Critical Evaluation for The media Effect Theories

Critical Evaluation for The media Effect Theories Order Instructions: Topic: How do you think the media affect us? Critically evaluate debates on media effects,and traditional and new approaches to media effect theories.

Critical Evaluation for The media Effect Theories
Critical Evaluation for The media Effect Theories

With reference to one particular case study, provide your considered assessment of how the media influence, and affect, us

Critical Evaluation for The media Effect Theories Essay Paper Description

SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF MEDIA – Media effects
There are those that believe that the relationship between media and society is one that is
an uncontested flow of influence. In other words, the media ‘effect’ society. This ‘fact’ is one
that is continually evoked in debates about, for example, violence, anorexia and children’s
use of media. This lecture critiques the assumptions behind the media effects debate as well
as alerting students to the notion that many of these assumptions are based on moralistic
discourses and a paternal understanding of our place in culture. The relationship between
the media and what has come to be known as ‘moral panic’ is also discussed in this lecture.
The term stems from sociological work that looks at how important disagreements over
society’s values and beliefs come to be debated amongst various stakeholders in the public
sphere. In the past moral panics have centred on youth and delinquency but, more recently,
they have been focused on particular media products (e.g. reality TV, social media) and
specific minority communities (e.g. indigenous people, Middle-Eastern migrants, and asylum
seekers).
Key Terms: effects, passive audience, hypodermic model, catharsis, moral panic

Critical Evaluation for The media Effect Theories Required Reading

Campbell, S., & Ling, R. (2009). Effects of mobile communication. In B. Jennings & M. B.
Oliver. (Eds.). Media effects: Advances in theory and research (pp. 592-606). New York:
Routledge, New York.
Poynting, S., & Morgan. G. (2009). Introduction. In S. Poynting & G. Morgan (Eds.),
Outrageous!: Moral panics in Australia (pp. 1-10). Hobart: Australian Clearinghouse for
Youth Studies.
Grossberg, L., Wartella, E., & Whitney, D. (1998). Mediamaking: Mass media in a popular
culture (pp. 299-318). London, Sage.
Barker, M., & Petley, J. (Eds.). (1997). Ill effects: The media/violence debate. London:
Routledge.
Dill, K. (2009). How fantasy becomes reality: Seeing through media influence. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Edgar, P. (1977). Children and screen violence. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press.
Eysenck, H., & Nias, D.K.B. (1996). Desensitisation, violence and the media. In P. Marris &
S. Thornhman (Eds.), Media studies: A reader (pp. 425-432). Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press.
Gauntlett, D. (2005). Moving experiences: Media effects and beyond. London: John Libbey.
Goldstein, J. (Ed.). (1998). Why we watch: The attractions of violent entertainment. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Jenkins, H. (1998). Introduction: Childhood innocence and other modern myths. In H.
Jenkins (Ed.), The children’s culture reader (pp. 1-37). New York: New York University
Press.
Mackay, H. (2002). Media mania: Why our fear of modern media is misplaced. Sydney:
UNSW Press.
Rosengren, K. E. (Ed.). (1994). Media effects and beyond: Culture, socialization and
lifestyles. London and New York: Routledge.
Sullivan, J. L. (2013). Media audiences: Effects, users, institutions, and power. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Cohen, S. (1972). Folk devils and moral panics. London: MacGibbon and Kee.
Drotner, K. (1992). Modernity and media panics. In K. Schroder & M. Skovmond, Michael
(Eds.), Media cultures: Reappraising Transnational Media (pp. 42-62). London: Routledge.
Egan, D., & Hawkes, G. (2008). Girls, sexuality and the strange carnalities of
advertisements: Deconstructing the discourse of corporate paedophilia. Australian Feminist
Studies, 23, 307-322.
Goggin, G. (2006). Mobile panics: Health, manners, and our youth. In his Cell Phone
Culture: Mobile Technology in Everyday Life (pp. 107-126). London and New York:
Routledge.
Hall, S., Critcher, C., Jefferson, T., Clarke, J., & Roberts, B. (1978). Policing the crisis:
Mugging, the state, and law and order. Houndmills: Macmillan.
Hartley, J., Green, L., & Lumby, C. (2010). Refused classification and the proposed
Australian internet filter: An assault on the open society. Australian Journal of
Communication, 37, 3, 1-14.
Homan, S. (2003). The Phoenician Club, the Premier and the death of Anna Wood. In his
The Mayor’s a Square: live music and law and order in Sydney. Newtown: Local
Consumption, 137-154.
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Lumby, C., & Albury, Kath. (2010). Too much? Too young? The sexualisation of children
debate in Australia. Media International Australia, 135, 141-152
McLelland, M. (2010). Australia’s proposed internet filtering system: Its implications for
animation, comics and gaming (ACG) and slash fan communities. Media International
Australia, 134, 7-19.
McRobbie, A. (1994). The moral panic in the age of the postmodern mass media. In her
Postmodernism and Popular Culture. London: Routledge.
Springhall, J. (1998). Youth, popular culture and moral panics: Penny gaffs to gangsta-rap,
1830-1996. New York: St Martins Press.

Critical Evaluation for The media Effect Theories Sample Answer

Analysis of the Impact of media on society

Introduction

The term media in its raw or original form is the plural of the term medium which is an object or substance through which a given form of energy, force or sensory element is passed through. It therefore bridges the gap between the origin of a given message and the recipient of the message. Media as it is used in everyday language refers to the collection of all elements that make mass communication possible. This is the internet, radio communications, television networks, newspapers and also the internet which is a platform used by independent suppliers of information as well as operators of the three traditional forms of media (Campbell and Morgan, 2009).

Society has come to rely on the different forms of mass media as a source of information pertaining to different aspects of daily life. As such the media earned the tag ‘fourth estate.’ This term is an indication of how powerful the media is in society. In the 1700s the only form of mass media was in the form of print. In this period there were three main estates of the realm namely the clergy, the nobility and commoners. The significance of the media even at this point was so profound that it was seen as an entity separate from society. With the proliferation of the media into all areas of social life today, social scientists have made efforts to explain the different ways that media impacts society through a series of theories (Campbell and Morgan, 2009).

This exercise aims to analyze the different ways that this influence of the media is manifested. Theoretical approaches that will be considered are both the traditional ones as well as modern ones. To strengthen the analysis it will be important to conduct this analysis with reference to a specific media issue. The prevalence of violent tendencies among young people in society has for a long time been said to be a direct impact of the portrayal and glorification of violent actions in the different forms of mass media, more specifically television and video games. The issue of media and violence is also ideal because of its universality and applicability to other sociological studies in the impact and potential that mass media has in society. The premise that will be considered is that the increase in violence in media leads young viewers to adopt violent tendencies later in life. Theories and concepts to be considered include the hypodermic model, catharsis, active audiences, encoding & decoding, passive audiences and also the issue of moral panic (Campbell and Morgan, 2009).

When people within a given society strongly feel that there is a chance or possibility of the moral standard that is in existence being under some form of threat they usually take up strong positions in the aim of defending or attempting to defend the values. This scenario is known as a moral panic and it is marked by shows of indignation against what is considered to be a threat. In the context of this exercise, the threat is television programs and video games that portray violence. Whenever a moral panic ensues, parties that are most closely related to the issue will be the first to be involved. In this case it is parents, teachers and other groups that are involved with children and teenagers (Poynting and Morgan, 2009).

The Hypodermic needle theory

This is one of the earliest and most basic theories that attempt to explain the way mass media influences audiences who then make up society. The name of the theory indicates the simple view of how media operates. A hypodermic needle functions by delivering medication to a specific point underneath the skin of an individual or patient. Similarly the theory states that messages transmitted through mass media go directly into the minds of those who receive or view the content. This then leads them to believe the stories conveyed and then act in a uniform manner as suggested by the information they now have. What this means is that an action desired by the originator of the message will be executed in a manner the manner intended one the receiver has got it. This theory does not take into consideration the intellect of the recipients as a tool of processing the information. The intellect that the recipients have will on the contrary enable them to engage in the desired or suggested actions. This approach to the functioning of media in society would therefore conclude that all individuals who watch violence on television when they are children will engage in the violent activities portrayed, basically a ‘monkey see-monkey do’ situation. This perspective towards the portrayal of violence by mass media is likely to therefore trigger a moral panic whereby the moral under question is peace or adherence to peace and amicable resolution of conflicts. Those who are part of this moral panic will be under the impression that the children will grow up into a generation of adults who are violent and this will then negatively impact the life of everyone in society (Poynting and Morgan, 2009).

The hypodermic needle theory has been used to explain how political propaganda is meant to work, when people who share beliefs and ideals get to automatically act upon propaganda information aimed at them. The political party could basically control the actions of its members through the messages it sends them. This type of audience is known as a passive audience because the members do not play an active role in the processing of the information they are receiving through the media. In the case of violence being portrayed, the children who watch take it that the violence is acceptable and that they should therefore implement it in their lives (Campbell and Morgan, 2009).

There is also another type of audience known as active audiences. These are audiences that play an active role in the mass communication process by mentally processing the messages they receive through media and act upon the same. This type of audience is explained under another theory known as the Reception Theory. The theory is the polar opposite of the hypodermic needle theory in many ways. For one, it takes into account the intellect of the listeners or recipients of the message and consequently their capacity to mentally process messages they receive through the media before acting upon it. The theory also considers the subjective nature of different members of the audience and these unique conditions play a direct role in how the information is received and acted upon by the audience member. As a result, the same message received by five people could lead to at most five unique responses depending on personal factors such as religion, culture, literacy, political affiliation and legal framework among others (Campbell and Morgan, 2009).

In light of the dynamics between the portrayal of violence on the media and the audiences described under this theory, the children will watch the violent presentations but process the acts they see and relate them to the real world and this will lead them to form different conclusions. One of the possibilities unfortunately is that some will see this as enough reason to engage in violence immediately or later in life. There are also those who will view the violence and realize that this was mainly for entertainment but not a practical way of dealing with conflicts in life. Others will think about the violence they have seen and also relate it to the consequences that exist in the real world such as injury, death or incarceration for breaking the law (Poynting and Morgan, 2009).

Another theory that has been formulated in a bid to explain the impact of media on audiences is Catharsis and this is a situation where people get to play out or express what is too dangerous or immoral to do in real life. This is closely linked to the consumerism aspect of mass media whereby members of the audience use what they see on the media to fulfill the different needs and wants they have. One of these needs is an urge to escape reality. Given the facilities and skills within the mass media industry this is relatively easy to do through the creation of a wide array of films depicting various ways in which people escape reality (Campbell and Morgan, 2009).

One of these ways is the creation of violence-oriented television programs and films which are then distributed and at times repackaged as video games. The thrill and excitement that is delivered by these production meet the adventure needs of the audiences without placing them in any real risk. In this regard, the children who are exposed to such violence are unlikely to end up practicing what they have seen on television screens since they understand that this was just done for the purpose of entertainment. The excitement that they need is achieved by watching more film and not necessarily engaging in real violence.

The different theories that attempt to explain and justify the manner in which mass media impacts society are all practical in their own way to varying degrees. Different messages passing through the media serve a different purpose and target different types of audience. Messages that are generated by partisan groups such as political parties or civil rights groups are more likely to prepare messages while having the hypodermic needle theory in mind since their messages are aimed at people who share a common belief system and values regarding the subject matter. The actions of such audience groups also takes place in one direction. With the case of violence and the correlation with media, it is necessary for those who place this correlation to take into consideration the different audience theories and critique them based on the assumptions made. This is because their suggestion about a correlation between media portrayals of violence and future offences by young adults is only aligned to one of the theories. It is necessary to soberly consider the fallibility of such a stance so as to get to the root of the problem because the media is indeed powerful in shaping beliefs a society has (Poynting and Morgan, 2009).

Critical Evaluation for The media Effect Theories References

Campbell, S., & Ling, R. (2009). Effects of mobile communication. In B. Jennings & M. B.

Oliver. (Eds.). Media effects: Advances in theory and research (pp. 592-606). New York:

Routledge, New York.

Poynting, S., & Morgan. G. (2009). Introduction. In S. Poynting & G. Morgan (Eds.),

Outrageous!: Moral panics in Australia (pp. 1-10). Hobart: Australian Clearinghouse for

Youth Studies.

 

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