The Relevance of Mass Communication
By:
Jovaney Ashman
17 February, 2014
The Question has been asked over and over again, how has Mass Communication impacted the way we behave, think, what we think about and how we socialize with each other? And the answer is, we will never be fully able to comprehend its vast impact on our lives in the 21st Century however we are at liberty to deduce from the empirical evidences around us. Before we attempt to define mass communication completely lets us first define the two key words ‘communication’ and ‘mass’, separately. Communication according to Merriam-Webster dictionary states that it is “the act or instance of transmitting”; in addition it also states that it is a “process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behaviour.” Mass on the other hand, are a large number of individuals in a particular area. Therefore Mass Communications is the act or process by which information is transmitted to a large sum of people through the use of mass media (common system of symbols, signs and behavior). In this essay we look at some of the relevance of mass communication and mass media in our lives and how it has affected us in the 21st Century.
Mass communication is weaved into the fabric of our lives immensely. Mass Communication has emerged greatly in the 21st century from traditional hard copy media such as books and magazines, due to the invention of satellite communication which has resulted in inventions such as the Television, Radio, Internet and Telecommunication technologies. Mass Communication is relevant for entertainment. YouTube, Twitter, My-space, Facebook, Music Videos, Entertainment programmers are all examples of Mass Communication being used as a form of entertainment. Human beings like being entertained and as such we welcome anything that will give us a sense of escapism and relaxation from the cares of the world which might even lead to addiction. This though has a great
Jovaney Ashman
17 February, 2014
The Question has been asked over and over again, how has Mass Communication impacted the way we behave, think, what we think about and how we socialize with each other? And the answer is, we will never be fully able to comprehend its vast impact on our lives in the 21st Century however we are at liberty to deduce from the empirical evidences around us. Before we attempt to define mass communication completely lets us first define the two key words ‘communication’ and ‘mass’, separately. Communication according to Merriam-Webster dictionary states that it is “the act or instance of transmitting”; in addition it also states that it is a “process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behaviour.” Mass on the other hand, are a large number of individuals in a particular area. Therefore Mass Communications is the act or process by which information is transmitted to a large sum of people through the use of mass media (common system of symbols, signs and behavior). In this essay we look at some of the relevance of mass communication and mass media in our lives and how it has affected us in the 21st Century.
Mass communication is weaved into the fabric of our lives immensely. Mass Communication has emerged greatly in the 21st century from traditional hard copy media such as books and magazines, due to the invention of satellite communication which has resulted in inventions such as the Television, Radio, Internet and Telecommunication technologies. Mass Communication is relevant for entertainment. YouTube, Twitter, My-space, Facebook, Music Videos, Entertainment programmers are all examples of Mass Communication being used as a form of entertainment. Human beings like being entertained and as such we welcome anything that will give us a sense of escapism and relaxation from the cares of the world which might even lead to addiction. This though has a great
Bibliography: Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. Hiebert, Ray Eldon., and Sheila Jean Gibbons. Exploring Mass Media for a Changing World.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2000. Print. "Market Trends in Mass Media Stayed Unchanged in 2012." Statistics Finland. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.