Audience theory 2 - The effects debate

 1) Social learning theory has been criticised for simplifying the causes of violence in society. Do you think the media is responsible for anti-social behaviour and violence?

Given that so many people use media and that some people appear quite content to be violent despite having good social lives, I don't believe that the media is solely to blame for violence and antisocial behaviour. Nonetheless, there are a few individuals who are susceptible to being persuaded.

2) How is social learning theory relevant in the digital age? Are young people now learning behaviour from social media and the internet? Give examples.

On social media, viewers watch and copy what they see. Nowadays, youth learn via social media because influential people are searching for impressionable youth with open minds. Drill artists have an impact on teenagers because they frequently discuss violence. 

3) Research three examples of moral panic from the last 50 years. To what extent was the media responsible for these moral panics? Was the concern in society justified? How have things changed as a result of these moral panics?

 As a result, the business addressed the problem, and social media sites like Facebook and YouTube started to remove or restrict recordings of drug users.

4) Read this introduction to an academic paper on technopanics. What examples are given of technopanics that create fear in society? If the link is blocked in school, you can access the text here.

Technopanics are seen to be a bar to some activities or a tool for governments to stir up fear at a crucial moment. They might be employed against people or to their advantage.

5) Do you think the internet should be regulated? Should the government try and control what we can access online?

I think there are some things they can manage, but they have to go about it way that it doesn't appear that they are entirely controlling the users or censoring the media.

6) Apply Gerbner's cultivation theory to new and digital media. Is the internet creating a fearful population? Are we becoming desensitised to online threats, trolling and abuse? Is heavy internet use something we should be worried about in society? Write a paragraph discussing these ideas.

Negative people who threaten, bully, and influence others populate the internet. Because they are so prevalent and have become ingrained in online users' social standards, in my opinion, we have become more numb to threats and other online dangers. I believe that we should be concerned about adolescents who use the internet excessively and become overly uninformed of their environment.

The effects debate: Media Factsheet

Complete the following tasks using Media Factsheet 030 - The Effects Debate available on the Media Shared drive. You'll find it in our Media Factsheet archive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. You can also access it via your school Google login here.

Read Media Factsheet 030 - Media and Audiences -The Effects Debate and answer the following questions:

1) Complete the questions in the first activity box (beginning with 'Do you play violent games? Are you violent in real life?')

I enjoy violent video games and movies, but I don't act violently in real life. I don't really want to buy the offered things because I don't really need them.

2) What are the four categories for different effects theories?

the pluralist approach, diffusion theories, indirect effect theories, direct effect theories

3) What are the examples provided for the hypodermic needle theory - where media texts have been blamed for certain events? 

The murder of James Bulger was compared to Childs play.

4) What was the 1999 Columbine massacre? You may need to research this online in addition to the information on the factsheet.

A school shooting and attempted explosion by two 12th graders occurred at Columbine High School. In addition to the murder of 12 pupils and 1 teacher, 21 other persons suffered bullet wounds. In the end, the two shooters killed themselves.

5) What are the reasons listed on the factsheet to possibly explain the Columbine High School massacre?

The general desensitisation caused by access to a range of violent images: film, TV, the news, the internet, The alienation felt by teenagers who felt as though they did not fit in

6) How does the factsheet describe Gerbner's Cultivation theory?

Through repetition the audience may become desensitised towards negative and/or violent representations

7) What does the factsheet suggest about action films and the values and ideologies that are reinforced with regards to violence?

 An action movie typically creates the impression that violence for good is acceptable and violence for bad is unacceptable 

8) What criticisms of direct effect theories are suggested in the factsheet?

The sheet discusses the two-step flow model, which implies that we may be more likely to adopt a leader's opinions or be readily persuaded because they are role models for us.

9) Why might the 1970s sitcom Love Thy Neighbour be considered so controversial today? What does this tell us about Reception theory and how audiences create meanings?

It is now seen as racist and offensive as due to the change in times there has been a change in the audience's attitudes and values. 

10) What examples are provided for Hall's theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings?

The negotiated reading might be that this was just a straightforward sitcom made to amuse people; however, given the period in which it was produced, it wasn't really intended to make fun of people as some might believe; otherwise, if they were, it might have been so that everyone could laugh light-heartedly about it without being prejudiced.