How Mass Media Has Changed American Culture

Effects of Mass Media

Luis A Hernandez

HUM186

September 14, 2015

Allyson Wells

Effects of Mass Media

The developments of the twentieth century changed how mass media is distributed, accessed and consumed by utilizing media convergence which changed American culture forever. The electronic and digital eras changed mass media because of the inventions that were released to the general public during the twentieth century. The general public was able to share multiple type’s media across the Internet and no longer had to worry about being filtered by a gatekeeper. With media convergence, they were able to get all the shared media across platforms and over one means of distribution.

The electronic and digital eras evolved the way that

Americans were used to gathering their media via newspaper and television sets that were encased in stylish wood. Information had to be filtered through a gatekeeper who usually had an agenda for what could be released to the general public. Now, unfiltered information can be consumed in multiple ways across mobile devices. Some people are worried about the amount of information that is available and the messages that is being conveyed from them. Campbell, Martin, and Fabos (2015) said “Too many talk shows exploit personal problems for commercial gain, reality shows often glamorize outlandish behavior and sometimes dangerous stunts, and television research continues to document a connection between aggression in children and violent entertainment programs or video games”. Over 80 percent of Americans utilize electronics to view media. Media across the internet is unfiltered and no longer requires a gatekeeper. There is no agenda and there is misleading and inaccurate information everywhere. The American culture has experienced pros and cons to the developments in the twentieth century. The pros can include the freedom of accessing information from anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds but this also falls in the cons as some of that information can be unreliable and untrustworthy. Once of the pros of the major developments is that it is also unfiltered. Television and newspaper continues to be filtered by a gatekeeper and therefor, important information is not released to the general public. Some of this information can only be found through the internet being shared by conspiracy theorists who search for real and trustworthy information about current