Ch. 6: The Mass Media

Sociological Perspectives on the Media Mass media: mediums that embrace print and electronic means of communication that carry messages to widespread audiences New forms of mass media changed people’s viewing and listening habits Cultural convergence: the flow of content across multiple media, and the accompanying migration of media audiences 2

Functionalist Perspective The media: Entertains us Socializes us Enforces social norms Confers status Promotes consumption May also act as a desensitizing narcotic 3

Agent of Socialization The media increases social cohesion by presenting a common view of culture Plays a significant role in providing a collective experience for members of a society Some worry about using television as a babysitter and the impact of violent programming on viewer behavior 4

Enforcer of Social Norms Media often reaffirms proper behavior Can also glorify disapproved behavior Media plays a critical role in human sexuality Conferral of Status Singles out one from thousands of other people or similarly placed issues, making them significant Publishing information about frequency of Internet searches 5

Promotion of Consumption Media advertising Supports the economy Provides information Also contributes to consumer culture that creates “needs” and raises unrealistic expectations Dysfunction: The Narcotizing Effect Narcotizing dysfunction: phenomenon in which the media provides such massive amounts of information that the audience becomes numb and fails to act on the information 6

Conflict Perspective Conflict theorists emphasize how media reflects and exacerbates divisions of society and the world Gatekeeping How material must travel through a series of checkpoints before reaching the public Gatekeeping is less dominant on the Internet Internet has some restrictions 7

Dominant Ideology: Constructing Reality Dominant ideology: a set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests Media tends to ignore the lives and ambitions of subordinate groups Stereotypes: unreliable generalizations about members of a group that do not recognize individual differences within the group Television distorts the political process 8

Dominant Ideology: Whose Culture? US media is still the most powerful worldwide, though this position is evolving Television is moving away from US domination Nations that feel a loss of identity may try to defend against cultural invasion Developing nations argue for improved two-way flow of news and information between industrial nations and developing nations New trend: hyper-local media 9

The Digital Divide Low-income groups, racial and ethnic minorities, rural residents, and citizens of developing countries have less access to the latest technology The Internet and new media are becoming essential to economic progress 10

Feminist Perspective Feminists share conflict theorists’ view that mass media stereotypes and misrepresents social reality Women are underrepresented Perpetuates stereotypical views of gender Emphasizes traditional sex roles Normalizes violence against women We should be cautiously optimistic about new media 11

Interactionist Perspective View mass media in the context of social capital - the collective benefit of social networks Internet and social media provide constant connectivity with others Online social networks New way of promoting consumption New forms of communication and social interaction 12

The Internet has also presented negatives New means for terrorists or extremists to organize and spread message Pornography and abuse of minors Egocasting: personal management of media exposure to avoid messages one does not like May lead to a less tolerant society 13

Table 6-2: Sociological Perspectives on the Mass Media 14 14

Who Is in the Audience? Mass media is distinguished from other social institutions by the necessary presence of an audience This can be an identifiable, finite group or a much larger, undefined group Can be viewed through microsociology or macrosociology Increasingly, the media markets itself to a particular audience 15

Audience Behavior Opinion leader: someone who, through day-to-day personal contacts and communication, influences opinions and decisions of others Members of an audience do not all interpret media in the same way Hunt (1997): race has caused more different reactions to media than gender and class 16

The Media’s Global Reach McLuhan predicted a global village Gitlin considers it a global torrent The Internet has facilitated all forms of communication In Nigeria and Bangladesh, more than 70% of households go without television Advances are likely to change this pattern: battery power; digital signal transmission 17

Figure 6-4: Media Penetration in Selected Countries 18 Source: Pew Research Center Global Attitudes Project 2012:1, 5. 18

Social Policy and the Mass Media: The Right to Privacy Looking at the Issue Recent advances made it easier for business firms, government agencies, and criminals to retrieve and store information about private individuals This threatens privacy, freedom from crime, and censorship Commercial websites use “cookies” and tracking technology to monitor visitors’ web-surfing Some see online tracking as a form of fingerprinting 19

Applying Sociology Culture lag: material culture (technology) is changing faster than nonmaterial culture (norms for controlling the use of technology) Functionalists generally have a positive view of the Internet – they point to the manifest function of facilitating communication Conflict theorists stress the danger that most powerful groups in a society will use technology to violate the privacy of the less powerful 20

Initiating Policy Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 1986: outlawed surveillance of telephone calls except with the permission of the US attorney general and a federal judge Patriot Act, 2001: relaxed existing legal checks on surveillance by law enforcement officers Most online monitoring is yet to be tested in court People are less vigilant about maintaining privacy 21