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 the media is responsible for antisocial behaviour and violence as social learning is clear to be the reason 

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.  young people observe and model influencers online on platforms like TikTok or Instagram following trends and fashion, because of this they learn the bad and good behaviour. 

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? 

 Violent Video Games (1990s–2000s) - Doom were portrayed as corrupting youth and directly linked to real-world violence. While violent games can increase short-term aggression, there is little evidence they cause criminal violence led to stricter parental controls, and ongoing debates about gaming culture.

Crack Cocaine Epidemic (1980s–1990s) - was contributed to addiction and crime, but the scale of the panic was exaggerated. The panic fuelled the War on Drugs, mandatory minimum sentences, and mass incarceration.

Youth Subcultures - In the 1960s, clashes between Mods and Rockers were sensationalized as “orgies of hooliganism” by newspapers. Most young people in these subcultures were harmless, but media coverage painted them as “folk devils.” These panics shaped public attitudes toward youth, leading to policies like Anti-Social Behaviour Orders in the UK.

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.  Online child safety, digital privacy and cyber security.

5) Do you think the internet should be regulated? Should the government try and control what we can access online? I think the government should control kids in the age in primary school for online safety reason but give freedom after for kids to experience what real life online danger looks like to be aware  

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. 

I believe the internet is contributing to a more fearful society. We are constantly exposed to media that negatively shapes our mindsets, leading to biased perspectives on the world and fostering a pessimistic outlook. This environment makes us more vulnerable to threats, trolling, and online violence its often because we have engaged in similar behaviours ourselves. As a result, harmful actions are frequently dismissed as harmless jokes, provided they do not directly affect us. Excessive internet use is concerning, as it distances us from genuine human interaction and the realities of the offline world.

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 play Fortnite which is violent but I am not violent in real life 

2) What are the four categories for different effects theories?  Direct Effect Theories, Diffusion Theories, Indirect Effect Theories,  Pluralist Approach

3) What are the examples provided for the hypodermic needle theory - where media texts have been blamed for certain events? Marilyn Manson for the Columbine High School shootings

4) What was the 1999 Columbine massacre? You may need to research this online in addition to the information on the factsheet.   In 1999 , a school shooting that left 14 people dead and was done by two students

5) What are the reasons listed on the factsheet to possibly explain the Columbine High School massacre?  If people just banned Marilyn Manson, it would look like the problem was solved and that the tragedy wouldn’t happen again, since that’s the easy answer. But if you actually try to deal with all the bigger social and money issues behind it, that’s way harder and kind of makes it seem like the whole society is at fault.

6) How does the factsheet describe Gerbner's Cultivation theory?  The way the media affects attitudes rather than behaviour

7) What does the factsheet suggest about action films and the values and ideologies that are reinforced with regards to violence? violence that's bad must be punished but the ones that's good is okay to be done 

8) What criticisms of direct effect theories are suggested in the factsheet? Children are frequently regarded as requiring protection from the influence of certain ideas and values. This concern has prompted the prohibition of fast‑food advertising during children’s television programming, in response to growing anxieties surrounding nutrition and childhood obesity. Such restrictions have effectively removed positive portrayals of fast food from the media. Likewise, limitations have been imposed on the ways in which alcohol may be represented in advertising.

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? its seemed to modern viewers as  racist and offensive.

10) What examples are provided for Hall's theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings? ( Potential readings can, therefore, be:

• the dominant reading

o an acceptance of the intended meaning

• a negotiated reading

o a broad acceptance of the intended meaning but with

some personal modification

• an oppositional reading

o an understanding of the intended meaning but a rejection

of it in favour of one created by the individual )