The role of media
Media play an important role in our daily lives. It shapes our perceptions and helps us interact with people from different cultures. A media blackout means taking a break away from media and staying away from the internet, watching television, reading magazines and books, watching movies, listening and watching music, and using mobile phones. I took a media blackout experiment for forty-eight hours and it was the hardest time of my life. I could not stop thinking about my cellphone and access to media outlets.
I felt lonely during the media blackout experiment not just because I lacked updates but it kept me away from other people. I could not discuss with my friends about what happened during last night’s football game nor could I access my PlayStation. Generally, I felt secluded and deprived of my personality. The media blackout experiment separated, secluded, and disconnected me from the real world. However, after the first 24-hours, I found myself studying efficiently without distractions from the media. Most importantly I was able to reflect more on my life and had close and shared more interesting moments with my friends.
Question 2
Media shapes our daily lives and determines how we relate with other people. Based on my personal experience especially after carrying out the media blackout experiment, I have realized that media is an integral part of our daily lives. Media opens up our minds and creates a platform for our discussions. It builds the subject for discussions and directs our daily interactions. Our daily lives are controlled by media to point where some of us believe its addiction. From a sociological point of view, most people misuse the term addiction by referring to activities that we enjoy and engage in daily. I spend most of my time on social media because that is where I find satisfaction and fun. Most teens will also spend much time on social media because rules about social gathering push them to social media more than they would wish (Andersen and Taylor, 2007).
Question 3
This exercise teaches me that social media has a great influence on shaping society. Mass media is relatively cheap for consumption and most groups derive their cultures from different media outlets. The elite class will seem to assume a high-end culture derived from expensive theater performances and opera shows where the pay millions of money to learn. The ordinary citizens may also learn their cultures from televisions and the internet. For instance, a digital divide has developed due to inequalities in how people access electronic information.
Sociologists believe that cultural taste and participation are socially structured based on the influence of mass media. Mass media play an important role in shaping the perception of different people and awareness of social issues. For instance, sociologists have found out that the fear of crime is based on how much time a person spends watching crime news. The attention given to an issue by the media shapes the perception of the society towards the issue. The media shape our social perceptions by determining the level of opinion that is le4gitimately recognized and the kind of experts called to expound on such issues (Andersen and Taylor, 2012).
Question 4
According to Andersen and Taylor (2007), culture according to functionalism theory brings individuals into common groups. This means that people become coherent and stable in a society based on defined values and norms that bring them into society. The theory says that values, norms, and beliefs influence the entire society. Referring to my media blackout, I realized that it is hard for a person to live without interacting with others. It was hard for me to lead a lonely life without my friends of whom make up my social group.
Conflict theory fulfills the interests of groups in control. This theoretical view is usually managed by economic monopolies and can lead to political resistance. During my media blackout experiment, I missed a lot of information concerning the political and economic state in the world. The political and economic directions shape the world. Knowing the political and economic state of the work determines the step that each country takes. Culture is determined by economic interests and power relations around society (Andersen and Taylor, 2007).
Andersen and Taylor (2012), says that feminist theory is a radical theoretical view of the roles and differences between the genders. It seeks to uplift the female gender and purports to fight for their rights. From a sociological point of view, this theoretical framework shapes how women and young girls view and perceive the male gender. The media representation from a feminist point of view is very important in how society functions. You will find that most women feel left out on leadership positions because of the virtue of being a woman. It encourages more fight for freedom for the female gender
Symbolic interaction is a sociological theory that builds the identity of a group based on different cultural meaning frameworks. This theoretical framework changes as people produce new meaning systems. It is built socially based on the activities of social groups. During my media blackout experiment, I realized that failing to watch my favorite TV show affected how I interacted with my friend the next day. I did not have any information about what happened and thus failed to identify with my group. I felt like an outcast since there were new cultural meaning systems that I didn’t know. Simply, culture is constructed socially (Andersen and Taylor, 2012).
References
Andersen, M. L., & Taylor, H. F. (2007). Sociology: Understanding a diverse society, updated. Cengage Learning.
Andersen, M., & Taylor, H. (2012). Sociology: the essentials. Nelson Education.