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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 8 page paper provides an overview of the application of functionalism, interactionism and conflict theory to the social institution of the mass media. Bibliography lists 10 sources.
Page Count:
8 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MH11_MHmassmsocthe.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
the impacts of social culture and the impacts on social culture. Functionalism, conflict theory and interactionism can all be applied to an understanding of the way in which the
mass media has been transformed in the information era and defined and subsequently redefined by elements of social culture. The thesis for this paper, then, is that the mass
media has had a significant impact on, and been influenced by, social culture over time and the application of social theories provides a basis for understanding this change.
Applying Social Theories to the Mass Media A number of social theories can be applied to an understanding of the mass media and its impacts. The mass
media can be viewed as both a factor influencing individual culture and identify or as a component developed as an extension of individual culture. From a functionalist perspective, the
mass media is a social institution that was crated to response to the needs of the individual within the context of the social culture. If one looks at Bronislaw
Malinowskis functionalism in terms of its application to understanding mass media, Malinowski would claim that the construction of the mass media was in response to meeting the needs of the
individual, creating a mode by which information could be conveyed to address personal safety, growth and social relationships (Glazer, 1996). Because the individual seeks out society and the constructs
of society to support the attaining of basic needs (food, shelter, social interactions, etc.), the mass media became a social institution created to meet some of the needs within the
context of a created society. This functionalist perspective, then, places the mass media in the realm of social institutions created in reaction to the needs of the individuals.
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