HD 4: Chapter 9 Ecology of the Mass Media Chapter 9 Lecture Notes

Mass Media “The form of communication in which large audiences quickly receive a given message via an impersonal medium between the sender and the receiver.” Mass media includes radio, television, books, movies, newspapers, and magazines.

Reflection Moment When you were growing up, what were your three favorite TV shows?

Then (1990 Nielsen Report) Total U.S. TV Households 1. Bill Cosby Show 2. Roseanne 3. Cheers 4. A Different World 5. Golden Girls Minutes 7. Empty Nest 8. Murder, She Wrote 9. Wonder Years 10. Dear John

Predict The Nielsen Ratings List The Top 10 Shows

Now: Nielsen Report ( ) 1. NBC Sunday Football 2. NCIS 3. The Big Bang Theory 4. NCIS LA 5. Sunday Night Football Pre-Kick 6. The Voice 7. The OT (B) 8. Dancing with the Stars 9. Person of Interest 10. The Millers

Mass Media Can… Change a neutral experience into a frightening experience. Enhance the experience. Interfere with the experience of imagining. Be a massive, multisensory, and immediate experience.

Mass Communication System in the U.S. Private ownership. Cable channels and videos do not use public air waves so they are not under the same obligations. In 1990, Children’s TV Act imposed a limit of 10.5 minutes of commercials an hour on weekdays and 12 minutes per hour on weekends.

Mass Communication Radio and TV make profits from advertising. The main emphasis is on entertainment. Advances in TV broadcasting have changed sleep habits, meals, use of leisure time, and conversation patterns among families. New products can catch on faster.

Concerns About Mass Media Effects on family interactions. Effects on physical activity. Effects on children’s reading and communication skills. Effects on academic achievement. Effects on those that can’t distinguish between reality and fantasy. Effects on imagination. Effects of advertising.

Additional Concerns The prevalence of violence. The exposure to sexuality. The exposure to stereotypes.

Violence on TV Classical desensitization takes place from watching repeated violence. Since it desensitizes, it has to become more graphic to keep the attention.

TV TV interferes with family activities and family relationships. When watching TV, less conversation and interaction takes place. While watching TV, kids talked less, were less active, and less oriented toward parents.

Some Positive Information Studies show that children who watch altruistic behavior on TV, become more altruistic themselves. Parents, teachers, and older siblings are probably the most important in determining the effect of TV on kids.

More touching took place between parent and child while watching TV.

Reflection Moment Do you remember commercials that convinced you of something when you were a child?

Advertising Annually, on average, children age 2-11 are exposed to between 20,000 and 40,000 TV commercials.

Mass Media “Even though media technology has changed, concerns regarding its influence on children remain the same.”

On the average, kids spend 4 hours per day in front of the TV. Young kids from economically and educationally deprived backgrounds spend even more time watching TV than those from more affluent, better educated families.

The Primary Danger of TV The primary danger of the TV is not so much in the behavior it produces, although there is danger there, but in the behavior it prevents (talking, games, activities).

CAUTION! Children NOT at play.

What did the Surgeon General’s Committee say? In 1972, they stated there was a qualified conclusion indicating a casual relationship between extensive viewing of violence and later aggressive behavior.

Even More Concerns… There is concern that time spent in front of the TV has been responsible for the general decline in reading levels and test scores. A longitudinal study following over 500 children showed that the content of TV shows a significant impact on academic achievement.

Obesity and TV Children watching 4 hours or more of TV per day were significantly more obese than children who watched an hour or less.

How Parents Can Mediate Television Viewing Control the number of hours of exposure. Check ratings and evaluate what kinds of programs may be viewed. View TV with their children and discuss the programs. Arrange family activities other than TV.

Print Media (Books and Magazines) While TV and radio encourage passive involvement, print media encourages active participation. Books and magazines are written language and enable socialization to take place.

Print Media Influences Development Research shows that reading and being read to increases a child’s language and reading skills. Books help stimulate the imagination. Books provide models for children, help children cope, and offer the chance to explore feelings.

Concerns With Print Media Lack of strong adult role models Violence in them Stereotypes in them

Sound Media Expression of the youth culture Can alienate adults Illustrates social values

Music Can… Make things easier to remember Alter our mood Be used as therapy

Interactive Media (Computers) Effect on socialization of children is unclear. Diminished social interaction. Access to information negating family values. Access to information without necessary critical skills. Hands on learning should always take place first.