Media Influence Upon Modern Society

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The Mass Media is a unique feature of modern society; its development has accompanied an increase in the magnitude and complexity of societal actions and engagements, rapid social change, technological innovation, rising personal income and standard of living and the decline of some traditional forms of control and authority. There is an association between the development of mass media and social change, although the degree and direction of this association is still debated upon even after years of study into media influence. Many of the consequences, either detrimental or beneficial, which have been attributed to the mass media, are almost undoubtedly due to other tendencies within society. Few sociologists would refute the importance of the mass media, and mass communications as a whole, as being a major factor in the construction and circulation of social understanding and social imagery in modern societies. Therefore it is argued that the mass media is used as “an instrument”, both more powerful and more flexible than anything in previous existence, for influencing people into certain modes of belief and understanding within society. The question of medias influence on society and its cultural framework has often been debated upon from leading theorists to anyone with any form of media connections, but to contemplate that a character in Coronation Street or Eastenders can have an influence on an audience members attitude, beliefs or interpretations of society is a very simplistic and debatable version of the truth. The media does influence, but using more diverse and subtle roles of impact. Some theorists suggest that it is even a case of society influencing the media and not the more widespread and presumed version... ... middle of paper ... ...ld influence somebody undoubtedly. Mass media audiences are arguably on the whole not passive, and so the amount of influence that is exerted upon the recipient depends entirely on the individual. As most pieces of media output are “polysemic” in nature, meaning that it is capable of having different meanings and readings from person to person (O’Sullivan, Dutton, Rayner: 1998:327), the way in which, or by how much, an individual is influenced is entirely through choice. Bibliography · O’Sullivan, Dutton, Rayner: (1998): Arnold Publishers “Studying The Media: Second Edition” · James Curran & Michael Gurevitch: (2000): Arnold Publishers “Mass Media And Society: Third Edition” · John Eldridge, Jenny Kitzninger, Kevin Williams: (1997): Oxford Uni. Press Inc “The Mass Media & Power In Modern Britain” · Jane Root: (Unknown): (Unknown) “Open The Box”

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