Media+Use+and+Its+Impact+on+Social+Influence

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=Media's Influence and Models=

The information age is marked by an increase in the collection, circulation, and manipulation of information. Information has become the raw material by which innovation is possible. As such we must be aware of the sources of information and their legitimacy. The media is obviously a large source of information. With portable technology such as cellular phones and other internet-enabled devices the media is becoming much more pervasive. Also, with new surveillance technologies market research regarding media use is collected furiously by media corporations. The following models have been designed to allow us to identify the media’s influences on us.

**Hypodermic Needle or Bullet Model**
This model compares the media’s influence to that of a speeding bullet or a hypodermic needle. It suggests media has the impact of a speeding bullet in terms of its ability to influence and shape the views of individuals. Incidents in history such as the propaganda campaigns of the Nazi party during World War II support this model.

Multi-step Flow
The multi-step flow theory focuses on the influential role of opinion leaders rather than the media itself. Opinions leaders are consumers of elite media products. From these elite media products opinion leaders shape and inform there personal worldviews. These views are then distributed by the opinion leader through their social circles. This model suggests that the media gains its persuasive qualities through the social practices of consumers.

Selective Processes
This model acknowledges that audiences and consumers of mass media are selective in what they consume and are exposed to. Consumers will avoid and ignore media messages that stand in contradiction to what they believe. This model also suggests that consumers selectively perceive messages contained in media that are in accordance with their personal beliefs. Similarly, selective retention shows that the messages people absorb and retain from media are highly objective and two people may have very different memories of the same media product or event.

Social Learning Theory
This theory rose out of increased violence among children and teenagers in the 1960s. Television was blamed as the likely cause of many social problems of the time and the social learning theory attempted to explain the media’s effects. Social learning theory claims that media consumers imitate the actions of characters and actors in mass media products such as television programs and movies. This process of imitation is called observational learning. For example, consumers assume that the actions of a popular television characters will yield similar outcomes in the real world. This theory was proven in a popular experiment by Albert Bandura called [|the “Bobo Doll” experiment]. This experiment demonstrated the susceptibility of children to media messages particularly ones of violence.

Cultivation Theory
This theory suggests that heavy exposure to a particular media product will alter one’s worldview to more closely resemble the one they are constantly being subjected to (such as television news programs or violent sports).

Priming
Priming is a theory that states the activation of one thought in the mind will trigger similar and related mental processes. This may lead children to develop mental scripts and cues based on what they see in the media. Priming theory suggests that when an instance in real life resembles one previously perceived in the media the viewer will act according to their previous experience (through the media) of that event.

Agenda Setting
Agenda setting has to do with the emphasis and rank placed on current events by media (particularly news media). It is theorized that the audience’s value and ranking of certain issues and events will reflect those of the media.

Catharsis Hypothesis
The catharsis hypothesis considers the positive effects the media has on society. It suggests that people, through the media, live out activities and experiences they wouldn’t normally engage in. The media provides exposure to antisocial behaviour from a safe distance discouraging individuals from engaging in such behaviour in their real lives.

=The influence of Media from a CCIT student's point of view=

No matter what an individual might think, the media was and still functioning as a very powerful source of information in our society. Media is the source in which the majority of people obtain their information and beliefs from. Almost all the issues and the information that individuals exchange between one and the other in somehow are driven from the media. However the media does not always support the complete message or the extreme truth. And as a fact, different people would view the same information or scenes differently.

No doubt can be made about how the media has a great impact on our behaviours and the way in which we think about others. In particular, images and information presented by media is mainly to make people believe events, buy products and think about certain issues. The reason why this is true is because "the average person spends 2600 hours per year watching TV or listening to media" (mediascapes). As a result it is obvious this person's behaviour would somehow be influenced by what the media presents. Moreover, the sources that provide this information to public are very identical to each other in term of the quality of information presented

=Related Articles=

=Works Cited=
 * Impact of Media

Attallah, Paul and Leslie Regan Shade, eds Mediascapes.Thomson, 2002

Hesmondhalgh, D. “The Production of Media Entertainment.” Mass Media and Society 4th Edition. Ed. By James Curran and Micheal Gurevitch. Hodder Arnold, 2005 Pg. 160 - 161

Larose, Robert and Joseph Straubhaar. Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology. 4th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, 2004.