The Advancement of Mass Media and its Effects on Society: How Television and Social Media Affect People

Ever since newspapers were first printed and the radio became available to people, mass media has influenced people in numerous ways. As time passes on and technology advances, more and more people have access to multiple sources of mass media. With this happening, the effect that mass media has on people is even greater. There are several different ways mass media reaches people to get their attention or influence them. Mass media can take the form of television, radio broadcasts, and the internet. Although some forms of mass media are designed purely for entertainment, and not necessarily to influence people; in one way or another, more often mass media has ability to influence politics, change views, and connect people like never before. The forms of mass media have grown exponentially over the years, and those forms have become more common in the lives of people throughout the world. Where physical written forms of information, such as newspapers, were the primary source of information at one time, today’s society has mass media available to it in several different formats. Mass media has become a normal part of daily life. Because it has expanded into such accessible formats, mass media has been able to influence its audience in many ways.

The Influence of Television

The First Televised Presidential Debate

One of the first indications that mass media in the form of television would influence people was the response to the first televised presidential debate. During a typical presidential debate, candidates for the office answer questions about their policies in an effort to convince people to vote for them. On top of answering questions, candidates’ participation in debates gives voters a chance to get to know them on a more personal level. In 1960, the presidential debate between candidates John Kennedy and Richard Nixon was the first televised presidential debate which featured both presidential candidates. Prior to the debate, Nixon was on the campaign trail despite having the flu, and just before the debate, hit a previously injured knee when getting out of his car. Kennedy, on the other hand, spent the weekend in a hotel room preparing for the debate. The candidates’ appearances on the debate stage were strikingly different. Kennedy was tanned and sharply dressed in a dark suit and tie. Nixon, still running a temperature from his bout with the flu, appeared drained and ashen, and his gray suit faded into the backdrop of the set. As Kennedy answered questions, he looked directly into the cameras. Meanwhile, Nixon looked off to the sides at the reporters who asked the questions when giving his answers. The impact of televising the debate was fairly significant. “Before the debates, Nixon had the higher public profile as vice president to the popular President Dwight D. Eisenhower. So -- much like his challenge to veteran Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge in debates during a 1952 senatorial race -- Kennedy gained in stature simply by sharing the stage with his Republican opponent”. Botelho narrates in his article about the effects of the televised debate. With the advancement of televised broadcasts, people were able to see the candidates running for the presidency at the time. “Polls revealed that more than half of all voters had been influenced by the Great Debates, while 6 percent claimed that the debates alone had decided their choice. Whether or not the debates cost Nixon the presidency, they were a major turning point in the 1960 race—and in the history of television” . Six percent of voters changed their votes based on the televised debates. Interestingly, Kennedy was considered the debate winner by voters who watched the television broadcast, but those who listened to the debate on the radio instead declared Nixon the winner. The debate clearly influenced voters to vote based on who they liked based on what they saw on television.

Cable News Bias

Cable television subscriptions grew from 16 million households by the end of the 1970s to 53 million by the end of the 1980s. At the time cable television became more popular, there were three major news networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, and each had nightly 30-minute broadcasts. In June, 1980, the first 24-hour cable news network, the Cable News Network, or CNN, made its debut. Today, the two main 24-hour news networks are CNN and Fox News, and the channels report on news and politics. Each channel’s reporting reflects the political bias to cater to its audience. Fox News is favored by republican voters, while CNN is favored by democratic voters. “These are big effects, with major societal implications. The authors find that the Fox News effect translates into a 0.46 percentage point boost to the GOP vote share in the 2000 presidential race, a 3.59-point boost in 2004, and a 6.34-point boost in 2008; the boost increases as the channel's viewership grew. This effect alone is large enough, they argue, to explain all the polarization in the US public's political views from 2000 to 2008”. Fox News’ Republican-based news influences people who may not be Republican to vote in this sense. CNN is known to do the same for the Democratic party. With viewers watching only certain channels, a person’s political views could be changed by the network they watch.

The CNN Effect

News networks have the power to influence politicians and even the stock market. This is known as the CNN effect. “The CNN effect is a theory that 24-hour news networks, such as CNN, influence the general political and economic climate. Because media outlets provide ongoing coverage of a particular event or subject matter, the attention of viewers is narrowly focused for potentially prolonged periods of time”. The CNN effect is based on the news network’s view on a certain subject and can sway viewers in his or her understanding of the subject. This could have positive or negative effects for society. “This effect was first noted when heartbreaking footage of starving children in Somalia pressured U.S. officials to send troops there. Horrifying footage of Somalis dragging the body of a dead American soldier through the streets followed, prompting U.S. officials to withdraw”. The news networks can use foreign conflicts to pressure U.S. politicians to take action on foreign affairs. News networks could also use domestic conflicts to cause politicians to act. This tactic used by news networks is proof of influence of mass media upon society.

The Influence of Social Media

Accessibility of Social Media

Social media has become a portable source of mass media for every individual with a smart phone or tablet. “The pace of change is accelerating. For example, the development of mobile technology has played an important role in shaping the impact of social media. Across the globe, mobile devices dominate in terms of total minutes spent online. This puts the means to connect anywhere, at any time on any device in everyone’s hands”. The impact of having more people with access to social media, leads to these same people with access to mass media. An estimated total of 3.65 billion people own devices to access the internet, and of the total, 1.7 billion have active social media accounts. Having easy access to social media via mobile devices allows society to know more about current events throughout the world as they happen.

Social Media Platforms

Some of the most popular social media platforms are Facebook, Snapchat, and LinkedIn. There are many ways that social media platforms connect society, and one of the most effective ways is through online marketing. Particularly on Facebook, people with similar interests are targeted by online marketers with advertisements based on the group’s interest. “Facebook has a wide range of users globally, making it a perfect platform for companies to target their desired customer. With features like groups, pages and 'likes' it can also bring together a group of users with similar interests making it much easier for brands to target a larger audience all with their desired personas”. Facebook is not the only social media platform that does this though. There are many other social media platforms that follow this suit. Like Facebook, Snapchat was created to connect users through the internet. Snapchat allows for people to be able to send messages through chatting or sending pictures. By doing this, Snapchat can connect friends and family through the internet. “I was confused when my students first asked me to join Snapchat. I didn’t understand the appeal of an app with disappearing messages. But this is an appealing way to communicate for a generation that doesn’t like the commitment of making a Facebook post. I joined Snapchat in the spring of 2015 and started using it in broadcast journalism and field production classes at University of Maryland that summer”. Besides the connection that Snapchat can make with people, Snapchat has effectively inserted news and marketing videos into its platform. By doing this, Snapchat does not only just connect friends and family, it connects users to current events throughout the world. LinkedIn is a very useful source for people searching for jobs through the internet. LinkedIn allows for users to build resumes, search for jobs, and even connect with other members of the same career field. “The clean, streamlined design of a LinkedIn profile page is part of a conscious effort to put a professional polish on social networking sites. There have been several high-profile cases in the news of people being passed up for jobs, or even losing jobs, because of a poorly chosen photo or comment on their blog, MySpace or Facebook page'. LinkedIn is not the typical social media platform, but it is a very powerful tool to connect employers and employees.

Over the years, mass media has evolved with technology and has had an ever-growing effect on society. Mass media has grown enough to be at the hands of most people throughout the day, all day. Mass media in the form of television and social media connects, influences, and even changes views of the people who use them. Although there may be some negative effects of the constant use of mass media by society, the positive effects of mass media have given society ways to know more about current events throughout the world.

References

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