MED503 Digital Media Technology Report: Media's Role in Society

This report analyzes the role of digital media in contemporary society, addressing its impact on daily life, individual habits, and social reproduction. It explores why people develop habitual media consumption patterns, drawing on theories like media rituals and the influence of repetitive behaviors. The report also examines the types of media from which children need protection, including violent video games, music videos, and content-heavy magazines, highlighting potential negative effects on their development. Furthermore, it investigates the connection between media and the reproduction of society, discussing concepts like representation, social reproduction, and hegemony, and how media content shapes individual interests and societal norms. The report concludes by emphasizing the significant influence of media on individual thought processes and its contribution to social reproduction through shared habits and media use.

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Question 1........................................................................................................................................2
Question 2........................................................................................................................................3
Question 3 :......................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Media plays an important role in everyday life as the same provides news and information about
local surroundings as well as a global state. It gives chance to citizens to interact with their
society while playing the role of intermediate between these two. Different media present
information in different ways and influence people differently. It means there is no certain way
to decide which media would hit whom in what manner. The report presented hereby has the aim
to develop an understanding of the topic of media, its use in daily life and the impact of the
same. Three major questions related to the role of media in daily life will be answered here. At
last, a conclusion summarizing key findings of the report will also be placed at the end of the
report.
Question 1
“With all of the choices on offer, why are people so habitual in their media use?”
In everyday life, habits matter for individuals as they are hard to break and people start feeling
anxiety where they are not able to pursue these habits as they become addicted to the same.
People often do not allow changes in their life at all and this is the reason that many times they
pursue their habits such as reading newspapers very seriously for no reason. One of the media
theorist Nick Couldry (2003) considered media routines as media rituals (Fortner and Fackler,
2014). His statement makes a deep sense as when rituals become practice/habits they become
self-referential and aim to attain certain things. It means they become meaningful in themselves.
This is the reason that questing rituals as well as disrupting them is nearly impossible. For
example, one may hate politics and can make the media choices accordingly. At first instance, it

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reflects as a matter of rational choice but soon the person keeps making the same choice not
because he rationally hates politics but for the reason of developing those choices into habits
(Markham, 2017, p, 11). Further, these habits become as strong with time as it can set aside
anything on the contrary.
At the initial level, media consumption behaviors are goal-directed that further develop in media
habits. James and Triandis have defined habits as automatic where it was believed that it is a
process that runs itself, one started and does not require further conscious guidance (LaRose,
2010). The concept given by Nick Couldry is very important in understanding the reason why
people become very habitual in their media use. Contentious use of media turns into a ritual that
slowly becomes a habit that is as strong as it further pushes repetition of the behavior. When
people pay attention to a particular type of news or media, the chances of exertion of power by
them also enhances. People tend to stick to the media that confirm their thoughts and becomes
habitual by repeating their behavior over that particular type of media. How important this media
becomes a habit can be understood by having a look after the story of the British newspaper "The
Guardian" that underwent a visual revamp in 2004. It reshuffles the content and looks of paper
that dissatisfied many of its customers as they had developed a habit of filling crossword and the
changes are done by paper disrupted their routines. It clearly shows that people became habitual
of the crossword thing as they have made the same as routine and ritual. Hence conclusively can
state that media serves on their basis, people come across a similar type of media daily without
looking after changes in it, hence it becomes a ritual that further makes people so habitual in
their media use.

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Question 2
“What kinds of media do children need to be protected from?”
Media is accessible to people of all age group however all kind of media is not suitable for
everyone. Many media contain adult or violent content and are likely to affect negatively
children. In such a situation, it becomes necessary for a parent to pay consideration over such
media and to ensure that children are protected from the same. During their early years, children
develop values, attitudes, and behavior patterns, which further shape their lives. As discussed in
the answers to the above-mentioned questions, media has a powerful impact on the everyday life
of people and the chances of such influence enhance when the audience is children. The very
first type of media that children need protection from is a music video that has a significant
impact on the behavior of children. They often desensitize viewers with respect to violence as
well as make children more likely to pursue premarital sex. As per the data presented by the
American Academy of Pediatrics, nearly 75 percent video carries sexually explicit material and
nearly 50 percent of the present violence that too against a woman. In such a way, these videos
influence children’s behavior about sex roles. Apart from this, these videos are also likely to
reinforce false stereotypes. They over and under-represent a particular race that creates social
issues. Not only video presentations but also lyrics of the same are mostly being about drugs,
sex, and violence. Therefore parents are required to monitor the kind of music videos children
watches and to protect them if they are not suitable for having the above-mentioned elements.
The second type of media magazines where a woman magazine carries adult content and are
admirable candour about sex. The same outlines sex methods or methods to please men

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(Markham, 2017, p. 15). Such content negatively affects children's psychology where they start
considering sex as a very important part of life and pays attention to it. It disturbs their studies
and normal behavioral patterns. The video game is another type of media that children need to be
protected from. Violent video games negatively affect the mental development of children. In
addition to this, the impact of violent video games on children's health remained a matter of
concern. Television became a very important type of media that is being used by most of the
children these days. In general, televisions are the potential to create positive and negative
impacts. The individual development level of each child decides whether the media (television)
would have a positive or negative impact. Breweries Company spends millions of dollars each
year for broadcasting their advertisement on television. They have slogans like “real” men drink
alcohol (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2020). It gives negative lessons to children and provokes them to have
smoking or alcohol. Data suggest that such advertisements increase the use of alcohol. Not only
advertisement but some programs also provide content that pursues negative behavior among
children. Hence the type of media discussed hereby consider as dangerous for children and they
should be protected from the same.
Question 3 :
How are media connected to the reproduction of society?
Representation and reproduction are different concepts that follow one another. Before
understanding the way in which media connects to the reproduction of the society, first
representation by the same needs to understand. Everyday life approach states that it is not a
different concept that exists out there but it is just another part of the environment we are leaving
in. Understanding representations by media is a difficult thing where one cannot decide whether

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media represent something that affects people or it represents something that already is affecting
people. Many theorists have tried to resolve the relationship between the kind of people they are
and the type of media they are using. People are very much predictable when it comes to their
media habits and tastes, but this does not make them sheep.
By the above-mentioned discussion, it is clear that media represent certain behavior and
phenomena. Now to discuss the term reproduction of society in media context this is to state that
it presents a big picture of media and its power. Sociologist Anthony Giddens has shown his
interest in the process of social reproduction, starting from a functionalist view of things. He has
focused on the fact that how despite all the changes through news ideas and technology, why and
how society is geared towards the preservation of the states of social and political issues. Here
these social issues refer to the uneven distribution of power among people who comes from a
different background as well as different genders. First, it is about the issue itself and secondly, it
is about the power of media. Stephen Lukes (1974) has tried to explain the power of media
through three dimensions, where the first dimension is straightforward. According to this
dimension, media exert power on an individual by showing the things they do not agree with.
The next dimension is about agenda setting. Under this structure, media exert power on an
individual while hiding information from them, which are most important for them. The last
dimension is more insidious still where media shows its power by shaping the interest and
desires of people. Individuals may think that they have their interests and thoughts but in reality,
the same is a result of media influence (Markham, 2017, p, 5)
In such a situation, it becomes necessary to understand what role media plays in social
reproduction. Giddens believed that along with the wider structural forces, our practices of
everyday life are equally important in such reproduction. It means one cannot believe in the

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happening of social reproduction without the thing that people do in their daily lives. It means
that social reproduction in its current form can be stopped by changing regular individual habits,
especially those that involve media. Now the issue in it is the fact that in reality, these practices
related to media and the things that people do with the media are not individual and many people
share the same. People often get influenced by each other in many social aspects, the same goes
for their media use. They start using the same media and start sharing the same news, this
process contributes to social reproduction. Nevertheless, this is to state that if to stick with
Giddens, neither individual habits nor opinions are all unique and their own nor they are
influenced by others. In the midst of everyday life, there is a moment where anything could
happen. While considering the role that media plays in social reproduction, the concept of
hegemony seems necessary to discuss. The concept refers to the dominance of one group over
another. Media represent some particular set of circumstances that are associated with political
and economic reality. Through hegemony, these sets make dominating influence on people and
become part of their lives over a while, they start being ok with them, in this manner pass these
opinions to others, and contribute in social reproduction.
Conclusion
To conclude this report this is to state that in everyday life, media has its great significance that
influences the thought process of people. The habits and thinking of individuals are not purely
their own and often influence others. People copy media use of others and in such a situation
media pursue social reproduction. Further, when people use media daily, it becomes ritual that
further converts into a habit and people pursue such use as long as they can. Lastly, some types
of media that produce negative results in the physical and mental development of children have

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also been discussed. Women magazines, music videos, and television have found as some of the
media types that children need to be protected from.
References
Fortner, R.S. and Fackler, P.M. eds., 2014. The handbook of media and mass communication
theory. John Wiley & Sons
LaRose, R., 2010. The problem of media habits. Communication Theory, 20(2), pp.194-222.
Markham, T. (2017) Media and Everyday Life. UK: Macmillan International Higher Education.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. (2020) Impact of media use on children and youth. [online] Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2792691/#b45-pch08301 [Accessed on
23/03/2020]