The New Age of Media

“It began with the rise of the popular press, followed by the invention of film, sound broadcasting (or radio), and the audiovisual, including television and cable television. In the past decade, this interest has grown to embrace computer-influenced adaptations of these traditional mass media, the latest being the World Wide Web (www), which is part of the Internet, or the Information Superhighway” (Engsberg, Lang, & Engel Lang, 2001, p. 1761). The ever-growing multimedia network has started to put a damper on the printed form of media. Although many would argue this statement, but with the new development of e-readers and tablets it is making magazine and newspaper sales decline. Within the last decade the revenue generated by newspaper and magazine sales have dropped leading us to believe, that the print form of media is slowly dying; it’s easily being replaced with the new formation of social networking, smartphones and other devices.
What is Mass Media? Have you ever sat and pondered what exactly is Mass Media? Mass media is any technology that is used to transmit information on a large scale (Lane, n.d.). Currently there are a variety of types of media and they include television, radio, film, video, print, photography, and electronic. The production of media happens in many genres and each is designed to target a different audience. Mass media is divided into four basic styles: informative, educational, persuasive, and entertainment media (Lane, n.d.). The different target audiences can be identified by using a number of factors, some to include, age, race, profession, and a few other demographics (Lane, n.d.).

The Rise of Mass Media

Media has become ever so popular in everyday life in today’s society. According to Rayuso (2008), “From the moment we wake up in the morning we are bombarded with media in all its many forms. From the morning newspaper to the news on the television, different advertising companies telling you what to buy and what’s the newest trend.” In the 18th century, it didn’t take much for people to have fun. They use to play simple games that a family could play together and not need the use of a computer, gaming system or a television. In today’s society people require the use of gadgets to catch up on the daily news and to keep updated with the many different social networks. With the new changes in media and technology that goes along with it, children and teens have a variety of ways to express themselves, which are not always in a positive manner. According to Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media (2010), “The explosion in popularity of Social Networks represents one of the fastest uptakes of a communication technology since the web was developed in the early 1990s.” The most popular sites today are Facebook and Twitter. With the growing popularity of these sites information can be shared instantaneously, every detail about someone can be shared and broadcasted across many different forms of media mediums. With Social networking now displaying ads for different types of products, the ad companies are now introducing themselves to millions of active users (Johnson, 2010). When you look at the millions of people that use social networking sites and the amount of people that would watch TV, read a magazine or a newspaper, the numbers just don’t equal out. Look at it this way, you have one ad ran on a social networking site for one day and it is seen by millions and millions across the world. Then you have a commercial on TV, ad in the magazine or the newspaper and you still would not get as many viewers as you would if you put your ad on a social networking site in the same amount of time frame. One recent case study claims that by just spending 10 minutes on Facebook you can be exposed to as many as 90 different media messages (Johnson, 2010).

Influence of Media on Society

While most of the media is harmless and just someone trying to convince you to buy something or go do something, the media does send harmful messages and influence over us. From the violent video games that have filled the markets to the Internet, which is filled with negative information and themes (Rayuso, 2008.) It has been known that violence in the media is on an upward trend, and with this it brings violence and other antisocial behaviors in the young viewers (Hoffman, 2011). Just think about all the new video games coming about and how you can play with people from all over the world using the Internet. It is known that Media in all its forms is very influential in the development of today’s society especially children (Hoffman, 2011). It has been said that American Media has the most violent Media in the world. Although most believe that media only has a negative influence on society it does have a positive influence as well. The media helps to increase awareness to the masses. Media has helped to spread news quickly regarding important events taking place. Each different form of media has a different role in our everyday life. News and documentaries revolving around social issues help to increase the awareness in young people and help them develop a concern toward the society they live in (Oak, 2011). When trying to enhance your vocabulary and instilling good reading habits into children, newspapers are the best source (Oak, 2011). As Beth Lane stated, “Media studies definitions are changing quickly as digital technology evolves, taking mass media and advertising and marketing communications in new directions.” With all these changes there has been some good and bad impacts of Mass Media. The positive impacts of Mass Media on the Web are: speed of information; convenience, interaction, and more job opportunities (Suh, 2011). Even with the negative aspects of the media the positive benefits really do stand out. As Annie Suh stated “ The world is more informed, life is more convenient and we have more ability to speak and express ourselves while still being heard.” Media has an effect on everything even the way we vote. Without the media there would be no public input in political races, debates, or things of that nature, as many politicians know many people turn to the media for information rather then attend any of the rallies. When you look at third world countries you see a difference in the way the political system is run. In countries well established you could see the debates between running politicians as they are happening. This permits for political persuasion on voters and you get to make up your own mind on the matter. Whereas in a third world country someone is either born into the seat or just appointed to it. There are not debates or any kind of voting that occurs in these countries, the publics voice is not heard.

Future of Print Media

With all this new forming technology we wonder where is the newspaper and magazine headed? With the average number of papers being circulated falling each year many start to think that the print form of media is heading toward its demise. Many say print media is the creation for many new opportunities in this digital age, and newspapers are media companies’ paths that lead the way. Even though newspapers are still going strong the print form of advertisement is down with all the new digital ads many companies have started to cease print ads for papers. “One of civilizations earliest and most critical art-forms — the written word on the paper page — is dying.” (Faust III, 2011) Many would argue this statement but with the new development of e-readers and the ever-growing tablet phase it is making the magazines and newspaper sales decline.

As it is we are no longer living in little boxes, we are living in a networked world. Living in a networked world we could just click one button and have a world of information at our fingertips. Everything and everyone has some sort of media outlet connected to it from children’s toys to cell phones. The more produced each day the more we become connected. As more magazines and newspapers become available online it gives everyone the ease of staying in tune with the happenings of the world.

There are some pros and cons to living in a media ready society. While it may be tremendous to know how things are on the other side of the world and keeping up with friends and family from a distance. The fact that media is in everyone’s day-to-day life whether you know it or not. Many of us become reliable on the newer forms of media. Some feel they cannot live a day without cell phones, television, computer, or radio. Children today are missing out on the opportunities that where around prior to all the new technology. If a child was to be stripped of all the new media enabled gadgets would they survive, yes of course they would, but it would take them a while to figure what to do and how to self entertain. “All of us live in a world of media-constructed images that, presumably, significantly influence what we think and how we partition our attention, time, and other scarce resources” (Engsberg, Lang, & Engel Lang, 2001, pp. 1761).

The newspaper has been around for almost 300 years and it was the man source of getting your news until the Internet age. With the age of the average newspaper reader rising, the newspaper is slowly dying out and a quarter of all newspaper jobs have disappeared since the 1990’s. When you think about it when a newspaper or magazine hit the stands the information inside is already yesterday’s news. Some type of technology will come along that will put the final nail in the coffin of printed media.

Reference

1. Crovitz, G. (2008). Milken Institute. Retrieved from http://milkeninstitute.org/events/gcprogram.taf?function=programtrack&EventID=GC08&trackid=26&lang=en_us&output=json&session-id=9a4a96d01e5efb022b4ca9688007bb07 2. Engsberg, J. M., Lang, K., & Engel Lang, G. (2001). Encyclopedia of Sociology (2nd ed.). : Macmillan Reference USA. 3. Faust III, A. T. (2011). Physical, Printed Media Is Dying (And It Has Nothing To Do With Pricing Or Availability). Retrieved from http://http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/07/physical-printed-media-is-dying-and-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-pricing-or-availability 4. Hoffman, A. M. (2011). Combating the Culture of Media Violence. Pediatrics For Parents, 27(5/6), 11. 5. Johnson, G. (2010). Chief Marketer. Retrieved from http://chiefmarketer.com/social-media/0202-social-media/ 6. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. (2010). The Relationship between Traditional Mass Media and Social Media™ ™: Reality Television as a Model for Social Network Site Behavior. Retrieved from http://www.communication.buffalo.edu/contrib/people/faculty/documents/stefanone_BEM_2010.pdf 7. Lane, B. (2007). Media Literacy. Retrieved from http://beth-lane.suite101.com/what-is-mass-media--a23017 8. (2010). New Media Book Project. Retrieved from http://www.newmediaskool.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=150:how-technological-changes-in-mass-media-industries-have-changed-and-are-likely-to-change-journalistic-output&catid=1:lates 9. Oak, M. (2011). Positive Effects of the Media . Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/positive-effects-of-the-media.html 10. Oasis - Chapter 8 Genres & Target Audiences. (2009). Retrieved from https://oasis.fiu.edu/Ch8/ch8page4.htm 11. Rayuso (n.d.). Mass Media Influence on Society. Retrieved from http://rayuso.hubpages.com/hub/Mass-Media-Influence-on-Society 12. Suh, A. (2011). Impact of Mass Media on the Web. Retrieved from http://annie-suh.suite101.com/impact-of-mass-media-on-the-web-a330923