Starting with the digital revolution in the 1990s when the world made a step forward personalized media moved away from the “tyranny of mass media”, people consumed only the content they found useful and meaningful (Jenkins 244). We got our media choices. With the active development of the digital and media world, these choices become more and more evident. Whether it is at home, at work, at school, or even on the run, people are surrounded by media, in its various manifestations. And the more time passes, the more we get used to this close connection. As Prensky says, while the previous generation consists of “digital immigrants” the present one contains “digital natives”, the people who can not imagine their lives without technologies and media (2). Considering this, the social relevance of media consumption is hard to overestimate. According to Merrin, the question of consumption, which the author defines as “the experience of a distributed product” and “the audience’s reception”, has been the primary interest in mass media studies (146). That is why this topic is chosen as the focus of future research.
Numerous studies have already addressed the same or related topics. Cole et al. conducted worldwide research in such countries as Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, and others to find out the prevalence and character of Internet usage (6). The results show that Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, and Canada have the highest penetration rates, which are more than 80% (Cole et al. 36). The authors also focus on many factors that will be discussed in my research: age, gender, education level, income level, etc. They show that males use the Internet more than females, that there is a direct proportionality between the education level and the frequency of Internet usage, and that people 18-24 years old are the most common users. This study will significantly contribute to my research since it addresses the same factors; however, those are considered only regarding the Internet. Many studies have also investigated the usage of mobile phones. In 2014, almost 90% of Americans had cell phones, with the greater prevalence among men than women and almost the same rates among the age groups of 18-29 and 30-49 years (PewResearchCenter par. 11). Rice and Katz state that the use of the Internet and mobile devices are very similar, and that users differ from nonusers mainly by income and education level (597). The rate of TV consumption is no less than those of the Internet and mobile phones. As Christakis claims, the majority (more than 90%) of children nowadays begin to watch television before they turn two years old, even though it is not recommended (8). When people grow up, they watch TV no less, and sports channels, programs about celebrities, and various reality shows are especially popular (Lundy, Ruth, and Park 208).
With this in mind, it can be assumed that such factors as age, gender, education level, income household, employment status, the Internet-connect at home, and the number of people and teens living in households allow us to predict media consumption in our society. All of the aforementioned factors should be taken as independent variables to answer the research question, which is what impacts media consumption in our society.
Works Cited
Christakis, Dimitri A. “The effects of infant media usage: what do we know and what should we learn?” Acta Paediatrica 98.1 (2009): 8-16. Print.
Cole, Jeffrey, Michael Suman, Phoebe Schramm, Liuning Zhou, Andromeda Salvador Tang, and Harlan Lebo. World Internet Project International Report. 4th ed. 2012. Los Angeles, California: Center for the Digital Future. Print.
Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York, New York: NYU Press, 2006. Print.
Lundy, Lisa K., Amanda M. Ruth, and Travis D. Park. “Simply Irresistible: Reality TV Consumption Patterns.” Communication Quarterly 56.2 (2008): 208-225. Print.
Merrin, William. Media Studies 2.0. New York: New York: Routledge, 2014. Print.
PewResearchCenter. Mobile Technology Fact Sheet 2014. Web.
Prensky, Marc. “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.” On the Horizon 9.5 (2001): 1-6. Print.
Rice, Ronald E. and James E. Katz. “Comparing Internet and mobile phone usage: digital divides of usage, adoption, and dropouts.” Telecommunications Policy 27 (2003): 597-623. Print.