AUDIENCE THEORY 2: BLOG TASK

 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?

I believe social media has some responsibility for anti social behaviour as it allow so much stuff to be access from your phone u just zone out and just only concentrate on that therefore you don't really go and socialise and sometimes they will be messaging someone so they just focus on that. Social media doesn't promote violence it just depends on how the audience reacts to it if they look at it when social media talks about violence its just additional information on what happening in a local area and that people should be safe 

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.

People use social media for school learning for example social media was a big thing during Covid lockdowns as many schools used zoom to communicate to their students and teach them. Young people are sometimes gaining this ideology of being scary in real life off line and for most people they sometimes copy their role model personality they show on social media which can be a negative effect on there mental health 

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?

9/11-New York

Manchester bombing - concert

France shooting- France 

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.

 In public policy debates, appeals to fear are often used in an attempt to sway opinion or bolster the case for action Such “fear appeal arguments” are frequently on display in the Internet policy arena and often take the form of a full blown “moral panic” or “technopanic These panics are intense public political  and academic responses to the emergence oruse of media or technologies, especially by the young.

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

I believe the internet should be regulated as there is too much freedom on it which is worry The government should control what we do online and control it adding restrictions and age verification 

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.

The internet in my opinion does create a fearful population as there are a continuity of online bulling and trolls which effects younger people as they are normally on it we should all be worried as its a growing environment but at the same time it becoming dangerous therefore as a society we should tackle this as social media can affect someones mental health which the the most important thing to a person 

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 play violent games and i am not violent in real life

Yes as it stands out and look intriguing 

No

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

Direct Effect Theories

These ideas view the media as having a direct effect on the ideas attitudes and behaviours of the audience

Diffusion Theories

These ideas focus on the influence media may have but concentrate

on the personalised way audiences access texts and consider the

influence other people may have

Indirect Effect Theories

These theories acknowledge that the media may affect people but

focuses on the fact that people respond differently to media texts

and images and the environment we are in may be a part of that too

Pluralism

The final theoretical position is the pluralist one which sees media

institutions as free to present whatever point of view they wish and

audiences being equally free to choose from the ideas and

representations available

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

This is an example of the hypodermic needle theory Violence for a ‘good’ reason is acceptable and Violence for a ‘bad’ reason must be punished As the Hypodermic needle theory is Ideology Attitude or Value from text Audience belief or behaviour and that is a attitude belief from the audience

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

It was a school shooting in the U.S. state of Colorado. Columbine High School it resulted in 15 deaths 

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 

Child’s Play – The murder of Jamie Bulger

• Marilyn Manson – The Columbine High School shootings

• Natural Born Killers – a number of murders committed by romantically linked couples. in one case, the director was sued for inciting violence although the court case was later dismissed

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

This theory considers the way the media affects attitudes rather than behaviour According to this theory while any one media text does not have too much effect repeated exposure to certain ideas and values may make the audience less critical of the ideas presented as they appear ‘normal’

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

Consider a typical action film you have seen recently. It is

likely it contained the following values:

· Violence for a ‘good’ reason is acceptable.

· Violence for a ‘bad’ reason must be punished.

This reinforce is it as people may have opinion on good violence and believe they do good violence therefore it's acceptable but in reality no violence is acceptable 

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

This theory is largely discredited as it makes simplified judgements about the audience However it is still used politically as a criticism of certain media texts That it has a direct effect on the audience and has an gives an idea about the person attitude and behaviour 

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?

Love thy neighbours is seen as racist and edgy as it was  made in the 1970s therefore they don't have any regulation and cancelled culture whereas now they do therefore media now focus on that and follows  

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

someone who like bad behaviour is more likely to do it when they get experience when playing a violent game as they like the feeling this would be the preferred reading 

Games don't cause violence and it doesn't harm out children and allows them to engage in another world which is fun for them this is the oppositional reading  

some games withhold violence and do have an impact on children but not all and they sometimes use it as an escape from ordinary reality