SOCIOLOGY: A Brief Introduction Richard T. Schaefer SOCIOLOGY: A Brief Introduction Sixth Edition McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7 THE MASS MEDIA Sociological Perspectives of the Media The Audience The Media Industry Social Policy and Mass Media: Media Violence

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Functionalist View Agent of Socialization The media: Socialize us Enforce social norms Confer status Promote consumption Keep us informed about our environment An important dysfunction of mass media is they may act as a narcotic

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Functionalist View Agent of Socialization Media increases social cohesion by presenting common view of culture Provide collective experience for members of a society Socializing effects can promote religious as well as patriotic exchanges, uniting believers around the world.

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Functionalist View Agent of Socialization Because of the socializing effect of the media, programming can easily become controversial

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Functionalist View Enforcer of Social Norms Media often reaffirm proper behavior by showing what happens to people who act in a way that violates societal expectations Plays a critical role in shaping perceptions about the risks of substance use, although not necessarily in a positive fashion

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Functionalist View Conferral of Status Mass media confers status on people, organizations, and public issues Singles out one from thousands of other similarly placed issues or people to become significant

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Functionalist View Promotion of Consumption Media advertising Supports economy Provides information Underwrites cost of media

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Functionalist View Surveillance of the Social Environment Surveillance Function: collection and distribution of information concerning events in the social environment

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Functionalist View Dysfunction: The Narcotizing Effect Narcotizing Dysfunction: phenomenon in which the media provide such massive amounts of information that audience becomes numb and fails to act on the information

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Conflict View Conflict theorists emphasize that the media reflect and even exacerbate many of the divisions of our society and world, including: Gender Race Ethnicity Social class

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Conflict View Gatekeeping: how material must travel through a series of checkpoints before reaching the public Prevails in all kinds of media Not as dominant on the Internet

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Conflict View Dominant Ideology: Constructing Reality Conflict theorists argue that mass media serve to maintain the privileges of certain groups While protecting their own interests, powerful groups may limit the representation of others in the media

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Conflict View Dominant Ideology: Constructing Reality Dominant Ideology: set of cultural beliefs and practices that help to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Conflict View Dominant Ideology: Constructing Reality Stereotypes: unreliable generalization about all members of a group that do not recognize individual differences within the group Television distorts the political process.

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Conflict View Dominant Ideology: Whose Culture? Globalization projects the dominating reach of the U.S. media into the rest of the world Media cultural exports undermine the distinctive traditions and art forms of other societies and encourage their cultural and economic dependence on the U.S. Nations that feel a loss of identity may try to defend against the cultural invasion.

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Feminist View Feminists share conflict theorists’ view that the mass media stereotype and misrepresent social reality Women underrepresented Perpetuate stereotypical views of gender Emphasize traditional sex roles and normalize violence against women

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Interactionist View Interactionists especially interested in shared understandings of everyday behavior Examine media on micro level to see how they shape day-to-day social behavior

Sociological Perspectives of the Media Interactionist View Scholars increasingly point to mass media as source of major daily activity Helps us understand more about the audience

The Audience Who Is In the Audience? Mass media distinguished from other social institutions by necessary presence of audience Identifiable, finite group or a much larger, undefined group

The Audience The Segmented Audience Increasingly, media market themselves to particular audience Specialization is driven by advertising Members of these audiences more likely to expect content geared to their own interests Led some scholars to ponder whether there is still a “mass” in mass media

The Audience Audience Behavior The role of audience members as opinion leaders intrigues social researchers Opinion leader: someone who, through day-to-day personal contacts and communication, influences opinions and decisions of others

The Audience Audience Behavior Audience members do not all interpret media in the same way Response often influenced by social characteristics: Occupation Race Education Income

The Media Industry Media Concentration Handful of multi-national corporations dominate publishing, broadcasting, and film industries Media outlets likely to become even more concentrated Internet one significant exception to centralization and concentration of media

The Media Industry The Media’s Global Reach Mass media have begun to create global village in terms of communication Not all countries are equally connected The Internet is key to creating a truly global network that reaches into workplaces, schools, and homes

The Media Industry Figure 7.1: Number of Hours Spent with Media, 1997-2008

The Media Industry Figure 7.2: Penetration in Selected Countries

Social Policy and Mass Media Media Violence The Issue What effect does movie and TV violence have on audiences? Does violence in the media lead people, especially youth, to become more violent?

Social Policy and Mass Media Media Violence The Setting We spend great deal of time with the media Does watching hours of mass media with violent images cause one to behave differently? Some studies linked exposure to media violence to subsequent aggressive behavior It is important to recognize that other factors besides the media are also related to aggressive behavior.

Social Policy and Mass Media Media Violence Sociological Insights If function of media is to entertain, socialize, and enforce social norms, can violence be part of that message? Even if viewer does not necessarily become more violent from watching violent images, there could be desensitization

Social Policy and Mass Media Media Violence Sociological Insights Conflict and feminist theorists are troubled that victims depicted in violent imagery are often: Women Children Poor Racial minorities Citizens of foreign countries Physically disabled

Social Policy and Mass Media Media Violence Sociological Insights Interactionists especially interested in finding out if violence in media may then become script for real-life behavior

Social Policy and Mass Media Media Violence Policy Initiatives Policymakers responded to links between violence depicted in media and real life aggression: Public statements of support for family-oriented, less-violent media content Reluctance to pass laws regarded as censorship