Audience theory 2: blog tasks

 Theory questions and your opinion

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

 I believe that certain parts of the media are influencing anti social behavior and violence such as the music industry as artist have large influence.

2) How is social learning theory relevant in the digital age? Are young people now learning behavior from social media and the internet? Give examples.  Yes young people are  learning their behavior and  beliefs from social media  and following what they believe for example Andrew Tate has a massive influence  and shaped some people belief and opinions 

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

 War on drugs which was when people will concerned about Drug trafficking and consumption which started in the 1970s. There  was  a Increase of drug consumption in society, In the years since, presidential administrations and Congress have generally maintained or expanded Nixon's original initiatives, with the emphasis on law enforcement and interdiction over public health and treatment. But it still fails as the war on Drugs continue now with fentanyl.

Another  one is Islamic terrorism  which  was a cause for  concern  as Arab and Muslim terrorism moral panic was started by the  September 11 attacks and has  been seen as resolved as many people understand not all Arab and Islamic people reflect what happened on September 11.

 Harry Potter panic was another one  and people concern was  That the book series was leading children into witchcraft and occultism., The cause for concern  was the  novels' themes of magic and witchcraft, anti-occult activism against the series This  is now  no longer  a  moral panic as people view it as entertainment.

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.

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

No because the Internet is nearly impossible to regulate and regulating it will make people angry as free speech will  not be free any more 

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

When it comes to the internet, constant exposure to online threats, trolling, and abuse can make us feel either more fearful or less sensitive to it over time. As we spend more time online, especially in toxic spaces, we might start to see the world as a more hostile place or become numb to the harm happening around us. This shows us  how heavy internet use is impacting our mental health and society.

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?') Yes I do play violent video games but no I am not violent  as I'm able to distance myself and not be actually influenced  by wants happening in the game. I sometimes products that are advertised. I have seen a documentary that shaped my view point  

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

• Direct Effect Theories

• Diffusion Theories

• Indirect Effect Theories

• The Pluralist Approach

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

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

 was a school shooting and attempted bombing that occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered twelve students and one teacher. Ten of the twelve students killed were in the school library, where Harris and Klebold subsequently died by suicide. Twenty-one additional people were injured by gunshots, and gunfire was also exchanged with the police. Another three people were injured trying to escape. The Columbine massacre was the deadliest mass shooting at a K-12 school in U.S. history, until December 2012. Columbine is still considered one of the most infamous massacres in the U.S. for inspiring many other school shootings and bombings; the word "Columbine" has since become a 

word for modern school shootings. As of 2024, Columbine is still the deadliest school shooting in Colorado and one of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States.

Harris and Klebold, who planned for at least a year and hoped to have a large number of victims, intended for the attack to primarily be a bombing and only secondarily a shooting. But when several homemade bombs they planted in the school failed to detonate, the pair launched a shooting attack. Their motive remains inconclusive. The police were slow to enter the school and were heavily criticized for not intervening during the shooting

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

The Columbine High School shootings occurred due

to a complex relationship between:*

•  The ease of access to firearms and the social acceptance of gun ownership
•  The alienation felt by teenagers who felt as though they did not fit in the hopelessness caused by living in an area where unemployment was high and was economically disadvantaged.
• The general desensitization caused by access to a range of violent images: film, TV, the news, the internet

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

critics see both these direct theories as having an elitist element suggesting a judgement is being made about the mass audience as they are assumed to be easily led and not perceptive or self-aware. The individual nature of the members  of the audience is not taken into account.

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

 It suggest that  action films encourage violence to be done in society. 

8) What criticisms of direct effect theories are suggested in the factsheet? that the theory's  such as  the Hypodermic Syringe Theory is simplistic and outdated. The Cultivation Theory is seen as based on the  elitist point of view.

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

appears to many modern

it  be may viewed  viewers, racist and offensive. Times have changed and so have people’s attitudes and values. What was acceptable as the topic for comedy some decades ago, and will no  longer be viewed as acceptable. The shows that people opinions change drastically over time,

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

 Love Thy Neighbor, video games, films.