THE ROLE OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN DIFFUSION OF POPULAR AND FOLK CULTURE RAPID DIFFUSION INCREASES KNOWLEDGE OF POPULAR & FOLK CULTURE MAJOR OBSTACLE LACK OF ACCESS TV MOST IMPORTANT TO DATE CABLE, INTERNET, CELLPHONES THREATS TO CULTURE: INTERNAL & EXTERNAL

TELEVISION: WE ALL WATCH IT *MOST POPULAR LEISURE ACTIVITY *MOST IMPORTANT MECHANISM BY WHICH POPULAR CULTURE DIFFUSES RAPIDLY *EARLY 20 TH – MULTIPLE ‘WESTERN’ HEARTHS: UK, US, JAPAN, FR. & GERM. *MID 20 TH - US DOMINATES 86% SETS *LATE 20 TH -EUROPE CATCHES UP 1970 ½ THE WORLD W/O TV 1970 US 25% TV SETS *21 ST – NEAR WORLDWIDE ACCESS US – SPORTS, CH & EURO- REALITY TV, RUSSIA-NEWS, OVER AIR, CABLE, SATELLITE, INTERNET SOON MORE WILL WATCH TV OVER INTERNET THAN TV SETS

INTERNET & SOCIAL MEDIA & THE CHALLENGES THEY POSE US DOMINATES INITIALLY & THEN AS INTERNET AVAILABILITY AND USAGE SPREAD U.S. SHARE DECLINES BY 2011 INCREASED USE IN U.S. BUT SLOWER THAN REST OF WORLD DIFFUSION OF INTERNET MUCH MORE RAPID THAN TV BUT SAME PATTERN FACEBOOK, TWITTER, YOUTUBE FOLLOWS PATTERN TOO EXTERNAL: ENTERTAINMENT OR CULTURAL IMPERIALISM? NEWS- FAIR OR BIASED? INTERNAL: LIMITED TV ACCESS – NON-WESTERN GOVERNMENTS LOSING CONTROL OVER INFO LIMITED INTERNET ACCESS: RESTRICTIONS BY GOV’T ACCORDING TO POLITICAL & SOCIAL CONTENT, CONTENT ABOUT WAR & SEARCH CAPABILITIES