Sunday 25 November 2018

Audience Theory 2

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? Yes, I think the media is massively responsible for anti-social behaviour and violence because on websites such as Youtube there are videos that glamorise anti-social behaviour and violence which leads to young people/ teenagers being violent. 

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. Social learning theory is relevant in the digital age because social media pages such as Instagram allow people to share videos and anyone can view the video. An example of this is the Dele Ali challenge. Dele Ali shared a video of him doing a trick which went viral and this led to everyone trying to do what he has done.

3) Research five 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? 1. One moral panic that everyone has been worried about recently is when Donald Trump became president. This was a massive concern for some people as they were not sure what Donald Trump would do with his powers. 2. Another moral panic is that people have been worried about the increase in terrorist attacks and the media has been building up on this topic which led to public concerns. 3. The third moral panic has been knife crime in London. The massive increase in knife crime has led to parents being concerned about their children as there has been stabbings all over London. In March 2018 there has been over 40,000 people carry knives or have been injured by knives. This has been the highest in the last 8 years. This is a huge concern because people are worried to leave their house as they might be interrupted by youths and get stabbed or threatened. As a result of the increase, the mayor of London has had more police officers patrolling London and more stop and searches have been taking place. 4. Another moral panic was Ebola. Ebola was the headline of all media products and created fear for everyone as it could be easily transmitted by simply just touching someone. There were over 12,000 victims of Ebola and 4,000 dead.
The fifth moral panic within the last 50 years has been Islamophobia. After the 9/11 attacks people have hated Muslims and have blamed Muslims for the attack. The media have had headlines which made Muslims look evil.
        
4) Read this introduction to an academic paper on technopanics. What examples are given of technopanics that create fear in society? The examples are: Online child safety, digital privacy, and cybersecurity. 

5) How does the author suggest that technopanics should be addressed - rather than through government regulation? The author suggests that technopanics should be addressed by ongoing societal learning, experimentation, resiliency, and coping strategies rather than by regulation.

6) Do you think the internet should be regulated? Should the government try and control what we can access online? No I don't think the internet should be regulated. In my opinion, adults should be able to access whatever they'd like on the internet however, for children there is a parental control option which prevents children from accessing things they shouldn't.

7) 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?  Gerbner's theory states that high frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the belief that they are real and valid. Yes, the internet is creating a fearful population as there are always videos being shared of things such as shootings, stabbings, police brutality. This causes the population to believe that this is happening everywhere when it isn't e.g. police brutality often happens in America however, people who aren't from America might start assuming this also takes place in their current country.

8) Is heavy internet use something we should be worried about in society? How would you define 'heavy internet use'? Yes heavy internet use is something be should be extremely worried about. This is because people are starting to stay home more rather than going out and meeting up with friends and family. They are forgetting basic verbal communication skills as they've become so used to texting. Heavy internet use also leads to people staying home more and this is possibly one of the factors of the obesity crisis as people are just staying home, using their phones and eating. I would define heavy internet use as: When someone does not go out often to meet up with friends and family, often binge watches the latest series and uses more than 2-3 hours of their day on social media.

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