Mass Media

In social science, mass media refers to the mediums, or channels of communication, used to transmit information to large numbers of people through mass communication. The mediums of mass media are books, newspapers, magazines, film, radio, television, audio and music recordings, and the internet. These forms can be categorized under print, broadcast, and digital technologies.

Mass media serves to inform and entertain. It provides a means to disseminate news, opinions, advocacy, and advertising. The five main functions of mass media are surveillance of the environment, correlation, cultural transmission, entertainment, and mobilization. Mass media is an inescapable and influential part of everyday life. The mediums of mass media help to cultivate perceptions of the world. Mass media fosters the cultural growth of society and the individual.

Brief History

Mass media provides the vehicle for mass communication, the imparting of information on a large scale to a wide audience. Through mass communication, a message is transmitted through one of the mediums of mass media, such as print, broadcast, or the internet. The message is delivered quickly, and the audience receives it simultaneously.

The history of mass media is tied to advances in mass communication. The first attempts at written communication started about 3500 BCE with pictographs, symbols used to represent objects, and the stones on which they were carved, the medium of transmission. This developed into phonetic writing, when people began to use symbols to convey sounds, around 1000 BCE.

As people learned to write, societies became more literate and communication became more widespread. In 1455, Johannes Gutenberg invented a printing press with movable type that allowed for the mass production of books, the first mass medium.

Books, newspapers, and magazines were the only mass media in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first half of the twentieth century introduced the audiovisual mediums of recordings, films, radio, and television.

The advent of computer technology in the later twentieth century marked a significant breakthrough in mass media. Computers can store vast amounts of information electronically and send it rapidly. The internet, an interconnected system of computer networks, enabled the spread of digital delivery.

Mass media primarily facilitates one-way or "one to many" communication, the simultaneous transmission of information from one person or entity to large groups of people. It is a form of impersonal communication through which the audiences, the receivers of information, cannot provide immediate feedback to the senders.

With the advent of computer networking, however, mass media has evolved to include two-way and "many to many" communication. Through the internet, mass media has become a form of interpersonal communication, through which two or more people can directly share their thoughts with each other. People reading, listening, or watching a medium can communicate with others doing the same thing at the same time through internet chatrooms and social media platforms.

Topic Today

According to industry studies, adults have come to spend a significant amount of their waking lives utilizing mass media. Mass media and its many forms impact people and the daily decisions they make on economic, social, and cultural levels.

Mass media's five main functions are surveillance of the environment, correlation, cultural transmission, entertainment, and mobilization. Surveillance of the environment concerns spreading information about events and conditions throughout the world. Correlation means that mass media explains, interprets, and comments on information and events. Cultural transmission expresses the values of a society. Entertainment provides amusement, relaxation, and recreation. Mobilization draws people into the processes of making change in society.

Books, newspapers, and magazines fall under print media. Books, the oldest mass medium, are bound copies of pages. They include religious and secular texts, nonfiction and fiction, works of literature, and a multitude of genres, including mystery, science fiction, and romance.

Newspapers appeared about two hundred years after the invention of the printing press. Newspapers disseminate information and news, the latest in current events, to the public. They also include advertisements, the promotion of products and services for sale.

Magazines are periodical publications. They began covering the interests of the wealthy but then grew to appeal to the masses by including articles on a variety of topics. Magazines can be categorized by special interests and general interests.

Film, radio, television, and recorded audio/music are considered broadcast media. Film, or movies, developed in the late nineteenth century. The concept of moving pictures provided a new form of entertainment to the public on a mass level. It took traditional entertainment based on stories, including drama, comedy, and musicals, and presented it in an audiovisual medium.

Radio is the over-the-air transmission of information. When it was introduced in the 1920s, radio offered the public a free means to listen to music, serial programming, and news updates.

Television's rise in the mid-twentieth century marked a new age in the distribution of information to a wide audience. Television touted the novel ability to transmit pictures and audio live to people in their own homes.

Audio and music recordings allow songs or other forms of entertainment to be replayed for mass audiences. Recordings have evolved from records, cassettes, and compact discs to digital music files that can be downloaded and heard on personal music players or smartphones.

The internet is the newest mass medium and uses digital technology. The internet started with the goal of facilitating professional communication and the exchange of data, but it quickly grew into a medium to provide public and immediate access to information, consumer services, the advertising of goods and services, and additional forms of communication. Traditional forms of mass media, including print and broadcast, have turned to the internet to deliver their services.

Debate has raged over whether to include cell phones and video games as forms of mass media. Cell phones, which became internet accessible in the early twenty-first century, foster the spread of information and entertainment through social media and various applications. Video games provide interactive amusement for players, are widely available, and can be played with others through online communities.

The mediums of mass media shape people's perceptions of life and culture. People can find information in a variety of ways, from picking up a newspaper to using a phone to search for a news website. Books, television, and movies put societal issues and themes in context and provide diversions from the daily grind. Mass media influences the decisions people make, from which movie to see to which candidate to vote for.

Mass media connects all of humankind. As its different forms grow and develop to meet the needs of a changing society, individuals continue to learn more about themselves and the world in which they live.

Bibliography

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McQuail, Denis, and Mark Deuze. McQuail's Mass Communication Theory. 7th ed., Sage Publications, 2020.

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"Understanding Mass Media: Types, Functions, and Examples." Chitkara University, 20 Aug. 2023, www.chitkara.edu.in/blogs/understanding-mass-media-types-functions-and-examples/. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.