Chapter 9

Ecology of the Mass Media

Prologue:

Do media shape culture, reflect it, or transform it?

• What messages are being received via curious media and what are their effects on children?

• Do media stimulate critical thinking or inhibit it?

• Is media access to information a cultural equalizer or a cultural divider (segregating the information-rich and the information-poor)?

Fig. 9-1, p. 351

Understanding the mass media

• “Media”: the plural of medium refers to a type of communication.

• Mass media: shapers and spreaders of culture

Chronosystem influences on the mass media

• Even though media technology has changed, concerns regarding its influences on children remain the same

Macrosystem influences on mass media

• The mass communication system in the U.S. is characterized by private ownership and the drive for cooperate profits

• As long as the broadcast media in the U.S. are designed to attract audiences to whom to sell products, they will convey messages that are likely to influence attitudes and behavior

Screen media:

• Concerns about television and movies– How have TV and movies affected our

lives – Effects on social and physical activities

• Family rituals and interactions• Physical activity

– Effects on the perception of reality– Effects on imagination

Screen media:

– Effects on the prevalence of violence• Observational learning• Attitudes• Arousal

– Effects of advertising• Gullibility

Screen media:

– Perpetuation of values• Behavior• Sexuality• Stereotypes

Screen media:

– Effects on children’s cognitive development• Reading and communication skills• Information processing• Academic achievement

Fig. 9-2, p. 372

Screen media:

• Mediating influences on socialization outcomes– Selective attention– Adult involvement

Mesosystem influences

• Community-media linkages– The Public Broadcasting System (PBS)– Cable and Satellite television– Recording devices– Public Interest Groups

Mesosystem influences

• School-media linkages• Peer-media linkages• Family-media linkages

Print Media:

• How do print media influence children’s development– Cognitive development– Language and reading development– Cognitive development– Psychosocial development

Books, socialization, and development levels of children

• Pre-operational stage (about age 2 to 7)• Concrete operational stage (about age 7 to

11 or 15)• Formal operational stage (about age 11 to

15)

Audio media: popular music

• Today’s popular music vs television and books: expression of the youth culture and also that it alienates many adults.

• Popular music often illustrates social values of that time.

• The question that remains is whether the songs reflect the values of a particular generation or whether they influence that generation’s values

Interactive and multimedia

• Computers and the Internet• Computerized video/CD games