with land and other vessels over great distances and planes started to use it -1920 the station KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, began to broadcast, providing news coverage of that year's presidential election -1933 Edwin Howard Armstrong developed a radio that transmitted sound on much higher FM (Frequency Modulation) frequencies. (shorter distance higher quality)
Newspaper Timeline (first medium of mass communication)
-1440 the number of readers was also limited by the relatively high cost of the newspaper (taxed) - 1690 newspapers were published in the U.S. colonies in New England -1800 taxes ended, causing newspaper circulation to increase dramatically -1860 there were some 3,000 newspapers published in the United States, and this number more than doubled by 1880 -1920s radio provided a new and exciting source of information and entertainment. After World War II, the rising popularity of television further reduced public demand for newspapers (Stephens, 1994). In recent decades, the spread of the internet has eroded the popularity of newspapers even further.
TV Timeline
-1940s , the increasing popularity of television in the late began to erode the popularity of radio -1927, a 21-year-old inventor named Philo Taylor Farnsworth designed a primitive television -1950s, nationwide television broadcasting became a reality with three major television networks that are still with us today—the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), and the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) -end of 1960s, television played a major role in expanding the spirit of social criticism and encouraging social change -1980s the introduction of home video cassette recorders (VCRs), which allowed people to play prerecorded movies and also to record televised programming for replay at any time.
Mass (social) Media Bias
most media consumers tend to favor specific media outlets for example, real vs fake news, political elections, and high-interest events such as terrorism, crime, and disasters
Symbolic interaction and social media
Mass media claims to present events in an objective way, thereby concealing the extent to which news reports are carefully constructed. it doesn't say much about how the broader structure of society shapes this experience (focuses on the whole society)
One-directional Media
information flows from a single source outward to a large population (the audience cannot respond) Includes: newspapers, radio, and television
Structural-functional theory: six functions of mass media and social media for society as a whole
1. Agent of socialization (self-concept, personality development) 2. Advancing a uniform culture (globalization, national-way of life) 3. Increasing social integration (w/t nations in the global community) 4. Source of entertainment and stability (media help to support the status quo and thereby stabilize society) 5.Agent of social control (operates as a system of social control that keeps people's expression and behavior within certain boundaries) 6.Source of change (blm) saying little about how individuals experience the world through mass media
Adult Predators
Adults who start relationships with teens for sexual intrest
Media
channels of communication
Attention Span
In 2000 the average attention span was 15 seconds, now its only 8 seconds. This supports the claim that many of today's students seem less able to maintain a steady focus on classroom activities
Dating Sites
In 2018, about 15 percent of U.S. adults said they had used a dating site and another 11 percent said they would consider doing so; 64 percent said they had no interest in using such a site dating sites is highest among younger people
Dramaturgy sources
It reflects a social world built entirely on face-to-face social interaction and gives clues about us depending on the place we meet (school, church and etc.)
Social Media
media that allows people to communicate with one another, to share information, and to form communities based on shared interests and goals Facebook has the most users (2.4 billion)
Media and Parents
Parents may monitor their children all the time virtually, sharing a post of kids, monitoring child's online activity, and sharenting
Social media to relational conflict
People who spend the most time on these sites reported the most conflict in their relationships
What are examples of mass media?
Printing press (1800), the radio (1880s), Tvs (1925), and social media (4 billion years by 2020, roots in 1950s)
ULCA Study
Proves the power of social media to encourage conformity. In the study, the group chooses to like the same pictures the previous group liked.
Social Media and Politics
Social media can be a tool for political activism (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) But terrorists and hackers can use it too (Russia, 2016 fake info)
self-image in social media
Social media provides steady feedback about personal qualities measured in terms of "likes" or other units of approval. Positive media images support a positive self-image (idealized self) , whereas unfavorable feedback encourages a negative one People may compare their lives with those on the screen which can lead to depression
Catfish
Someone who fakes an online profile, usually to encourage another to fall in love with the false persona.
Examples of Political Bias
TV (CNN and MSNBC as having a liberal, Democratic political bias), and Newspapers (more conservative view of the world than the more liberal New York Times)
Media vs. Medium
media: plural (including radio, television, film, and the internet) medium: singular (only one form of communication)
social media and socialization
The content of social media may or may not reinforce what people learn from parents and school, but it does shape us as we go through all stages of life encountering high-risk content or violence increases it after engaged online and social media transmits stereotypes about race, ethnicity, gender, class, age, and sexual identity that perpetuate patterns of social inequality.
Social Conflict Theory and social media
The social-conflict approach claims that the media is embedded in a largely capitalist economy and supports the existing economic and political system. Critics say that there are many media outlets (not just select/elite company) and that the social-conflict approach is not a politically conservative force, but a progressive one.
Cyberweb Sources
The sources that other people get about us are limited to what is out there online about us. On a site such as match.com we wouldn't know much information about that individual.
Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980)
claimed that media not only transmits information but also shapes the message and that any medium—or technology of any kind—inevitably shapes how human beings understand their world (small or big, full stories on intsa? or just compressed bites?) McLuhan points out that some of the changes new technology brings to our lives may not be obvious (like how long we use technology)
Social Media and the Workplace
computer technology transformed an industrial economy to one based on service work a powerful tool for finding employment Computer technology also allows employers to monitor employee behavior workers using social media while on the job (lowers productivity)
How do relationships that start online differ from those that begin in a more conventional way?
Those who meet online marry quicker (18 months) and are 3 times more likely to divorce than those who meet through conventional ways (3 years)
Multi-directional Media
consumers are becoming active participants by creating, seeking, and sharing information using a variety of channels and devices Includes: Social media
Social Media v.s Landlines
With telephones that have wires you would have a general location where that person will be because of the locations of the wires or booths With social media, you can send information without having any idea where that person might be.
Multitasking
engaging in more than one mental or physical activity at a given time
media literacy
the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in a variety of forms involves trying to understand what message is being communicated, identifying the source of the information, and assessing any possible bias in the content. What is the claim? Who is at the disadvantage?
Media literacy
the capacity to be a critical consumer of mass and social media
Digital Divide
the differences in access to the internet for various categories people around the world or nation
Platform
the hardware (such as a PC or a smartphone) and the software (or operating system) that brings the hardware to life
Feminist Theory and mass media
the mass media both reflects male domination and also helps to perpetuate this pattern (advertising, movies)
Mass media
the means for transmitting information from a single source to a huge number of people (millions)
Media Consolidation
the trend by which an increasing share of the mass media is owned and controlled by a small number of individuals and corporations
Cyberbullying
the use of the internet to embarrass, abuse, or manipulate another person girls are at a higher risk of bullying involving false rumors and receiving unwanted and explicit images
sensationalism
this tactic involves selecting stories and making use of graphic language and images to inflame public interest with the goal of selling more papers.
Satellite radio
which transmits programming signals from ground stations to satellites in space, which reflect these signals back down to earth