PT1
Cultures have been shaped by the rapid advances in technologies and the roles that various media outlets play in the lives of individuals. In recent history, this role has become more prominent in the everyday lives of people, and has outstanding influence on the way we govern ourselves socially and identify ourselves personally. There are two ways to realize the impact mass media has on a culture; observing the individual’s behavioral patterns (microscopic) or a communities’ behavior as a whole (macroscopic). The limited-effects perspective “focuses on whether media content can have an immediate and direct effect on individuals’ specific thoughts and actions.”(Baran & Davis 210). Due to the recent trend of buying devices that allow one to consume media almost wherever they go, it is incredibly likely that this media is having a direct effect on the lives of individuals. According to Baran and Davis, the average 8 to 18 year-old spends 7 ½ hours a day, 7 days a week, consuming media: more time spent than on any other activity other than sleeping. Has our culture reached a point in which this consumption has gotten out of hand, or is this new life governed by media socially acceptable? In other words, media is transforming our everyday lives and our communities, but is it harmful or beneficial to our culture? Macroscopic researchers, those who study the effect of mass media on communities, “view media as industries that turn culture into a commodity and sell it for a profit.” (Baran & Davis 213) In this age, culture is created and shared, for the most part, on the internet or other devices that allow the spread of information. This has transformed our culture, providing us with countless capabilities to better our lives and connect with people wherever they may be, but it has also transformed many of the traditional aspects of our culture. With social networking sites, individuals can socialize without being social. We can sit behind of our computers and engage in all sorts of relations without any human contact. Furthermore, we can identify ourselves through our interests and activities, and while consuming, we can be told what we like to consume.
PT 2
ReplyDeleteNew advertising strategies on Facebook are being put into practice according to the Huffinton Post, “The best strategy for advertisers and for Facebook, according to Facebook execs speaking at the marketing event, is to make content seem less like "ads" and more like "stories." In other words, expect ads to appear in the form of photos, or status updates: Advertisements in the guise of everyday Facebook activity.” This article states that advertisements, based on our listed interests and consumption trends, will now appear on smart phone as well as four different locations on the internet page. Personally, I’d rather see ads of products I may be interested in purchasing rather than random products, but this new strategy will have effects on what we are exposed to in our everyday lives, and could affect our culture yet again. Judith Williamson touches upon how this can be damaging to our identities in her passage from Meaning and Ideology, : “Advertisements are selling us something else besides consumer goods; in providing us with a structure in which we, and those goods, are interchangeable, they are selling ourselves… Thus instead of being identified by what they produce, people are made to identify themselves with what they consume.”(Williamson 300) Advertisements are blending in more to look like other social users rather than merchants, what do you think of these new ad strategies? It is apparent that these new advances in the way we use media, and the way media uses us, is confronting several social and cultural issues, but is it likely to have an impact on your life?
Baran, Stanley J., and Dennis K. Davis. "Media and Culture Theories: Meaning-Making in the Social World." Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future. 6th ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2012. 210- 230. Print.
Post, The Huffington. "New Facebook Ads Are Coming To Your Computer -- And Your Phone." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 Feb. 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. .
Williamson, Judith. Meaning and Ideology: McQuail's Reader in Mass Communication Theory. By Denis McQuail. London: Sage Publications, 2002. 299-302. Print.
I personally think our culture has gotten out of hand with our extended media consumption. Our society has definitely transformed due to the evolution of modern technologies, but we are still a society, although we are not acting like it. People of all ages are addicted to their smartphones and other media products, and the distinctions of whether it’s appropriate to use such media have been blurred. It pains me to see children, even infants, playing with any apple product, or any video game consul in public. I’ve seen families out in public where the children are listening to their own iPods. What will happen to any sort of family values left if individuals can’t go just one hour without using their media devices? I’m personally terrified, because not only have we transformed to communicating through screens, but we can’t even communicate during the rare times we are face-to-face with one another.
ReplyDeleteThis new type of communities use media products so much that advertising has actually created a profit through it. According to Judith Williamson, “advertisements translate these “thing” statements to us as human statements; they are given a humanly symbolic “exchange value”, where advertisements provide structure that allows audiences to view such objects to such value as that of people. (Williamson 299) Our culture, in return, strives off of such advertisements, as we have become a terribly materialistic society, and have placed social meanings on material goods. “The need for relationship and human meaning appropriated by advertising is one that, if only it was not diverted, could radically change the society we live in.” (Williamson 301)
The advertisement industry is manipulative—to say the least, so I really don’t think much of their new strategies, as after all, they are just strategies. I think the new advances in our media use is confronting social and cultural issues, as well as having an impact on my life. Furthermore, social medias have done a lot to confront social issues, so they must receive credit for doing so. Also, as much as we, as a society, are reading less on current events, social media allows those who are less-informed to read headlines and important information in a safer, more comfortable outlet. It is not only likely to have an impact of various lives, but it does. As much as one would try to argue that they are not impacted by new advertising, just by being in society they are impacted by the messages that are sent to use through advertising in media outlets. According to Baran and Davis, “Audience members don’t simply passively take in and store bits of information in mental filing cabinets; they actively process this information, reshape it, and store only what serves culturally defined needs.”(Baran and Davis 324) Baran and Davis’s argument relates to that of Williamson (and myself), where we process more information than we realize, and it has a greater impact on ourselves than we initially realize as well. We use society, and these newly evolved media technologies, to trust and act on viewpoints that was communicated through medias. Although such medias have proved to be, at times unreliable (Twitter celebrity death hoaxes, for example), we, as a society, are more willing to trust what we hear through the media to reinforce our initial beliefs and viewpoints.
Media has certainly impacted our culture and communities dramatically, even within the twenty or so years that we have been alive. We now carry around phones that can not only place calls, but send written words, and connect to the seemingly magical and ever present internet. On the whole, the more we use media the better life seems. It appears like people tend to be more open minded about certain issues, especially after they’ve had the opportunity to research conflicting viewpoints. People who are online, whether through their computers or their smartphones, are not only more connected to their community but to communities around the world. They are more informed about current events (hello Twitter – I’m looking at you). The ability to even gain the simplest general knowledge is astounding! (Google is like insta-education…most of the time). But, even with all of these amazing accomplishments, the influence of media in our lives has its consequences. People in today’s society are more likely to have poor social skills in face-to-face interaction. And while Google can provide you with information almost instantly, individuals in general are losing their ability to retain that information long-term. With this overwhelming use of media in our everyday lives comes the constant barrage of advertisements which plays exactly into the media’s hands. “Ultimately advertising works in a circular movement which once set in motion is self-perpetuating. It ‘works’ because it feeds off a genuine ‘use-value’; besides needing social meaning we obviously do need material goods. Advertising gives those goods a social meaning so that two needs are crossed, and neither is adequately fulfilled. Material things that we need are made to represent other, non-material things we need; the point of exchange between the two is where ‘meaning’ is created” (Williamson 301). Overall, we can’t help but be persuaded by advertisements. Media professionals know exactly how the general public’s minds work and how to phrase something just right to make it stick. “When the viewer takes the connotated meaning from, say, a television newscast or current affairs programme, full and straight, and decodes the message in terms of the reference-code in which is t has been coded, we might say that the viewer is operating inside the dominant code. This is the ideal-typical case of ‘perfectly transparent communication,’ or as close as we are likely to come to it ‘for all practical purposes’” (Hall 306). Advertising’s goal is for perfectly dominant encoding and decoding. They want whatever their ad is trying to express to come off clearly, accurately, and most importantly in the same way to every viewer. Advertisers want consumers to enjoy the ad, in a way not knowing that they are being subtly persuaded to buy a product. They want direct communication that leads to positive connections between products and consumption. I think that these new strategies of advertising are very effective. They convey a sense of community and loyalty between brands and their customers. Advertising is clearly not going away, so why not accept what it’s evolving to be.
ReplyDeleteI do think that the over-use of media in our society is more beneficial than harmful. We call it “over-use” because we fail to recognize how much media are a part of our lives – especially in the United States, where materialism is the norm. Baran & Davis use the term “cultural studies” to apply to the “use of media to create forms of culture that structure everyday life” (212). So, without our media industries, American culture would cease to be known for its commercial ventures. While there are obvious health risks involved with someone who remains seated at a computer or TV screen for hours, it would be unrealistic to expect today’s children to do anything else. If there were a major cause for concern, most parents would not support such media consumption.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisers have always had the difficult task of adapting to what is relevant to society, so utilizing social networking sites to sell products is ideal for their industry. I do wonder what the implications are for the future of advertising, because these sites have made it possible for virtually anyone to develop a marketing campaign. Facebook Ads, for example, take users through a step-by-step process (that includes selecting target demographics) that would otherwise need an advertising professional’s expertise to accomplish. Because these marketing techniques are available free of use, it remains to be seen whether the advertising industry will be a necessary component of our consumer culture.
Social media also plays a role in defining who we are. This is echoed in Kyle’s quote from “Meaning and Ideology” which states that people are defined by what they consume, not what they produce. “Media can serve as an important way for social institutions to transmit culture to us; they let us know what social roles and personal identities are appropriate” (Baran & Davis, 324). Like advertising feeds our consumer mentalities, social networking feeds our interactions. The ads on Facebook are targeted to our specific likes and interests, which are factors we use when describing our personalities. I saw an ad recently on my Facebook page marketing bridal gowns, a fitting product since I spend way too much time searching for wedding dresses. While the dress itself does not define me, it keys in on a quality that does – I am a hopeless romantic. Clearly, this is an example of an effective advertising strategy, because I did end up clicking the link.
Kyle, I truthfully think about the points you make often, even outside of media studies coursework. Growing up in a rural/suburban area of New England I did a lot of camping and overall, my parents emphasized too much media consumption as being bad. I was always on the latter end of my grade exposed to video games and violent shows and movies. I wonder, was this kind of sheltering bad or should I have been around these media earlier? It is very common seeing people buried in their TV set, phone, and Ipod and I personally feel it takes away from people fully appreciating life around them. At the same time however, it doesn’t seem my perception matches with the general population according to Baran and Davis. In a study it’s proved that by the time children finish high school, average teenagers will have spent more time in front of their television sets than any other activity, except for sleep (Baran and Davis, 211). So if several media theories are true, then growing up exposed to James Bond games, South Park, and Jackass should influence socially unaccepted behavior.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to look at the statement, “Personally, I’d rather see ads of products I may be interested in purchasing rather than random products,” regarding advertising studies. I completely agree with this. As ad agencies intertwine their messages through different media platforms, they are finding information about our interests and selling them to us. The Meaning and Ideology article by Judith Williamson goes a step beyond and analyzes how we are targeted, beyond the superficial and obvious messages. She makes the point that advertisements must take into account not only the inherent attributes of the products they are trying to sell, but they also can make those attributes mean something to us (McQuail,299). Cars for example being labeled as having “high mph” can be interpreted to attract thrifty or economical buyers. So to my understanding, we clearly comprehend direct messages such as magazine ads, but what we often overlook is the signal phrases that reach out to our personality. So this is interesting comparing Kyle’s statement, because there are a lot more ads that purposefully target certain audiences but it is just not as apparent. The blatant messages attract to many as Kyle noted, but the signal phrases also reach out to us, adding meaning and connection to the way we are.
Answering Kyle’s question, “Has our culture reached a point in which this consumption has got out of hand?” I believe we have. The largest issue is the inability for people to communicate with each other face to face. All the time people will take out their cell phones to avoid eye contact, email or text someone to evade verbal conversation, or even listen to their MP3 player so others know you don’t want to listen to them. As social media and electronic communication has grown, we did not have a substantial understanding of its implications. The continued macroscopic study of mediated interaction will help promote face-to-face communication to those who are not aware of this dependency.
As Kyle points out in his blog, the media has most definitely become a very prominent part of people’s daily lives. The many functions of media and its increasing presence in society have had a profound impact on the way we as individuals and even our culture in its entirety operate. Media’s role has become increasingly important, to the point in which generations today seemingly rely on it for everything from entertainment, to information, to even establishing and maintaining friendships and relationships.
ReplyDeleteKyle poses a very good question in wondering whether or not our consumption of media is socially acceptable and even beneficial to our culture or, if it is actually becoming harmful. I think the versatility of media makes it very difficult to answer this question. It has certainly proven itself very beneficial to our society but the extent in which people rely on it is increasingly growing. I really liked Kyle’s comment following these questions where he stated, “[the media] has transformed our culture, providing us with countless capabilities to better our lives and connect with people wherever they may be, but it has also transformed many of the traditional aspects of our culture”. I think this statement does a good job in summing up how media’s multifaceted nature has provided society with many benefits but has at the same time taken away from some of our cultural traditions.
I am very willing to acknowledge the many positives of media and the ways in which it has benefited our society but I do see it getting a little out of control. According to Baran and Davis, “Increasingly, media have become important to the way we develop this everyday culture. Media use has become central to developing and maintaining relationships with others. Texting, social networking websites, and Twitter connect us with others in ways we find essential” (313). Because media is so accessible and convenient it makes everyday tasks like keeping in touch with friends and maintaining relationships that much easier. What once took effort and demonstrated a level of personal interaction is now just another function of media use. Hymanshu Tyagi, a psychiatrist at the west London mental Health Trust argues that “those born after 1990, may be different from previous generations because “young people who have no experience of a world without online societies put less value on their real world identities and can therefore be at risk in their real lives, perhaps more vulnerable to impulsive behavior or even suicide… The new generation raised alongside the internet is attaching an entirely different meaning to friendship and relations, something we are largely failing to notice” (Baran and Davis 314). As scary as this statement is, I think it a powerful testament to the questionable effects of media . It is not surprising that the perceptions of the real world and meaning of friendships and relationships are skewed or distorted among younger generations because they are not familiar with anything else. I had the benefit of growing up during the transition into the social networking era and so I had the benefit of experiencing both cultures.
Unfortunately for the younger generations, they are really only familiar with what they were born into and that is a society that thrives on media. I think the fact that media is creating such an impersonal culture among people and essentially contributing to people’s lack of identity makes it somewhat harmful. Think for example, of the increase in cyber bullying and harassing and some of the horrific acts that have resulted from that. For example, there was that gay college student who committed suicide after his roommate decided to stream a video of him and his partner over the internet. It is so much easier to threaten someone and harass someone when you have the computer screen in front of you because you eliminate the personal touch of emotion, and feeling. Saying something cruel and hurtful via text, email, or even Facebook is so much easier because you do not have actually see the effect of that comment or worry about the direct reaction from that person.
ReplyDeleteThe effects of media are not limited to effects on relationships, it also impacts people’s personal identity as I briefly mentioned earlier. As Baran and Davis point out, “media have become a primary means by which most of us experience or learn about many aspects of the world around us” (211). As consumers of media, we are bound to learn from it, even if we are not actively seeking out information. Just think about advertising and the use of symbols in various forms of media. Even when people are not consciously seeking out and using media they are constantly inundated with messages that affect the way in which they view the world and operate as individuals. Judith Williamson explains that, “advertisements are one of the most important cultural factors molding and reflecting our life today. They are ubiquitous, an inevitable part of everyone’s lives: even if you do not read a newspaper or watch television, the images posted over our urban surroundings are inescapable” (Williamson, 299) We are exposed to advertisements everywhere we go and even though we may not realize their effects on us as consumers and as individuals we are susceptible to their effects. Kyle mentions how Williamson suggests that people are made to identify themselves with what they consume but that is not the only downfall to advertisements. Research has shown a correlation between the types of advertising people are exposed to and decreases in self-esteem and self-confidence. Even if we may not be consciously aware of the symbolic effect of advertising in their choice in characters and representation we are in fact being shaped.
Baran, Stanley J., and Dennis K. Davis. "Media and Culture Theories: Meaning-Making in the Social World." Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future. 6th ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2012. 210- 230. Print
Williamson, Judith. Meaning and Ideology: McQuail's Reader in Mass Communication Theory. By Denis McQuail. London: Sage Publications, 2002. 299-302. Print