1. Lesson Plan
Goals: how does mass media effect society, our interactions, and our behaviors?
Opener: read page 389. In a paragraph explain how foreigners are impacting Hollywood
Notes
Quick review
Homework: read 15-2
Next Day opener: read page 393. Answer questions 1 and 2 in a single paragraph
Read and Discuss articles
Debate: Mass Media is hurting society
Homework: review 15-2, complete quiz

2. SOCIOLOGY 7
The Mass Media

3. 7. The Mass Media

4. Sociological Perspectives of the Media
Functionalist View
The media:
Socialize us
Enforce social norms
Confer status
Promote consumption
Keep us informed about our environment
May act as a narcotic

5. 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
Socializing effect of media means programming can easily become controversial

6. Sociological Perspectives of the Media
Functionalist View
Enforcer of Social Norms
Media reaffirm proper behavior by showing what happens to people who violate societal expectations
Conferral of Status
Singles out one from thousands of other similarly placed issues or people to become significant

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

8. Sociological Perspectives of the Media
Figure 7-1. Number of Hours per Week Spent with Media, 1997—2008 (projected)
Source: Veronis Suhler Stevenson LLC 2003: for 1997; 2004: for all other data

9. Sociological Perspectives of the Media
Table 7-1. Status Conferred by Magazines

10. 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
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

11. 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
Gatekeeping: how material must travel through a series of checkpoints before reaching the public

12. 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
Mass media serve to maintain the privileges of certain groups
Stereotypes: unreliable generalization about all members of a group that do not recognize individual differences within the group

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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
Scholars increasingly point to mass media as source of major daily activity

16. Sociological Perspectives of the Media
Figure 7-2. The Internet Explosion
Source: National Geographic 2005:21

17. Sociological Perspectives of the Media
Table 7-2. Sociological Perspectives
on the Mass Media

18. 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

19. The Audience The Segmented Audience
Increasingly, media market themselves to a particular audience
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

20. The Audience Audience Behavior
Response often influenced by social characteristics:
Occupation
Race
Education
Income

21. The Media Industry Media Concentration The Media’s Global Reach
Handful of multi-national corporations dominate publishing, broadcasting, and film industries
The Media’s Global Reach
Mass media have begun to create global village in terms of communication
Internet key to creating truly global network
Some countries like China blocking these messages
Other countries have limited access = Africa only has a 4% access rate!

22. The Media Industry Figure 7-3. Media Penetration in Selected Countries
Source: Bureau of the Census 2004a:870

23. 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?
Children watch an average of 5 hours tv a day = 20,000 commercials a year!

24. 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.

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. Social Policy and Mass Media
Figure 7-4. Violence on Prime-Time Television, 1998—2002
Source: Parents Television Council 2003