Lecture 24 Flashcards
(36 cards)
What stories covered is determined by? (three things)
- Who can buy the products and what events interest these people (stock marke
- Soft stories and entertainment
- Scandals and sensational stories
● The media agenda is also influenced by the corporate structure of media ownership
What is important to note about media?
They are also businesses.
They write stories that give them most ad revenue
What is New Media?
New media are defined as accessible on demand, digital, and is interactive, meaning users may comment and provide feedback.
● Social media is a new type of media
that allows for the creation and online
sharing of information in communities
and networks
What is social media used for?
Social media is used mainly for interaction and are fulfilling important social functions.
● More and more people are seeking
companionship through social media
What are some positive influences of the media?
● Youth today are more accepting of differences
● Less likely to alienate their peers
● Accepting of peers who are not heterosexual
● Strengthened relationships
● Feeling more included in communities
● Being able to seek help when needed
● Educational resources
● Political participation and social activism
Positive social well-being associated with…
face-to-face communication
negative social well-being associated…
online multitasking and uses of online technologies for communication
Do people have a dependency on social media / phones?
Canadian MediaSmarts national survey of
over 5000 students (grades 4 through 11) found that “thirty-nine percent of students who have cell phones sleep with them in case they get calls or messages during the night
What is the Digital divide? (within and between countries)
The inequality in terms of access to and use of information and communication technologies.
● Within a country, divides exists between individuals, households, and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels.
● Between countries, divide is referred to as the global digital divide; measures the gap between the digital access and use of technologies across countries.
Which countries have technological access?
Western and “developed countries”
See noticeable lack in Africa
How can we measure the digital divide (3 ways)?
- Access (first level)
- Inequalities experienced online (second level)
- Different uses and degrees of digital capital can generate different forms of
reward (social, personal, economic, political and cultural) and tangible outcomes to reinvest and use in the social realm (third level)
What were early theories of collective behaviour?
Sub-type of collective behaviour along with panics, crazes, crowds, rumours, and riot
How we behave in crowds is_________?
sharply different from how we behave in “normal” life
What are Social movements?
sustained challenges to existing holders of power in the name of a wronged population.
● This population could , BUT doesnt have to, be a group who feels that its rights have not been respected.
● Members of movements engage in protesting, occupying buildings, sending emails to political leaders, and striking to achieve social change
Charles Tilly theorized that social movements require five main elements:
- Offering sustained challenge to power holders demonstrating commitment.
- Engaging those with power by people with less power.
- Representing a wronged population.
- Disrupting the daily routines of power holders using tactics outside regular politics.
- Depending on the worthiness, unity, numbers, and commitment of its members (WUNC)
What are “Contextual factors” in Social Movements?
broader structural and cultural conditions that facilitate and constrain the emergence and operation of social movements.
What are “Dimensions” in social movements?
characteristic aspects of social movements,
such as organizational forms, leadership, tactical repertoires, collective action frames, emotion, collective identity
What is the Collective action (free rider) problem?
People will avoid going to protests because they don’t believe they can make a difference by doing so.
● People tend to avoid participating in collective action because they still benefit from whatever is gained whether they contribute or not
What does the Collective action (free rider) problem suggest?
This suggests collective action is unlikely to occur even when large groups of people have common interests
Social movements often fight for
public goods, therefore…
(Non excludable and non rivalrous)
One person cannot reasonably prevent
another from consuming the good
(non-excludable) and one person’s
consumption of the good does not
affect another’s (non-rivalrous).
Different methods of engaging in social movements vary along
two main dimensions:
Risk
Cost
The risk associated with the activity
● Potential participants must weigh what risks they are willing to
take for the level of risk they are comfortable with will determine
how or if they participate.
The cost of engaging
● Potential participants must think about how much in terms of time
and resources they are willing to incur in order to participate in a
social movement.
What type of protest do more people engage in?
Petitioning
(Low risk and low cost)
What is Structural Strain Theory? (Early theory)
Social movements emerge from grievances that people had in common
Structural conditions
Social tensions that bring deprivation
to people’s awareness
** Important: The same people that are marching are the people with the grievances
What is Resources Mobilization Theory?
Move away from seeing protestors as insane
Violence is less an inherent quality of the mobilized people then an emergent product of the interactions between protesters and authorities (police usually start shit anyways)
- Rational actors
- Group actors (like minded people)
