Introduction
As seen during the last few years, the mass media are a dynamic phenomenon. It has been beneficial and vital in shaping and extracting the public’s opinion. This concept also serves to reflect their thoughts on several pertinent problems. It has served as a conduit for communication with individuals all around the globe, exposing them to new things.
The mass media have undergone significant alterations, additions, and adjustments throughout the years. The media and society now interact in far more complicated ways, continually supplying information to people who need it. The Internet is among the most effective means of connecting with a big group of people and the most recent addition to mass media. With the introduction of the World Wide Web, the two-way communication between the public and the media started to shift and greatly expand. The discussion below will focus on the essence of mass media, the current trends within the scope given, and the phenomenon’s importance, benefits, and drawbacks, providing several solutions to the issues and refuting possible counterarguments.
Mass Media as a Modern Influential Phenomenon
The notion of’ mass media’ is deceptively straightforward. It covers a vast diversity of organizations and people with varying goals, purviews, approaches, and cultural contexts. Any informational channel that reaches huge populations is considered mass media, from a homemade sign to a global news network (White 407). No set size for the audience is required for communications to become ‘mass’ communications. Then, there are no restrictions on the information that may be displayed.
The concept has been used to describe the collection of business organizations, editors, reporters, and others who compose the communication sphere and profession in everyday use. The entertainment and journalistic sectors are included in this description. Another often-used term is ‘news media,’ particularly when discussing armed warfare (White 407). The news industry is included in news media and is often referenced synonymously with the ‘press’ or the crew of writers and newscasters.
Such a description of mass media in 2023 is too limited. Anybody may publish whatever they want, factual or untrue, on social media platforms like Instagram or YouTube, with little to no monitoring or restriction. Consequently, ‘bots,’ or computers, are increasingly often used. They produce millions of false, almost invariably provocative tales and publish them extensively on social media applications while impersonating actual individuals, even well-known acquaintances of real people.
This is supposed to impact public opinion in favor of the extremes dramatically. In the United States, for instance, it may lead conservatives to believe that liberals are more terrible than they are, while doing the reverse for liberals. Consequently, the public and decision-makers are becoming increasingly polarized, rendering the political systems completely ineffective.
Internet as a Communication Medium
Many distinctive features of the Internet can be considered a dynamic, interactive medium. In other words, the World Wide Web is a two-way means of communication. A person who utilizes the Internet is referred to as a user instead of a viewer or listener. The term’ user’ suggests controllability and activity (Neuner et al. 270). Internet users can create their own data or constantly pursue and use the information on the Web. Then, people evaluate the information offered and share their thoughts so others can view them.
Another feature of the Web’s engagement is active user interaction. Opinions and points of view are freely discussed online, and as compared to surfing the Internet, watching TV is still a passive experience, even if viewers may proactively choose a station. For people, one of the most imaginative inventions is the Internet (Neuner et al. 270).
Every element of our existence has been affected by it, including the culture, economics, health care system, and spirituality. Its most noticeable benefit is the effect it imposes upon the educational sector. The most current technological and scientific news and many research publications are now available to students.
The influence that mass media, via the Internet, has had on the generation of consumers, particularly children, adolescents, and youth, is among the most serious of the new problems brought to society. Several nations now recognize internet addictions as diseases, and recovery facilities have been set up to help patients get well. Scientific research indicates that a significant portion of Internet addicts are youngsters, who are more vulnerable to its detrimental effects. The Internet offers a variety of advantages and disadvantages.
Importance
In 2000, mass media dominated the industrial world; in 2023, the same will be true of non-industrialized societies. The radio in the vehicle, the desktop and tablet, the flyers in the mailbox, the TV in the living room, and now—maybe most significantly—the cell device are just a few of the broadcast platforms that regularly distribute commercials, information, commentary, entertainment, and other types of mass communication.
Since they are so pervasive, the media significantly affects how we see the outside environment. Most people know about politicians and current affairs from the media (Artieri and Laura Gemini 565). One way of utilizing media, whether a qualified journalist or a ‘citizen journalist’ sharing via social media, is virtually exclusively how people learn about events in the bigger community, the region, the nation, and the world.
The media chooses what to report; therefore, these channels do not just convey information but also produce it to influence public opinion. After determining something is noteworthy, mass media decide on how much attention or space to devote to it, who to speak to, what images to utilize, and the best way to present it. Editors often think about but seldom articulate how management’s prejudices and interests would affect these choices (Artieri and Laura Gemini 569). These choices shape the audience’s perspective on the world, and those who impact the mentioned choices also impact the audience.
The media is crucial to conflict resolution as the main and usually the only source of conflict-related information. For most people, a scenario does not exist if it is not reported on in the media, which today includes social media. Peaceful solutions, like negotiating and other cooperative problem-solving strategies, become opaque and are less likely to be considered or even acknowledged as potential choices in handling a dispute when they are not discussed or their accomplishments are not recorded.
Benefits
An apparent benefit of mass media is that most individuals would not be aware of happenings outside of their area without it. Outside of one’s family and close friends, getting knowledge without using media is more time-consuming and costlier. Few, if any, people can keep abreast of international events on their own (Neuner et al. 269). However, all one needs to do to get information is switch on a TV or go online. Even when information is selective or constrained, it provides an overview of global events.
The wider the range of sources compared, the more precise the image may be created. There are a variety of independent news organizations along with the media giants; however, their readership is significantly smaller. Some attempt to publish articles that cannot be obtained from the mainstream media and provide an alternate perspective on events.
The same is true of social media in 2023; however, it is becoming harder to distinguish between ‘genuine’ and fake posts, for example, by Russian propaganda. Nevertheless, reading newspapers and watching broadcasts worldwide are now available thanks to the Internet. Although language barriers might exist, residing in the US and accessing Chinese publications online or watching broadcasts in Arabic from the Middle East is feasible. Access to these many viewpoints reduces the influence of information monopolies.
Information can be communicated swiftly in times of crisis, which is another significant advantage of working with mass media. A big population may be warned of a tornado or hurricane, giving them time to prepare and evacuate away from danger (Neuner et al. 272). A radio broadcast describing the location of the most recent combat in a war-torn nation might warn people to stay away from certain places.
When things are calmer, the media may provide more helpful notifications, such as traffic updates or advice on preventing HIV. It is a force that promotes civility and stability within the global scope. However, it should be recognized that mass media are still reasonably associated with several drawbacks that mainly refer to the breach of data privacy. The following solutions might contribute to addressing the issue.
Solutions
Researchers and the general public have a right to understand how social media companies obtain and exploit user data, yet social media presents a “transparency paradox.” However, safeguarding the security and privacy of user data is equally essential. Algorithmic openness that enables academics to study peer-to-peer information exchange without disclosing personal information would result in a better understanding of harmful usage and how to stop it (Brown). Such an approach should be implemented as it can be considered a possible solution.
The primary means individuals now arrange and access information is via mass media and search engines. The businesses that manage them are driven by profit rather than ideals like democratization or human rights, and sometimes, the most well-liked and lucrative speech encourages prejudice, false information, and divisiveness. Frictionless technologies that make it simple for people to retweet and distribute this sort of data contribute to the issue (Brown). To resolve the problem, the platforms must provide friction, which slows down online interactions and allows people to deliberate before releasing information.
The economic approach, in which networks sell users’ interests for advertising, is the foundation of social media business models. Nevertheless, what attracts attention is not necessarily beneficial to consumers or society. It could be beneficial to change company structures to exclude the attention economy. An alternative is subscription-based business structures unrelated to advertising (Brown). There is a risk if the finest, fact-checked material is only accessible via a barrier.
Counterarguments
The crucial counterargument is that mass media cannot be considered beneficial due to their essence. For example, the news media thrives on conflicts; the latest and most severe crime or tragedy is often the headline story for most news shows (Fuochi et al. 200). Media outlets benefit from conflict to draw listeners, readers, and viewers. Huge audiences are essential to the financial viability of media outlets, and the more conflict there is, the more viewers there will be.
To make conflicts seem fiercer than they are, it frequently serves the media’s aspiration to play them up in addition to reporting on them. However, such a position may be refuted because people nowadays retrieve news from online-based sources. These sources care about their content’s transparency and constantly provide additional links to original data sets.
Since the few large media corporations that own the majority of media outlets prioritize lucrative operations, the mass media must ‘sell’ in most industrialized nations. The CEOs are under constant pressure to provide substantial profits from their shareholders’ investments (Fuochi et al. 195). However, commercializing mass media platforms is founded mainly on viewer-centered advertisements and broadcasting that take into account the importance of sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and transparency.
Conclusion
The above discussion will center on the fundamentals of mass media, the most recent developments relevant to the topic, and the phenomenon’s significance, advantages, and disadvantages. It will also provide numerous solutions to the problems and disprove potential objections. Despite this phenomenon’s visible drawbacks, its benefits and potential solutions outweigh the mass media’s disadvantages. People must be well-acquainted with data filtration and use critical thinking while using the media. In this case, the explored platforms will contribute to productive interaction and information sharing worldwide.
Works Cited
Artieri, Giovanni, and Laura Gemini. “Mass Media and the Web in the Light of Luhmann’s Media System.” Current Sociology, vol. 67, no. 4, 2019, pp. 563–578. Web.
Brown, Sarah. “Social Media is Broken. A New Report Offers 25 Ways to Fix It.” Management Sloan School. 2021. Web.
Fuochi, Giulia, et al. “Is Negative Mass Media News Always Associated with Outgroup Prejudice? The Buffering Role of Direct Contact.” Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, vol. 23, no. 2, 2020, pp. 195–213. Web.
Neuner, Fabian, et al. “Mass Media as a Source of Public Responsiveness.” The International Journal of Press/Politics, vol. 24, no. 3, 2019, pp. 269–292. Web.
White, Peter. “The Putative Reader in Mass Media Persuasion – Stance, Argumentation and Ideology.” Discourse & Communication, vol. 14, no. 4, 2020, pp. 404–423. Web.