MEDIA WHAT ARE THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MEDIA AND

MEDIA: WHAT ARE THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MEDIA AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS? - Positive and negative effects of media on socialisation - Effects of images of groups on our perceptions e. g. Terrorism and Muslims - Media images of the family – portrayal of family on TV, etc. - Media images of education - Media images of work

MEDIA’S INFLUENCE ON SOCIALISATION Media is playing a increasingly significant role as a socialising agent in the lives of children and adolescents. The mass media explosion that began in the 1950 s has dramamtically changed the environment in which children are raised. Electronic media provide children with a variety of new learning opportunities and broaden the range of events children experience. Socialisation is no longer constrained to the influences of family, peers and other people in children’s immediate surroundings. (Prot et al. 2015, p. 1)

MEDIA’S INFLUENCE ON SOCIALISATION Children are socialised about the norms of a society through various media channels. Youtube: Marge Be Not Proud https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=mjanx. Zi. Vkv. U

POSITIVE INFLUENCE OF MEDIA ON SOCIALISATION Can you think of other examples of the media having a positive influence on socialisation?

MEDIA’S INFLUENCE ON SOCIALISATION However, media’s role on socialisation is not always a good thing, there being various negative effects of the media:

VIOLENT MEDIA EFFECTS Research renders a clear picture of the immediate causal influence of media violence exposure on aggression. Many experiments show that even brief violent media exposure can lead to immediate increases in aggressive thoughts, hostile affect, and aggressive behaviour. Experimental studies have also shown that exposure to media violence leads to physiological desensitization to violence and decreases in empathy and prosocial behavior. For example, one experimental study found that playing a violent video game for 20 minutes made participants slower and less likely to help a victim injured in a fight. (Prot et al. 2015, pp. 4 -5)

VIOLENT MEDIA EFFECTS preschoolers who typically watch violent television shows tend to exhibit more aggressive play tendencies - hitting, pushing, taking other children’s toys. Violent media use among children is also associated with perceptions of violence as a legitimate means for solving problems. Huesmann and colleagues (2003) found that children who viewed more televised violence became more aggressive adults 15 years later, irrespective of how aggressive they had been as children. (Prot et al. 2015, pp. 5 -6)

RISK-GLORIFYING MEDIA Media often glorify risk-taking behaviors, such as reckless driving, smoking, binge drinking, and having unprotected sex. (Prot et al. 2015, p. 6) Multiple teenagers have died after trying to copy Jackass tricks shown in their movies and television series

SUBSTANCE USE Positive portrayals of substance use that do not show negative consequences are frequent in the media. Experimental studies have found significant shortterm effects of media that glorify substance use. For example, viewing movies that portray drinking in a positive light causes an increase in participants’ expectations that drinking alcohol will lead to positive outcomes, such as camaraderie. After viewing film sequences that include smoking, people report greater likelihood of smoking in the future (Prot et al. 2015, p. 7)

STEREOTYPES Observations of media can influence an individuals’ understanding of the social world. Through repeated media exposure, individuals form associative links between a social group (e. g. , black males) and the stereotypic characteristics (e. g. , criminal). Eventually these associations become automatized; when the social group category is activated, the associated stereotypes are automatically activated as well. Generalisations extend to ethnicity, gender, age, race and class. (Prot et al. 2015, pp. 7 -12)

Influences of key historical, demographic, cultural, economic, technological and social developments on the experience of the media and the impact of images of certain groups on our perceptions

EFFECTS OF IMAGES OF GROUPS ON OUR PERCEPTIONS E. G. TERRORISM AND MUSLIMS

EFFECTS OF IMAGES OF GROUPS ON OUR PERCEPTIONS E. G. TERRORISM AND MUSLIMS Recent history, specifically the past decade, has provided plenty of examples of the mutually beneficial relationship between terrorist organizations and the media. As some remarkable terrorist attacks in history indicate, whether it is in the United States (US), Europe, or the Middle East, it is by and large the case that the architects of terrorism exploit the media for the benefit of their operational efficiency, information gathering, recruitment, fund raising, and propaganda schemes. (Bilgen 2012)

EFFECTS OF IMAGES OF GROUPS ON OUR PERCEPTIONS E. G. TERRORISM AND MUSLIMS Terrorist media-related goals are: attention, recognition, and perhaps even a degree of respectability and legitimacy. Media, in return, receives the attention of the public that is vital for its existence and benefits from record sales and huge audiences. To put it briefly, just as terrorism has to be communicated to have effect, the media has to cover the incidents in such a way to benefit from the public’s eagerness to obtain information about terrorist attacks. (Bilgen 2012)

EFFECTS OF IMAGES OF GROUPS ON OUR PERCEPTIONS E. G. TERRORISM AND MUSLIMS Therefore, there is a mutually beneficial relationship between terrorism and today’s media. (Bilgen 2012) However, where this relationship is damaging is for those, such as the broader Islamic population, who are tarnished by media portrayals

EFFECTS OF IMAGES OF GROUPS ON OUR PERCEPTIONS E. G. TERRORISM AND MUSLIMS Terrorism is an attractive boon for media coverage, mainly because terrorist attacks make viewer ratings surge and profits increase. To be more specific, terrorism has many aspects that make it a very attractive subject for the media, as it has the elements of drama, danger, blood, human tragedy, miracle stories, heroes, shocking footage, and action. Another reason is that violence is a central and defining quality in contemporary television culture and is critical to the financial momentum of contemporary media organizations. Indeed, the media has always been interested in reporting terrorism; however, the recent proliferation of television and radio channels, and the emergence of mega-media organizations have resulted in greater competition and insatiable appetites for shocking, sensational “infotainment” that is believed to keep audiences captivated, boost ratings and circulation, and increase profits. Also, the part of the reason why the media is that irresponsible and excessively profit-oriented in the context of terrorism is that a considerable number of top media executives today come from the corporate world, but not from the ranks of journalists. (Bilgen 2012)

EFFECTS OF IMAGES OF GROUPS ON OUR PERCEPTIONS E. G. TERRORISM AND MUSLIMS The problem does not lie in why the media covers terrorism, but lies in how the media covers terrorism. It is by and large the case that the media covers terrorist acts by writing sensation-seeking, enlarging anecdotic stories, especially on who is to blame, repeating the same images over and over again. The media traumatizes the audience by exaggerating the threats, or, showing nonstop footage of combat scenes. The politics of fear is a dominant motif for news and popular culture today. News reporting about terrorism is linked with “victimization” narratives that make crime, danger, and fear very relevant to everyday experiences. (Bilgen 2012)

- - Media images of the family – portrayal of family on TV, etc. Media images of education Media images of work Analysis of Family, Education and Work in: Modern Family, The Simpsons and Summer Heights High

REFERENCES: Bilgen, A. 2012, ‘Terrorism and the Media: A Dangerous Symbiosis, ’ E-International Relations Students, viewed 5 July 2016, from <http: //www. e-ir. info/2012/07/22/terrorism-and-the-media-a-dangerous-symbiosis/>. Prot, S. , Anderson, C. , Gentile, D. , Warburton, W. , Saleem, M. , Groves, C. , & Brown, S. 2015, ‘Media as Agents of Socialization, ’ In J. E. Grusec and P. D. Hastings (Eds. ), Handbook of Socialization, 2 nd Edition, pp. 276 -300, Guilford Press, New York, viewed 5 July 2016, from <http: //public. psych. iastate. edu/caa/abstracts/2015 -2019/15 PAGWSGB. pdf>.