The media equation is a theory developed by two professors of communication, Byron Reeves and Clifford Nass, at Stanford University. The theory is simple. They state that people treat the media as if they were real, hence the equation: media = real life.
Basically Reeves and Nass are saying that people on an unconscious level perceive the media as real. People view objects of the media are talking to them personally. Reeves and Nass view things such as computers, televisions, radios, and other media’s as inanimate objects. They don’t believe that these objects are about to get up and move as if they were alive, but that the objects that relay the media are reacted to as though they were alive.
“Reeves and Nass credit the slow pace of evolution as the reason that the human race responds socially and naturally to the media: “The Human brain evolved in a world in which only humans exhibited rich social behaviors, and a world in which all perceived objects were real physical objects. Anything that seemed to be a real person or place was real.” So we haven’t yet adapted to the twentieth century media that only depict images, but which themselves personify the characteristics of human actors.” (Griffin, pages 375-376)
To prove their theory Reeves and Nass held experiments. One is an experiment that they did with television. They gathered a group of students to participate. “The goal of the study was to show that responses to television content could be changed when the television sets were assigned particular roles.” (Reeves and Nass, page 122). They took two groups of students and gave them specific tasks. The first group was to watch two separate televisions, called specialist TVs. One TV was identified as “News” and the other one was identified as “Entertainment”. For each TV the participants wee in different chairs. The other group was to watch one TV with both news and entertainment, called generalist TVs. The TV was labeled “News and Entertainment”. The students who watched the specialist TV said the news was more important and the entertainment was more interesting than the ones who watched the generalists TVs. “Consistent with the hypothesis that specialist TVs provide more representative content than do generalist TVs.” (Reeves and Nass, page 135)
The other exper...
... middle of paper ...
...fore, with all the qualifications met for a good theory I would say it is safe to say that this is a very good theory.
Bibliography
1. Geiger, Seth; Reeves, Byron. “The Effects of Scene Changes and Semantic Relatedness.” Communication Research Vol. 20 April 1993: pages 155-171.
2. Griffin, Em. Communication, A First Look At Communication Theory. San Diego: McGraw-Hill, 2000.
3. Leshner, Glenn; Reeves, Byron; et al. “Switching Channels: The Effects of Television Channels on the Mental Representation of Television.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media Vol. 42 Winter 1998: pages 21-33.
4. Moon, Youngme; Nass, Clifford. “How ‘Real” Are Computer Personalities?” Communication Research Vol. 23 December 1996: pages 651-670.
5. Nass, Clifford; Reeves, Byron; Leshner, Glen. “Technology and Roles: A Tale of Two TVs.” Journal of Communication Vol. 24: pages 122-136.
6. Nass, Clifford; Sundar, Shyam S. “Is Human-Computer Interaction Social or Parasocial?” Human Communication Research August 17, 1994: 114-126.
Nabi, Robin L., et al. "Reality-Based Television Programming and the Psychology of Its Appeal." Media Psychology 5 (2003): 303-330.
Showing the cause and effects of the growth in the use of the television is the purpose of this piece. Individuals do not grasp the full extent of the different areas that the TV has the ability to reach and even manipulate. These “dirty” our sources of truth by perfectly formed propaganda that is absorbed into every area of our lives as a “true” sense of reality or what life should look like.
Although coffee may be beneficial some ways, its side affects cannot be ignored. Consuming coffee immensely causes the stress hormone to release chemicals that tend to increase blood pressure, body's heart rate and tension levels. Coffee's mostly known for providing energy, but for many, the rush of adrenaline turns into feelings of "jittery tension" causing difficulty to relax. Another side effect that avid coffee drinkers face is lack of minerals in their body and diet. Coffee tends to affect the process of iron absorption in the stomach and most importantly in the kidneys; retaining important mineral such as magnesium, zinc, calcium and many others. Indulging coffee can also cause heartburn and acid reflex. Coffee causes a little muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter to relax. Once that muscle is relaxed, it is no longer tightly closed causing stomach contents to go back in the esophagus causing a burning feeling. (Dillan, 2013)
Far too often, we are influenced mentally and socially by Media. The new millennium has accepted all sources of media has almost more prudent source of information. As defined by The Merriam Webster Dictionary , Media is “a medium of cultivation, conveyance, or expression (Smiler).” For the purposes of this essay, I will condense the broad spectrum of media and focus specifically on these forms : print media, television , movies, and the internet. Within the Written composition, A trifling media written by Shakira Smiler, she carefully examines piece by piece why she believes not only men are trifling but as well how media has influenced why it's acceptable. Within her exposition, she speaks to infidelity , immaturity, and specifically, seeing
Before television existed people had to depend on Radio stations to receive their little bit of entertainment and news. But in 1878, the invention of TV began. The first TV made didn’t look anything like the way TV’s look today. It was a mechanical camera with a large spinning disc attached to it (Kids Work). But as over the years, of course, inventions of different TV’s progressed and by the 20th century about 90 percent of our population had a TV in their household (MGHR). Television today is mainly used for people take a break from their life by relaxing and enjoying some entertainment.
Presently 98% of the households in the United States have one or more televisions in them. What once was regarded as a luxury item has become a staple appliance of the American household. Gone are the days of the three channel black and white programming of the early years; that has been replaced by digital flat screen televisions connected to satellite programming capable of receiving thousands of channels from around the world. Although televisions and television programming today differ from those of the telescreens in Orwell’s 1984, we are beginning to realize that the effects of television viewing may be the same as those of the telescreens.
The political disorder had Rome no longer boasting of a strong, stable government and leadership. The armies quickly became overcome in the political affairs, and not shortly after the leaders of armies were to become emperors to try and fix disjoints. Another part of the reason for the decline of the empire was economic troubles.
Among the recommendations, Foxconn has engaged consultants to provide health and safety training for employees, improved its internship program, and increased access to unemployment insurance for its migrant workers, as well as for all workers in Shenzhen” (Apples’ Progress Report, 2013, p. 8).
The electronics market stays competitive due to the continuing stream of new technology. Every addition of a new product by Apple’s competition must in turn be met with a more innovative product. Apple must remain on top of the industry to remain relevant and continue to produce profits. The competitive nature of this industry also dictates that all corporations in the market will face ethical dilemmas. According to an article entitled “Apple ‘attacking problems’ at its factories in China”, there are only 3 companies with facilities in the world capable of keeping up with the needs that Apple’s market demands (Moore, 2012). Unveiling a new iPhone nearly once a year continues to put stress onto those few facilities that handle so much of the production. Speed is a factor in how quickly a product can be turned from pieces into profit. This leads to a predicament if the supply cannot meet the demand and cost begin to rise. A very common way to reduce cost is outsourcing production to locations overseas. Outsourcing can be beneficial due to the lower cost of wages, but also has its drawback. Outsourcing is by no mean a bad idea, however, the many facilities that are ran overseas may not be held to the same standards that they would be in the United States. One way to show that corners are not being cut at the expense of employees is to be transparent with the
Many of us have our coffee in the morning on an empty stomach. In fact, some of us even brag that our coffee IS our breakfast.
Coffee can indeed make people feel more alert and energized, it is an artificial energy boost because caffeine does not create real energy, but rather it is the chemicals that are doing the work
Everyday we encounter the media in some form. It could be waking up to the sound of the radio, or passing billboards in the streets or simply just watching television. They are a lot of different forms of media, for example, verbal or written media, visual media and aural media. Examples of media would include newspapers, magazines, film, radio, television, billboard advertisements as well as the internet. Media studies came about because of the developments in mass communication and it provokes the generation of exigent questions about what we think we know as well how we came about knowing it. There are always changes in the media and the term “media” refers to the many ways of physically forming meanings as well and carrying them. The term “media studies” on the other hand, means different courses priorities different media; different theories and different learning outcomes (Bazalgette, 2000).
Over the last century, information technology, such as the Internet, has brought our society forward and helps us get through life more efficiently and conveniently. In addition, it helps making global communication easier and faster as compared to hand-written mails that may take days if not weeks to reach its intended recipient. However, with such luxury and convenience, there is a debate whether the way we currently interact with fellow human beings with the help of technology is good or bad to our personal relationships. The Internet has increased the amount of communication globally, yet ironically the very technology that helps us increase our communication hinders our ability to socialize effectively in real life and create a healthy interpersonal relationship.
...bout the “real” real world.” Psychology of Popular Media Culture, Vol 2(4). Oct 2013. 237-250. PsychARTICLES. 29 Nov 2013
What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of spiders, heights, or snakes? Most of the fears people have are completely normal. Many people feel the same way. But, in some cases, the fear that people have is so intense, it is considered a phobia. About 19 million Americans have a phobia that interfere negatively in their lives. Fear is a feeling induced by perceived danger or threat. But, phobias are much more. “A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that causes an individual to experience extreme, irrational fear about a situation, living creature, place, or object.” People who have a phobia intentionally avoid what they consider to be dangerous or fearful. They may experience a deep sense of dread or panic when they encounter their source of